Code Briefs

The intent of this brief is to provide code-related information for aerosol sealing building enclosures to achieve durable air tightness levels that will be accepted as being in compliance with the code.

Air sealing and insulating attic knee walls to code.

This brief provides an overview of the 2009 through 2015 IRC/IECC code requirements related to air sealing and insulating attached garage walls.

The intent of this brief is to provide code-related information about buried ducts in vented attics to help ensure that the measure will be accepted as being in compliance with the code. Providing notes for code officials on how to plan review and conduct field inspections can help provide jurisdictional officials with information for acceptance. Providing the same information to all builders, designers, and others is expected to result in increased compliance and fewer innovations being questioned at the time of plan review and/or field inspection.

The intent of this brief is to provide code-related information about controlling moisture in unvented attics by installing a vapor diffusion port/vent that would convey water vapor from an unvented attic to the outside when air-permeable insulation materials are installed and can be verified as being in compliance with the related codes and standards for residential construction. Providing consistent information to document compliance with codes and standards to all relevant parties responsible for verifying compliance (e.g., code officials, builders, contractors, designers, etc.) is expected to result in increased compliance and more timely, less challenging and more uniform plan review and field inspections.

Code compliance brief describing glazing requirements added to the residential portion of the IECC and the IRC in 2015.

New language in the 2015 IECC allows different installation of insulation in floors over unconditioned spaces.

The intent of this brief is to provide code-related information about gas-fired boilers to help ensure that the measure will be accepted as being in compliance with the code. Providing notes for code officials on how to plan reviews and conduct field inspections can help builders or remodelers...

The intent of this brief is to provide code-related information about insulated interior/exterior wall intersections to help ensure that the feature will be accepted as being in compliance with the code.

Code-related information about recessed lighting.

The intent of this brief is to provide code-related information about sealing and insulating crawl space walls in existing residential buildings to help ensure that the measures will be accepted as being in compliance with the code. Providing the same information to all interested parties (e.g., code officials, builders, contractors, designers, etc.) is expected to result in increased compliance and fewer innovations being questioned at the time of plan review and/or field inspection.

The intent of this brief is to provide code-related information about sealing and insulating existing walls in existing residential buildings to help ensure that the measures will be accepted as being in compliance with the code. Providing notes for code officials on how to conduct plan reviews and field inspections can provide jurisdictional officials with information for acceptance. Providing the same information to builders, contractors, designers, and others is expected to result in increased compliance and fewer innovations being questioned at the time of plan review and/or field inspection.

From a model code perspective, submittal of construction documentation, permitting, plan review, and field inspection may be required depending upon the specific details of renovating the floor above an unconditioned space (e.g., floor over a vented crawl space). Several different approaches can be taken to seal and insulate existing floors during a renovation project.

The intent of this brief is to provide code-related information about sealing and insulating existing vented attics to help ensure that the measure will be accepted as being in compliance with the code. Providing the same information to all interested parties (e.g., code officials, builders, contractors, designers, etc.) is expected to result in increased compliance and fewer innovations being questioned at the time of plan review and/or field inspection.

The intent of this brief is to provide code-related information about properly sealing heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) register boots to help ensure that what is proposed regarding sealing the register boot will be accepted as being in compliance with the code. Providing consistent information to document compliance with codes and standards to all relevant parties responsible for verifying with those codes and standards (e.g., code officials, builders, contractors, designers, etc.) is expected to result in increased compliance and more timely, less challenging and more uniform plan review and field inspections.