Applying the Code to Existing Buildings

National model building codes that regulate minimum construction requirements to protect public health, safety, and welfare have been formalized in the United States for nearly one hundred years. Some areas have local codes dating back even further. Historically, these codes were focused on regulating the construction of new buildings. As such, existing buildings undergoing construction activity (i.e., repairs, alterations, changes of occupancy, etc.) proved difficult to regulate in a rational, predictable, and cost-effective manner. With the evolution and creation of the current existing building code provisions, such as the International Existing Building Code (IEBC), there is now more rational, reasonable, and predictable regulatory guidance when performing these types of construction activities to, or within, existing buildings.

In this webinar, WJE architect Brian Tognetti and engineers Brian Calderone and Ross Smith provide an overview of the existing building code evolution and summarize the application of today’s IEBC provisions through a review of various project case studies, with a focus on performing repairs.