Building codes and standards
Building codes
Building codes are performance and prescriptive requirements for building construction—including
roofs—that are established and enforced by state or local government agencies
to ensure public safety, health and welfare in commercial and industrial buildings.
Individual state and federal government agencies generally are free to adopt their
own codes; however, most adopt model building codes that are developed and maintained
by one of the following model code groups:
- The International
Code Council (ICC) publishes the International Building Code, 2006 Edition;
International Residential Code, 2006 Edition; and other related building
code publications. The following documents summarize the roofing-related provisions
in ICC's building and residential codes.
- The National Fire Protection
Association (NFPA) publishes NFPA 5000—Building and Construction Safety
Code, and other building code relatd publications. The following documents
summarize the roofing related provisions of NFPA 5000.
Standards
Standards prescribe levels of acceptability or approved modes to be used in building
construction (including roofs) as bases of comparison. Test standards prescribe
test methods and, sometimes, minimum acceptable results. Rating standards establish
measurement methods to ensure similar products can be compared on the same bases.
Design standards are minimum criteria that are applied to particular aspects of
building and/or roof system design. The following are standards organizations that
maintain standards affecting the roofing industry.