Residential Consistency
Land Use and Environmental Service Agency
(Code Enforcement)
Fourth Quarter Q&A 2013
General:
1. (Q) Can a beam made of 2 LVL’s penetrate a 1 hr rated wall?
(A) Yes, it can meet the requirement of heavy tember and therefore can be
considered 1 hr. rated.
2. (Q) Does the installation of Helical Piers require a engineer?
(A) Yes, it need to be designed and signed off by a structural engineer and the
piers need to have a ICC ES report.
3. (Q) Do the interior walls between townhouses need to be encapsulated?
(A) No, but they must be insulated to exterior wall requirements.
4. (Q) Does the waterproofing and interior piers need to be inspected befor backfilling?
(A) Yes
5. (Q) Is fire blocking required in townhouse walls?
(A) Yes, every 10’-0” horizontally.
6. (Q) Are egress windows required when replacement is done under the rehab code?
(A) No if you replace like for like.
7. (Q) What are the requirements for king studs at openings?
(A) See Table R602.3(5), make sure that you read note d.
8. (Q) How do you connect an addition footer to an existing house?
(A) If rebar is not required then a 2’ # 4 dowel inserted 1’-0” in existing footing
spaced at 6” is acceptable.
9. (Q) Can you use lag bolts to attach guard rail posts to a deck?
(A) No, lags are not permitted.
10.
(Q) Are handrails on winders still required to be located on the outside of the
winder?
(A) No, they can be located on either side.
11.
(Q) When do retaining walls require a engineer design because of location?
(A) When the wall intersects a 45 degree line drawn from the bottom of the
Footing or when the wall is less than 10’ from the foundation.
Commercial Plan Review
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