IDPX 2 - Codes and Standards

Question 1

What are the four stages of a product’s life cycle?

Answer 1

The stages of this process include

• raw material acquisition
• manufacturing
• use and maintenance
• disposal

Question 2

What is embodied engergy

Answer 2

This is the energy required by a product or material for its extraction as a raw material, initial processing, and subsequent manufacture into a finished product.

Question 3

In terms of its sustainability, what are the primary advantages and disadvantages of aluminum as a construction material?

Answer 3

This material has a high potentail for recycling, but it requires a large amount of energy for its manufacture.

Question 4

What are volatile organic compunds (VOCs)?

Answer 4

These are chemicals that contain carbon and hydrogen and that vaporize at room temperature and pressure.

Question 5

What are post-industrial (or pre-consumer) materials?

Answer 5

These are scrap or trim materials generated in the manufacturing process that have been recovered or diverted from solid waste.

Question 6

What does post-consumer mean?

Answer 6

This adjective describes a material or product that has served its intended use and has been recovered from waste destined for disposal.

Question 7

What is outgassing?

Answer 7

This is the release of toxic gases from a material, typically after the material has been installed.

Question 8

What is the primary concern related to indoor air quality and pain?

Answer 8

With this wall finish, the primary concern related to indoor air quality is the level of colatile organic compounds (VOCs)

Question 9

What is sustainable design?

Answer 9

This term encompasses the various strategies employed to achieve a balance between the consumption of environmental resources and the renewal of those resources throughout the entire life cycle of a building.

Question 10

What is the minimum diameter of a circle in which a wheelchair can turn?

Answer 10

The minimum diameter for this is 60in (1525mm).

Question 11

When a door is approached perpendicularly to its opening, what is the minimum amneuvering clearance for wheelchair access at the strike side of the door opening on the pull side of the door?

Answer 11

The minimum wheelchair maneuvering clearance in this situation is 18in (455mm).

Question 12

How high above the floor must a grab bar be mounted?

Answer 12

This accessibility feature must be mounted between 33in and 36in (840mm and 915mm) above the floor.

Question 13

What is the maximum allowable slope for an accessible ramp?

Answer 13

The maximum slope for this accessibility feature is 1 vertical unit for every 12 horizontal units, or 8.33%

Question 14

In addition to a specific diameter and mounting heigh, what other handrail feature is required on an accessible stairway?

Answer 14

On an accessible stairway, this feature must extend beyond the upper and lower risers.

Question 15

Where are detectable warnings required?

Answer 15

These are required on walking surfaces in front of hazardous vehicular areas.

Question 16

According to ADAAG regulations, what is the maximum vertical reach dimension for accessibility?

Answer 16

The maximum dimension for this, for either a front or side approach, is 48in (1220mm).

Under previous regulations, a 54in (1370mm) dimension was allowed for a side approach.

Question 17

What is the minimum clear floor space required to accommodate one stationary wheelchair?

Answer 17

The minimum clear floor space required for this is 30in x 48in (760mm x 1220mm).

Question 18

What is the minimum dimension for the space labeled A?

Answer 18

The minimum width for this passage is 32in (815mm).

Question 19

What is the minimum clear width of an accessible toilet stall?

Answer 19

60in (1525mm) is the minimum clear width for this accessibiltiy feature.

Question 20

To be classified as accessible, what is the maximum allowable vertical change in floor level?

Answer 20

To be classified as accessible, this construction element must not have a vertical change exceeding 1/4in (6mm).

Question 21

For an accessible ramp, what is the maximum rise allowed between landings?

Answer 21

For an accessible ramp, this must be no more than 30in (760mm).

Question 22

According to ADAAG regulations, what two types of alarms are required for accessibility?

Answer 22

ADAAG regulations require these to be both audible and visible.

Question 23

For a corridor in commercial construction, what minimum width is required, and what width is recommended?

Answer 23

The minimum width for this component of a space plan is 44in (1118mm), but a recommended width is 60in (1500mm).

Question 24

What are two sustainable types of wood flooring?

Answer 24

Two exampes of this are

• bamboo
• palm wood

Question 25

What does the Certificate of Occupancy (or Use and Occupancy) letter provide?

Answer 25

This letter is issued by the authority having jurisdiction and allows the client to occupy a building or portion of a building after the final inspection.

Question 26

What is the primary model building code used int eh United States?

Answer 26

The International Building Code (IBC) is the primary code for this.

Question 27

In the United States, what document gives jurisdictions the basic authority to adopt and enforce building codes?

Answer 27

The basic authority for this comes from the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It gives police power to the states, which in turn either use that authority to adopt codes or pass that authority on to local jurisdictions.

Question 28

What two types of product labels does Underwriters Laboratories (UL) provide?

Answer 28

The two types provided by this organization are

• listed labels
• classified labels

Question 29

What is the Steiner tunnel test, ASTM E84?

Answer 29

This is a standard test for determining the surface burning characteristics of finish materials and the smoke developed index of the same materials

Question 30

According to the International Buillding Code (IBC), what is a fire partition, and where is it used?

Answer 30

The IBC defines this as a wall assembly having a fire-resistance rating of one hour, used in

• walls separating dwelling units
• walls separating guest rooms in Group R-1, R-2, and I-I occupancies
• walls separating tenant spaces in covered malls
• corridor walls

Question 31

What two situations require the construction of a fire barrier?

Answer 31

This type of fire-resistance-rated wall is required as

• a separation where there are different occupancies
• an enclosure where there are vertical exits

Question 32

What is the maximum percentage of wall or ceiling area that combustible trim (such as trim made of wood) can occupy in a room?

Answer 32

In a room, this material type can occupy no more than 10% of a wall or ceiling area.

Question 33

What is an occupancy class, and what is it used for?

Answer 33

This is a usage classification assigned to a building or an interior space. It differentiates various types of fire hazards and the life-safety characteristics of various uses.

Question 34

What is an accessory occupancy?

Answer 34

This is a space or room that is used in conjunction with the main occupancy, but containing no more than 10% of the floor area of th emain occupancy.

Question 35

What is an incidental use area?

Answer 35

This is an area that is ancillary to the main occupancy, but has the same classification. It must be separated from the main occupancy by a fire barrier, be equipped with an automatic sprinkler system, or both.

Question 36

What is fire-resistance-rated glazing?

Answer 36

This is glass or some other glazing material that has been tested according to ASTM E119 as part of a fire-resistance-rated wall assembly.

Question 37

In regard to interior desing, what is a guard, and what dimension must it have in commercial construction?

Answer 37

This is a building ocmponent installed to prevent falls from an elevated area. Its requried minimum heigh is 42in (1067mm) above the floor.

Question 38

What are the three parts of a means of egress?

Answer 38

Its three parts are

• exit access
• exit
• exit discharge

Question 39

What is an exit passageway?

Answer 39

This is a horizontal, fully enclosed, fire-resistance-rated portionof an exit that is used only as a means of egress to an exit discharge or public way.

Question 40

What is an occupant load factor?

Answer 40

This is the amount of floor space that a bulding code presumes is occupied by one person in a particular occupancy.

Question 41

How is the occupant load of a space calculated?

Answer 41

To calculate this value for a space, the total area in square feet (or square meters) is divided byt he occupant load factor.

Question 42

What is a common path of egress travel?

Answer 42

This is the portion of an exit access that occupants are required to traverse before twoe separate and distinct paths of egress travel to two exits become available.

Question 43

What are the two main factors in determining if a space requires two exits rather than just one?

Answer 43

The two main factors that determine how many of these are required are the space’s occupancy and its occupant load.

Question 44

In a building that has been fully equipped with sprinklers, when two exits are required in a space, what is the minimum spearation required?

Answer 44

The minimum separation required is one-third the diagonal distance of the space.

Question 45

What is an exit access travel distance?

Answer 45

This is the distance an occupant must travel from the most remote point within a building to the entrance of the nearest exit.

Question 46

How is minimum exit width calculated?

Answer 46

This is calculated by multiplying the occupant load of a space by the appropriate factor given in the building code.

Question 47

For an occupant load greater than 50, what is the absolute minimum corridor width?

Answer 47

In this instance, the minimum corridor width is 44in (1118m).

Question 48

Within a means of egress system, what are exit access areas?

Answer 48

Within a means of egress system, these are areas that do not provide a protected path of travel and which lead to the entrance of an exit.

In the International Building Code (IBC), even fire-rated corridors are included in this categroy.

Question 49

What is the maximum allowable projection of a door into a corridor when the door is fully opened?

Answer 49

The maximum allowable projection is 7in (178mm).

Question 50

What is the minimum clear width of an exit door?

Answer 50

The minimum clear width is 32in (813mm).

Question 51

In commercial construction, what is the maximum height of a stair riser, and what is the minimum depth of a stair tread?

Answer 51

The maximum height of the former is 7in (178mm), and the minimum depth of hte latter is 11in (279mm).

Question 52

What is an area of refuge?

Answer 52

This is an area of building where persons unable to use stairways can safely await instructions or assistance during and emergency evacuation.

Question 53

If an object is between 27in (685mm) and 80in (2030mm) above the floor, what is the maximum allowable protrusion of that object from the wall?

Answer 53

Under these conditions, an object must not protrude more than 4in (100mm) from a wall.

Question 54

What are two types of glaing that can be used in hazardous locations, and what test must they pass?

Answer 54

Two materials that can be sued for this applicationa re tempered glass and laminate glass, but only if they pass teh testing requirements of 16 CFR 1201, Category II.

Question 55

In regards to building codes, what are reference standards?

Answer 55

These are standards written by standards-writing organizations (rather than by the authors of a particular building code) thata are made part of a code by specific reference.

Question 56

What is a public way?

Answer 56

This is any street, alley, or similar parcel of land unobstructed from the ground to the sky that is at least 10ft (3048mm) wide and permanently appropriated to the public.

Question 57

Under what conditions would a wood veneer not have to adhere to flame spread requirements?

Answer 57

When a wood veneer is less than 0.036in (0.9mm) thick and applied to a noncombustible material, these requirements do not apply.