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Component Manufacturing dverti$er
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Don’t Forget! You Saw it in the
Adverti$er
April 2019 #11237 Page #60
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By Frank Woeste and Don Bender
IBC Balcony Changes Spur “Best Practice” Design Recommendations
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ecause of their limited structural redundancy and exposure to weather, cantilevered balconies require special attention by design professionals, contractors, permitting and inspection departments, and owners in-service. As shown in the photos, modern wood-framed, multi-family projects often include free-end cantilever balconies.
Photo 1. Podium wood construction with balconies supported by free-end cantilever wood framing.
Balconies can add considerable value, but they require special attention to ensure public safety. A case in point—on June 16, 2015, a balcony on a wood-framed apartment building collapsed, causing six fatalities and injuring at least seven others, precipitating emergency changes to the 2016 California Building Code, effective January 30, 2017, and motivating changes to the 2018 International Building Code (IBC) to address waterproofing measures and “special inspections” during construction. In addition, in September 2018, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill requiring periodic in-service inspections of apartment balconies, decks, outdoor stairs, and elevated walkways.
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