Key Terms and Concepts | Definition |
zoning ordinance | A type of legal restriction on buildings. Governs the types of activities that may take place on a given piece of land, how much of the land may be covered by the building, how far buildings must be set back from each of the property lines, etc. |
building code | Local government regulates building activity by means of this. The intent is to protect public health and safety, primarily against building fires, by setting a minimum standard of construction quality. |
model building code | A standardized code prepared by national organizations of local building code officials. |
National Building Code of Canada | Canada's standardized building code |
International Building Code (IBC) | The first unified building code in U.S. history, first published in March 2000. |
Uniform Building Code (UBC) | Building code used mostly in the western US and parts of the Midwest. |
BOCA National Building Code (BOCA) | The model building code most often used in the East and some areas of the Midwest. |
Standard Building Code (SBC) | The model building code adopted by many southern and southeastern states. |
occupancy group | A definition in the IBC to distinguish various degrees and qualities of need for safety in buildings. |
construction type | A set of definitions in the IBC. Some examples are masonry, reinforced concrete, wood, etc. |
fire resistance rating | The period of time a building or building component maintains the ability to confine a fire or continues to perform a structural function or both. This is usually determined or measured by the ASTM E-119 test standard. |
bearing wall | Wall that supports its weight and the weight of other parts of the structure and are necessary for the stability of a structure. |
nonbearing wall or partition | A wall supporting no load other than its own weight. |
access standards | Regulate the design of entrances, stairs, doorways, elevators, and toilet facilities to assure that they are accessible by physically handicapped members of the population. |
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) | Makes accessibility to buildings a civil right of all Americans. |
Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) | Controls the design of workplaces to minimize hazards to the health and safety of workers. Sets safety standards under which a building must be constructed. |
American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) | A voluntary standards development organization providing technical standards for materials, products, systems, and services. Establishes standard specifications for commonly used materials of construction. |
Canadian Standards Association (CSA) | Establishes standard specifications for commonly used materials of construction in Canada. |
American National Standards Institute (ANSI) | An organization that develops standards for many industrial products, such as aluminum windows and many of the mechanical components of buildings. |
Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) | An organization that maintains and advances the standarization of construction language as pertains to building specifications. |
MasterFormat | The most widely used standard for organizing specifications and other written information for commercial and institutional building projects in the U.S. and Canada. It provides a master list of divisions, and section numbers and titles within each divisio |
Construction Specifications Canada (CSC) | The Canadian counterpart to the Construction Specifications Institute of the United States. |
trade association | An organization that represents the interests of the member firms of an industry. |
sustainability | Meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. |
"green building" | Sustainable design and construction. |
architect | Helps to consolidate the owner's ideas about the new building, develops the form of the building, and assembles a group of engineering specialists to help work out concepts and details. |
engineering specialists | Develops the scheme for the building in progressively finer degrees of detail. |
building inspector | Checks drawings and specifications of a building for conformance with zoning ordinances and building codes before issuing a permit to build. |