Who is the Building Code Go to Guy?

[StoneCold]

I have a building that is a 2B according to 2003 IBC. It was built in 1993 for an H3 occupancy. I want to switch it to an H2. The fire marshal says it is out of their league. I brought in a Fire protection engineering firm. They say the sprinkler design is ok for H2 usage but the building is larger than allowed by the 2003 IBC for an H2 occupancy. But designing buildings or modifying buildings is not there thing. Who do you contact to see if your building is up to code or how to get it there? General contractor? Local building inspector? Architect? Structural engineering firm?
I am looking for an educated code interpreter that can get me going on either a remodel or something so I can use this building.

Thanks
StoneCold

 

[JAE]

Architects are usually the code review/analysis guys in terms of occupancy type, area, exiting, etc.

 

[Ron]

You can request a code interpretation from several authorities. First you can request locally, but you've already been through that and it didn't work. You can then go to the code authors for an interpretation.

Send a formal request to the International Code Council for interpretation. They also provide consulting services for specific applications.

Contracts, Consulting & Technical Resources of the ICC -
1-888-422-7233, ext. 4307.

 

[JStephen]

That is not a code interpretation issue in the sense that you need an interpretation from ICC. Try to find a local architect that deals with that size and kind of building.