code_question

ICC News

Code Question of the Week

Week ending January 28, 2008

Q. The second floor of a two-story office building contains a mezzanine that is accessed by an open stair from the second-floor level. Adjacent to the mezzanine is a floor opening to the main entrance lobby on the first floor below. Since the mezzanine is open to the second-floor level, does the floor opening between the first and second floor still qualify for Exception #7 of Section 707.2 of the 2006 International Building Code?

A. The answer is Yes. Exception #7 of Section 707.2 addresses floor opening between two adjacent stories. Since a mezzanine is considered, by definition (see Section 502.1), as a level that is located within a story, the limitation of #7.1 of Exception #7 is not compromised.

This is a staff opinion only. The final authority to interpret the code rests with the authority having jurisdiction, the code official.