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Minimum Room Sizes and Minimum Ceiling Heights

Sean O'Hara — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 21:20:53 +0000

Occasionally when designing small residential units the question comes up about what the minimum size is for a room and what the minimum ceiling height needs to be.

For single family homes and duplexes we go to the 2006 International Residential Code. It states that each dwelling unit shall have at least one room with a minimum of 120 square feet. Other habitable rooms need to have at least 70 sf excepting kitchens. (Bathrooms, closets, halls and utility spaces are not considered habitable rooms so they're also exempt). In order to count the square footage towards the minimum it must have a flat ceiling over 7'-0" or you can count the area under a sloped ceiling from the point it hits 5'-0" and over.

There are also minimum ceiling height requirements under the 2006 IRC. Generally you need 7'-0" clear minimum. Beams spaced 4'-0" or more can be at 6'-6" above the floor. Where you have basements with no habitable spaces (bedrooms, kitchen, living, etc) the ceiling can be at 6'-8" and beams and ductwork can be at 6'-4". Where you have the sloped ceilings at least half the room needs to have a ceiling height over 7'-0". In bathrooms you need 6'-8" over the fixtures and a minimum of 30"x30" at that height where you have a showerhead.

The 2006 International Building Code kicks in for commercial buildings and buildings with more than 2 dwelling units. The room sizes are very similar to the IRC with a minimum of one habitable room over 120 sf and other habitable rooms needing to be 70 sf. Habitable rooms excepting the kitchen also have to be a minimum of 7'-0" wide and there needs to be 36" of clear space in front of counters and appliances.

On the minimum ceiling heights the IRC requires habitable spaces and corridors to be a minimum of 7'-6" and bathrooms, kitchens, storage areas and laundry areas can have ceilings at 7'-0" minimum. Where the ceiling slopes at least half the room needs to be over the minimum and you can't count any area under 5'-0" toward minimum room size. You can also furr down a ceiling to 7'-0" for up to 2/3 of the room.

I haven't utilized the rules for efficiency dwelling units but they exist in the 2006 IBC. For efficiency units you need a living room of not less than 220 sf and an additional 100 sf for occupants beyond 2. The unit has to have a closet. It also must have a kitchen sink, cooking appliance, refrigeration and a minimum of 30" in front of each appliance. It also must have its own bathroom with a water closet, lavatory and a bathtub or a shower.

Originally posted 2008-10-20 23:18:57.

Latch Required in Fire Doors – Opening Protectives

Sean O'Hara — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 21:20:50 +0000

Under the International Building Code, fire doors and swinging pairs of fire doors must be provided with an active bolt that can secure the door when locked.

One spot where this could be easily overlooked is restrooms shared between spaces where the restrooms do not have lockable doors. If a door is in a fire wall, you need to be able to latch it closed.

Originally posted 2009-04-30 23:09:12.

How Can You Tell if a Door is Fire Rated

Sean O'Hara — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 21:20:45 +0000

When you're putting together code reviews for remodels and additions in commercial projects, its often important to know which existing doors are rated.

Figuring it out is pretty simple, in order to qualify as a rated door it has to be labeled. So look at the door (typically the hinge side) and there should be a metal plaque with the rating on it. If the plaque has been painted over, clean it off. If you don't find a label, then chances are its not rated.

Originally posted 2011-08-18 00:01:24.

Restaurant Floor Plans Free Initial Consultation

Dean Dalvit — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 21:20:43 +0000

Evstudio has had the pleasure of designing a wide variety of restaurant, cafe, bar and similar projects and it has become a specialty within our greater body of commercial work.

Overseas Cafe Floor Plan

Designing a restaurant can be difficult business if you are not fully in tune with all of the codes and regulations that go along with it. Whether you are renovating an existing retail or restaurant space or building an entirely new building, with a free initial design consultation from EVstudio, you can quickly learn the ins and outs of what you will be up against with your local jurisdiction as well as the health department. Our expert staff is well acquainted with everything from kitchen design to the egress requirements from an assembly space, and everything in between.

Boom-A-Rang Diner

And you can be sure that the building department will not permit your project without all of the required construction documentation:

Architectural plans and space design for the amount of seating, functional spaces, kitchen layout and ADA restrooms, all compliant to the fire code, accessibility, health department and even your bank.
Mechanical engineering for heating, ventilation and air conditioning (not to mention those pesky Type 1 and 2 Hoods)
Electrical engineering for the systems, lighting and refrigeration necessary
Structural changes that would need to be made within an existing space or for a new structure entirely.

The in-house integration of all of these disciplines allows EVstudio to be your most affordable choice for getting your project permitted in the shortest amount of time. We can also help you with estimating the construction cost of your restaurant design so that you know that you can build the restaurant you envision for the budget you have.

Acapulco Mexican Restaurant Floor Plan

And do not underestimate the power of good design. The atmosphere you create in your restaurant is in the top three things people claim keeps them coming back. The great food and service is your expertise, leave the quality of the space to us.

Giovanni's Italian Restaurant

So, give us a call and let's talk about your project!

Originally posted 2011-01-21 08:30:13.

When Do You Need More Than One Door? – Spaces That Require More Than One Means of Egress

Sean O'Hara — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 23:46:36 +0000

The 2006 International Building Code spells out the conditions where you are required to have two or more exits or as I prefer to see it, where you can have only one exit from a space. Generally the requirements are straight forward but there are a few complex conditions that I've called out.

The first test is occupant load. For occupancy types A, B, E, F, M, and U you can have up to 49 occupants with one exit. For day care centers in type E you're limited to 10 with one exit. For H-1, H-2 and H-3 you can have 3 occupants with one exit and for H-4, H-5, I-1, I-4, I-4 and R you can have 10 occupants. S occupancy allows 29 occupants with one exit. I-2 has a long list of requirements, let me know if you need to go through them.

The next test is common path of egress travel, basically how far you have to go to get to the exit door. For H-1, H-2 and H-3 you are limited to 25 feet with one exit. For other occupancies you're limited to 75 feet with one exit. There are several exceptions. If you have a group B, F or S and a sprinkled building you can go 100 feet on one exit. If you have a group B, S or F and no more than 30 occupants you can also have 100 feet to get to the one exit. Group I-3 is allowed 100 feet. In a sprinkled R-2 building you can go up to 125 feet. Assembly spaces have a number of additional requirements, again just let me know if you need them.

Finally there are a number of cases that always require two or more exits. Boiler, incenerator and furnace rooms over 500 sf or over 400,000 Btu in fuel fired equipment require two exits. Refrigerator machinery rooms over 1,000 sf require two doors. Refrigerated rooms over 1,000 sf and maintaining a temperature below 68 degrees require two exits.

Please note that there is a different set of requirements for buildings with only one exit than this list for spaces with only one exit. I'll cover that in a future post.

Originally posted 2009-03-30 00:01:33.

Residential or Commercial

Sean O'Hara — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 23:46:32 +0000

Even when I was in college, people would frequently ask me if I wanted to do residential or commercial architecture. There seems to be a belief that there is a distinct difference in architects who choose to do residential and architects who choose to do commercial. There are definitely some differences, but I always wanted to do both. Dean and I share this fascination, so EVstudio does a roughly even mix of residential and commercial projects. We also do multifamily residential and hospitality work which must fall somewhere in the middle.

Originally posted 2008-06-14 00:01:36.

No related posts.

Operable Windows in Aluminum Storefront Systems and Curtain Wall Systems

Sean O'Hara — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 23:46:28 +0000

A few weeks ago I toured a project with Brion Doyle from Spectrum General Contractors and we talked about options for putting operable windows into storefront and curtain wall systems. As it turns out, many manufacturers have not anticipated or provided for the architect's push for using these systems in residential applications. There is however a great work around where you need an operable window.

You can go ahead and order your aluminum storefront or curtain wall from a manufacturer like US Aluminum, Kawneer or EFCO and leave out the glass in on of the panels. The you can order an aluminum casement window without fins from a company like Milgard and do an installation much like you would a retrofit window. The aluminum in both products is very similar in color and style and looks factory made. To further that look you have the option of using aluminum break metal in adjacent locations to blend with the frame.

Originally posted 2008-11-21 10:46:00.

What in the World is a Ufer Ground?

Adam Denton — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 23:50:01 +0000

In EVstudio’s structural engineering practice this question comes up almost every week. In contemporary construction, a ufer is a concrete encased ground electrode, which is most often a 20 foot long piece of #4 rebar cast into a foundation wall that will protrude from the top of wall so that the structure’s electrical system may attach to it. Technically this falls within the realm of electrical engineering, but enters the realm of structural engineering because the 2008 National Electrical Code requires an installation observation. Because the structural engineer typically will already need to be present on site at some point to observe the rebar construction in the foundation walls many building departments are happy to pass the additional liability on to the structural engineer and require them to observe and document the ufer installation as well.

The ufer was invented during World War II by Herbert Ufer, who was tasked with finding a cheaper alternative to the current method of grounding explosive ordinance storage structures against lighting strikes. The previous grounding method required driving hundreds of feet of electrical ground into the poorly conductive soils found in Arizona. Ufer discovered that due to the naturally high ph levels in concrete (uncured “wet” concrete is caustic and will burn human skin on contact*) the readily available supply of ions will conduct electricity better than almost all soils. The interaction of steel and concrete provide a better ground than the interaction of copper wire and concrete so it was natural connection to utilize the steel reinforcing bars already required of most foundations.

* The author has first-hand knowledge of the validity of this claim.

Originally posted 2011-04-14 00:07:08.

What is your architectural style?

Sean O'Hara — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 23:49:57 +0000

When I speak with potential clients, this is one of the first questions that I'm often asked. They want to know what style and design tastes I'll bring to their project. The simple answer is that I will design the style based on the preferences of the client. At EVstudio are not looking to impose an architectural style on our clients.

Now, that's not to say that as individuals we don't have any preferred styles. Obviously each designer and architect in the firm has styles that they would prefer if they were designing the project for themselves. Who wouldn't? But our job as services professionals is to bring the clients desires into our solution. We will design what we believe is the most appropriate design but the client has the ultimate say.

Now what sets us apart is that we are still bringing our design abilities into every project no matter the style or the size. Good design transcends taste. Any building can have good balance, energy efficiency, appropriate materials and a well designed plan. If you peruse the website and the blog you'll see a variety of styles and building types on display. Each one blends the clients program and style into an great solution.

Originally posted 2008-07-10 11:57:02.

Designing Your House – Part 1

Architect Project Delivery with Design Build Mechanical and Electrical

Sean O'Hara — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 23:49:53 +0000

In a traditional design/bid/build project delivery the architect hires the engineers and the engineering drawings are part of the bid package. With smaller tenant finish projects we are now seeing a scenario where the engineering drawings are being provided design/build by the contractor. The contractor is providing a price for the project based on the architectural drawings and their guess on what the mechanical and electrical requirements are. this is more common in TI because the engineering is limited to MEP. These are generally the implications of design/build engineering:

Pros:

It can go faster because it moves the design time for MEP into the construction phase.
There may be cost savings on the engineering fees when they are bundled with the install
The contractor will attempt to pick their most cost effective solution

Cons:

The biggest con is that contractors are pricing a guess and the bids are not easily comparable
You may be getting a price for the cheapest system rather than the right system
If the systems require changes to the architecture you'll face additional services
Some jurisdictions will not allow it

I think that both delivery methods have their place, you just need to make sure that you're picking a delivery method that is in line with your priorities.

Originally posted 2009-11-14 00:01:08.