At the Industrialized Building Code Council meeting held on the 22nd of August the Council approved the adoption of the proposed building codes with the amendments that were presented by the code adoption committee. The new codes are as follows:
• 2015 International Building Code
• 2015 International Residential Code
• 2015 International Mechanical Code
• 2015 International Plumbing Code
• 2015 International Fuel Gas Code
• 2015 International Energy Conservation Code
• 2015 International Existing Building Code
• 2014 National Electrical Code
The IHB Rules require for notification to be made to the public via the Texas Register allowing a 30-day period for public comment. If no comments are received the new codes will become required for all 3 buildings entering production by June 1, 2017. If comments are received another Council meeting will be required and a new effective date will be determined. I feel it unlikely that there will be comments so we should start focusing on June. It is important to add that the June 1 date will be the deadline for approved designs entering in to the production line. So, building design and construction commitment time frames will have to be projected so we have building designs ready to enter the production line well before June. Once we get into next year this will require our estimating department to start projecting on-line dates so we can anticipate the cost impact that the new code editions will create. Before the June 1st deadline, we will have to identify to the Industrialized Housing and Building Division at the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, the effective date that we intend making the change to the new codes as far as our production on-line is concerned. Once that date is established, we can no longer use designs that are approved to the older codes.
