It’s been a while since our last blog….”We’ve been busy!”

I just received my OFFICIAL copy of the ICC 500-2014 Standard and COMMENTARY!  We were one of several volunteers that help write the commentary.  It can be purchased from the International Code Council at www.iccsafe.org for about $42.00.  You can get either soft bound or a PDF copy.  There is a discount for ICC members.

Even after being involved, I am a little disappointed in some aspects of the commentary.  The volunteer committee had the opportunity to review and comment on an early draft copy of the commentary.  Unfortunately, at least in my case, many of my comments were not addressed.  In the end, the volunteer committee was not given an opportunity to review the final draft of the document and subsequently, in my humble opinion, there are mistakes.  I believe once it is read through, those issues will be glaring to a designer.  Bear in mind that a large portion of the commentary was written by those that do not design or produce shelters and therefore do not understand the real world ramifications of the commentary, the code standard, and/or the building code.

I will point out one of the least problematic mistakes….in the credits, they have our firm name as “Schultz Architects, LLC”.  I guess someone could not figure out what “Squared” meant.  With all the free time and effort that this company has put forth for this document, you would think….Needless to say, not happy!!!!  That is just the proverbial tip of the iceberg!

If someone can explain figure 304.9 to me, I would GREATLY appreciate it!  Also, watch out for 309.1 comments!

It’s unfortunate but now that it is published, “it is what it is”!

Be careful out there!

Written by Corey Schultz, AIA, LEED BD+C