BUILDING CODES AND ADA/TAS
BUILDING CODES
- EGRESS
 What are building codes?
 Laws enacted to make buildings safe in order to protect life
 What is the oldest known instance of a building code
 Babylon more than 5,000 years ago
 From what do building codes protect human life
 Structural failure
 Fire
 Sanitation
 Earthquakes
 Hurricanes
 Tornadoes
 International Building Code
 As in all building codes, the rules within the code must address
Health, Safety and/or Welfare or they are not enforceable
 If you design a building to code, what kind of building is it?
 THE WORST POSSIBLE BUILDING ALLOWABLE BY
LAW!!!
In case of a fire or other disaster, one must be able to get
out of the building.
Note: Doors to an exit must open in
the direction of travel unless it is
from a small room (private offices,
etc.)
If, due to the occupant
load two exits are
required. The distance
between them must be
no less than half the
diagonal distance of the
space.
However, if the space is
sprinklered, the exits
may be a minimum of
1/3 the diagonal
distance.
Dead end corridors generally
may be no more than 20 feet
in depth.
However, if the length is less
than 2-1/2 times the least
width of the dead end, they are
not limited in length.
In most cases, exit
corridors or stairs in
multi-story buildings
must exit directly to the
exterior of the building
Fire stairs are smoke-proof
enclosures as are exit
passageways from the stairs.
Things to Remember:
• Doors leading to exits must open in the direction of travel—
this include exterior doors.
• One must first determine the occupancy type to determine
the number of occupants
• Depending on the number of occupants, one may be required
to provide two exits
• If two exits are required they must be at least one-half the
diagonal distance between opposite corners in a space
• Dead-end corridors should not be more than 20 feet in
length
ADA/TAS
ADA is for the Americans with Disabilities Act
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Federal Law first issued in 1990
Amended in 2008
Related to the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Specifies that each state must produce its own accessibility
standards
• In Texas we have the Texas Accessibilities Standards (TAS)
administered by the Texas Department of Licensing and
Regulation
• https://www.tdlr.texas.gov/ab/2012TAS/2012tascomplete
.pdf
What disabilities are covered by TAS?
• Both mental and physical medical conditions are covered
• The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission provides a
list of conditions including:
• Deafness, blindness, intellectual disability, partially or
completely missing limbs or mobility impairments
requiring the use of a wheelchair or cane or walker,
autism, cancer, cerebral palsy, diabetes, epilepsy, HIV
infection, MS, depression, bipolar disorder, PTSD, OCD,
and schizophrenia
• Also included are things like colorblindness, poor vision,
night blindness, and poor hearing.
404.2.3 Clear Width. Door openings shall provide a clear width of 32 inches (815 mm)
minimum. Clear openings of doorways with swinging doors shall be measured between the
face of the door and the stop, with the door open 90 degrees. Openings more than 24 inches
(610 mm) deep shall provide a clear opening of 36 inches (915 mm) minimum. There shall be
no projections into the required clear opening width lower than 34 inches (865 mm) above the
finish floor or ground. Projections into the clear opening width between 34 inches (865 mm)
and 80 inches (2030 mm) above the finish floor or ground shall not exceed 4 inches (100 mm).
604.3.1 Size. Clearance around a
water closet shall be 60 inches (1525
mm) minimum measured
perpendicular from the side wall and
56 inches (1420 mm) minimum
measured perpendicular from
the rear wall.
The minimum clear width for urinals and
lavatories shall be 30” unless it is in an
alcove with walls on each side. In that case
the minimum width is 36”.
TAS requires that the turning
space for a wheelchair shall be a
space of 60” diameter minimum. A
door that swings into the space
shall be allowed providing that
there is a clear floor space of 30” x
48” outside the arc of the door
swing.
Things to Remember:
• Doors must have a 32” clear opening, so doors should be 36”
in width.
• On the push side of a door, there must be no less than 12
inches to the side of the opening opposite the hinges.
• On the pull side of a door there must be no less than 18” to
the side of the opening opposite the hinges.
• Restrooms must have a clear space of 5 feet in diameter for
wheelchair turns.
• Accessible toilet stalls should be 60 inches in width and 56
inches in depth