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Code Update: Significant Code Changes

Excerpted from the Significant Changes to the 2009 International Codes series.

The Significant Changes to the 2009 International Codes series has been developed by the International Code Council and published by Delmar, Cengage Learning to accommodate the transition from the 2006 to the 2009 editions of the International Codes.

Valuable resources for anyone using the International Codes, each book offers a comprehensive yet practical analysis of the critical changes made between the 2006 and 2009 editions of the codes with hundreds of photos, illustrations and tables. Changes are identified then followed by in-depth discussion of how the change affects real-world application. Coverage reflects provisions with special significance, including new and innovative design ideas and technologies, modern materials and methods of construction, and current approaches to safety and stability. Authored by ICC code experts, these useful tools are “must-have” guides to the many important changes in the 2009 International Codes.

Significant Changes to the International Building Code, 2009 Edition

Significant Changes to the International Residential Code, 2009 Edition

Significant Changes to the International Fire Code, 2009 Edition

Significant Changes to the International Plumbing Code | International Mechanical Code | International Fuel Gas Code, 2009 Edition

Code Update: 2009 International Building Code

A change to ambulatory health care facilities (Section 304.1) has been made to the 2009 International Building Code (IBC). Definitions have been added to differentiate those outpatient medical care facilities in which individuals are temporarily incapable of self-preservation from those facilities in which such self-preservation capabilities do exist.

A modification to stair handrails in Group R-2 and R-3 (Section 1009.12) has also been made in the 2009 IBC. Within dwelling units and sleeping units of Group R-2 and R-3 occupancies, a handrail is now required only for stairs having four or more risers.

Read more on both of these updates to the 2009 IBC.