ARE 5.0 - Allowable Building Area for PPD and PA

[@litadeboer227]

Thank you so much for all of your videos! What stresses me out the most about this one in particular is, I'm not sure how in the heck would I be able to do this with the whiteboard and the exam's clumsy calculator?!

[@mikegbabcock]

These videos are great- the best on KZbin. Other videos from Black Spectacles, Pluralsight, etc. waste so much time with banter, non-ARE related advice, self-promotion, confusing hypos, and often wrong answers to their own questions. Please consider making more- many more- videos.

[@HyperfineArchitecture]

Thanks, Mike! There are more videos like these in the study courses I have made. And I will definitely be making more KZbin stuff soonish.

[@Designbuild828]

By the way, I forgot to tell you. I passed PA. Thank you for all of your videos.

[@lighthouse6120]

Thank you for taking the time to post this. It is very helpful. Been a while since school time. So just reading the equation takes a few times to read.

[@aspengreeene2010]

Great video! Will definitely be watching your videos!

[@HyperfineArchitecture]

Awesome! Thank you!

[@IszyIzzy]

Thank you 6.38k. Cheers mate

[@HyperfineArchitecture]

You are very welcome, though I’ve got it at 6.37K :-)

[@sergiobarajas9092]

Thank you for sharing this! Much appreciated!

[@HyperfineArchitecture]

Hey Sergio, you are very welcome!

[@athena526]

Thank you! This is so well-explained. Any chance you could do (or have done) a video for mixed-occupancy, multistory? Ran into that condition and I'm confused all over again :/

[@ibrahimn.j.4943]

Thanks for the video! I wondered why did not we use (S=4 rather than 3) for the number of floors if we are assuming the building to be equipped with a sprinkler system throughout? I think it says in the footnotes that S=3 as a maximum when it is not sprinklered, but 4 if it is. Thanks

[@HyperfineArchitecture]

The S=4 applies to residential groups. If you read the section that exception references you see it refers to the S13R sprinklers.

[@somchanhsouvong2210]

You rock man!

[@Ricky_Vega]

Thanks for the video! For the frontage increase calculation, you mentioned you only count those walls whose frontage is greater than 20. Whoever you counted walls C and G whose frontage is equal to 20, but not technically greater than 20. Can you clarify?

[@HyperfineArchitecture]

Code says minimum distance of 20 feet. But don't trust me, read the code: 2015 IBC 506.3.2

[@arrivalanche]

@@HyperfineArchitecture Essentially 20' or greater.

[@joelgrabe5395]

I'm trying to solve for Aa for a single occupancy one-story the equation I'm using is 5-1 Aa = At + (NS x If) plugging in the information I have Aa=25,500 + (8,500 x 0.75) = 31,875 ft2 This seems like a lot I just wanted to see if I was missing something, my understand of this is my maximum allowable square ft2 for a single occupancy one-story is 31,875 ft2. Please let me know your thoughts...

[@christonkellogg1224]

if a building face has an exit stair projecting off the face... do I measure from the face of the building or the stair?

[@HyperfineArchitecture]

I think you measure from the face of the building, but any projections are limited in width and materiality. See 705.

[@christonkellogg1224]

if the property line is at an angle to the building do I measure at the smallest distance from the building

[@HyperfineArchitecture]

I think so. Per 506.3.2, you measure at right angles from the closest interior lot line. But I can almost guarantee you will not see that kind of trick on the ARE. Even the IBC commentary doesn't explicitly discuss this angled condition.

[@jarretttrudeau2554]

Do the equations in this video still apply to the 2021 IBC?

[@HyperfineArchitecture]

Generally the same process, but the equations have changed from 2018 IBC. Here's a link to the 2021 IBC. Anything in blue is changed from a previous version. Note that the ARE is still on 2018 IBC as of September 2023. codes.iccsafe.org/content/IBC2021P2/chapter-5-general-building-heights-and-areas

[@emadnadi152]

Great

[@ricsoares8169]

I really hope a question this detailed is not in the PPD exam. Dam.

[@HyperfineArchitecture]

I think the entire thing might be a bit much, but you may have to use all these skills individually, or at least show an understanding of the concepts.

[@jamesontorraco3062]

How many decimals should you round to in any step of this equation? I noticed in the "F/P - 0.25" step, you rounded to two places for 0.41, but then for the final value of 'If' you ended the decimal at 3 places for 0.375 - is there a particular rule of where to stop? I saw your article online explaining that for calculations of building height, area and stories the rule of thumb is to always round down, so I understand that it was deliberate that 0.375833333 became 0.375 rather than 0.376, but my concern is that: if the 'If' variable in the Single Occupancy Multistory equation had been rounded as 0.37 instead of the longer 0.375, the final value of Aa for max total building area (as well as the max area of any story) would have come out different. Since every point could make a difference and some of the exam questions require you to type in an exact numeric answer, I just want to make sure I'm clear on this procedural stuff in case that could make a difference in them grading my final answer as correct. I don't know if they ever accept a 'range'

[@HyperfineArchitecture]

Hey Jameson, sorry for the super late reply. Best way to reach me is [e-mail] As for your question, I try to tell people to not lose sleep over rounding. The exam is written with some leeway (a range as you say) for these kinds of rounding, and if you have to actually type in a number they will generally tell you the format that's expected. My personal opinion (and I am not a test writer or don't have any secret knowledge) is that a difference of .001 or even .005 or even .05 is not going to be a problem. If you are supposed to have 14 risers and you round to 13, that's a problem. If your building is 37,595 sq. ft and you end up with 37,500 I don't think it's going to cause a miss. Just my $0.02. Do the math the best you can and move on to find more questions you know you can answer with certainty.

[@jamesontorraco3062]

@@HyperfineArchitecture That approach makes sense. Thank you for replying.

[@PicafloresOficial]

ty sir

[@asdfg1236061]

Why is the allowable area per floor larger than the land area?

[@HyperfineArchitecture]

The code doesn’t account for what the land area is. Your actual building size will be determined by code AND zoning. Different requirements for different goals. But buildings, especially in cities, can have a larger total floor area than the land on which they sit. Think about New York.

[@lenatherealtor]

Have you ever used the Graphic Standards subscription? Was it useful?

[@HyperfineArchitecture]

I have never used the Graphic Standards subscription, but I love my hard copy book. I do highly recommend the IBC commentary subscription for $10/month.

[@starwoodboo7893]

When calculating the "W" you use 20 and 30, but AHPP page 873 says "W/30 uses the space around the building of between 20 and 60 feet, confused need more explanation.

[@HyperfineArchitecture]

There are some exceptions that allow you to use W max of 60. Read the actual IBC, not AHPP.

[@barryballinger6023]

The thought of doing this on the whiteboard is dreadful.

[@aethylwulfeiii6502]

I prefer a chalk board for hand math.

[@HyperfineArchitecture]

I think this is too involved for the ARE. Good to know the concept, but I doubt you have to do all this on Whiteboard.

[@colegetev5759]

Why 3?

[@HyperfineArchitecture]

Watch the video. 5:07