AC 034 - Nonseparated Occupancies.

[@FakhreAlBobali]

Hello, though I'm watching a year ago great video but it is really important to highlight that in the requirements of fire systems in chapter 9 that and I quote "IBC 201 section 907.2. Not fewer than one manual fire alarm box shall be provided in an approved location to initiate a fire alarm signal for fire alarm systems employing automatic fire detectors or waterflow detection devices." Really I like the subject and it is really important to understand. Thank you!

[@WillDiMichele]

Thanks for another great video Josué! Super helpful and clearly explained. I'll be using this a lot from now on!

[@archicorner]

You are welcome!

[@wahidyuqob2016]

Another fantastic video. I can compare your video to someone who is hungry and waiting for food. I had a similar project with "B" and "M" occupancy that I calculated, and when compared to your video, they do not require a separation.. Thank you again.

[@archicorner]

Glad you liked it!

[@garrettriethman1873]

Literally just needed to learn about this for a project... and the perfect video was uploaded for it 5 hrs ago haha. Thanks!

[@archicorner]

Hope you enjoyed it! Talk about timing, haha.

[@SerenaSmith-s1g]

Simple explanation and helpful!

[@archicorner]

Glad you think so!

[@josephbradshaw7584]

Do horizontal assemblies allow you to get around the requirement for the number of stories? Per chapter 2 a horizontal assembly is defined as "A fire-resistance-rated floor or roof assembly of materials designed to restrict the spread of fire in which continuity is maintained." The reason I ask is because I have a project I'm working on that's very similar to this video where we have an A-3 and B occupancy, but we got a comment back from the city saying we needed to provide fire separation between these occupancies per table 508.4. My project manager said we haven't had issues with this on past projects because use nonseparated occupancies. However, I double checked if our project meets all the requirements for nonseparated occupancies and it meets all of them, except we exceed the number of stories requirement by one... However, the code uses the word 'portion thereof,' when referring to the building, so that makes me think there are exceptions and you don't have to include all the stories if a story is separated from the other stories with a horizontal assembly? For reference, 508.3.2 says: "The allowable building area, height and number of stories of the building or shall be based on the most restrictive allowances for the occupancy groups under consideration for the type of construction of the building in accordance with Section 503.1. We also have a note on our plans that says "Level 1 is separated from upper levels by a horizontal assembly complying with IBC 711." So when CBC 508.3.2 uses the word ‘portion’ and we have a note about horizontal assemblies that makes me think we can exclude the first floor from the total number of stories requirement to meet this requirement?

[@archicorner]

This is a fairly complicated question to answer, but short answer is yes, if you have a horizontal separation between floors, and they meet specific requirements, it’s possible to consider the buildings as two buildings. One building on top of another building. This is often referred to as platform construction, and the building at the bottom has to be built as a specific building type, usually type IA. There are too many details to discuss but it’s doable.

[@josephbradshaw7584]

@archicorner The first floor is made of wood like the other floors above, and it's Type III-A construction, so maybe it doesn't qualify as a separate floor... So yeah, it's a complicated question, but I appreciate your response, and I'm a big fan of your videos.

[@designereats3661]

Very good! Keep making videos!

[@archicorner]

I am trying... more videos coming soon...

[@darwishmajdi]

I literally die with the city of chicago reviews. Do you do consulting by means of sending you building department comments and you offering the best way to address city comments For example I have issues providing the correct UL numbers for a wall type

[@archicorner]

At this time, I don't take on consulting work. My apologies.

[@Sandiegocruiser]

are you in san diego

[@doanpham972]

I was corrected that a building is "sprinkled" in architecture school.

[@archicorner]

True.

[@hikolyou]

Great

[@islam56898]

We need videos about acoustics in architecture