Planning, Development & Transportation Services Community Development & Neighborhood Services 281 North College Avenue P.O. Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522.0580 970.416.2740 970.224.6134- fax fcgov.com Fort Collins Amendments to the 2009 International Mechanical Code Bold underlined texts represents Green Code Amendments which become effective January 1, 2012 Municipal Code Sec. 5-107 Amendments and deletions to code The 2009 INTERNATIONAL MECHANICAL CODE adopted herein is hereby amended in the following respects: 101.1 Title. These regulations shall be known as the Mechanical Code of the City of Fort Collins, hereinafter referred to as this code. Section 102.8 Referenced codes and standards, is amended to read as follows: Section 102.8 reference codes and standards The codes and standards referenced herein shall be those that are listed in Section 101.4, entitled Referenced Codes of the adopted International Building Code and shall be considered part of the requirements of this code to the prescribed extent of each such reference. Where differences occur between provisions of this code and referenced codes and standards, the provisions of this code shall apply. Section 103 Department of Mechanical Inspection is hereby amended in its entirety to read as follows: SECTION 103 CODE ADMINISTRATION 103.1 Entity charged with code administration shall be as determined in accordance with Section 103, entitled Code Administration of the adopted International Building Code. Section 106.5 Fees is hereby amended in its entirety to read as follows: SECTION 106.5 FEES 106.5 Payment of fees. All items relating to fees shall be as specified and in accordance with Section 109, entitled Fees of the adopted International Building Code. Section 106.5.1 Work commencing before permit issuance is amended to read as follows:
Section 106.5.1 Work commencing before permit issuance. In addition to penalties set forth in Section 108.4, any person or firm who, before obtaining the necessary permit(s), commences any construction of, or work on, a building, structure, electrical, gas, mechanical or plumbing system that is not otherwise exempted from obtaining a permit, shall be subject to a processing and penalty fee in addition to the standard prescribed permit fee. Such additional fee shall be equal to the permit fee, except that such fee shall not be less than $50 nor more than $1,000 for the first such violation. A person or firm committing the same such violation repeatedly is subject to processing and penalty fees equal to double the amount of the permit fee or double the amount of the preceding violation, whichever is greater, for every same such violation committed thereafter within any 180-day period. The foregoing fees may be appealed to the City Manager pursuant to Chapter 2, Article VI of the Code of the City. Section 107.3 Testing and Verification is hereby amended to read as follows: 107.3 Testing and verification. Mechanical systems shall be tested and performance verified as required in this code and in accordance with Section 107.3.1 through 107.3.3. Installed heating, cooling and ventilation systems shall be performance-tested by an approved agency and adjusted to operate within design specifications, in accordance with ANSI/ACCA QI 5-2007 HVAC Quality Installation Specification. Documentation of results shall be submitted to the Building Official prior to approval. Exception: Buildings subject to commissioning requirements in Section 3604.1 of the 2009 International Building Code as amended. Section 108.4 Violation Penalties, is hereby amended to read as follows: 108.4 Violation penalties. Any person who violates a provision of this code or fails to comply with any of the requirements thereof or who erects, constructs, alters or repairs a building or structure in violation of the approved construction documents or directive of the building official, or of a permit or certificate issued under the provisions of this code, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor subject to the penalties and fines pursuant to Section 1-15 of the Code of the City, punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000.00 dollars, or by imprisonment not exceeding 180 days, or both such fine and imprisonment. Each day that a violation continues after due notice has been served shall be deemed a separate offense. Section 109 Means of Appeal is hereby amended in its entirety to read as follows: 109.1 General. Appeals of decisions, determinations and interpretations of this code shall be made pursuant to applicable provisions as set forth in Section 113, entitled Board of Appeals of the adopted International Building Code. Section 202 GENERAL DEFINITIONS, is hereby amended to add the following definitions in alphabetical sequence as follows: MULTIFAMILY. Any building housing group R-1, R-2 or R-4 occupancies Section 407 Whole Dwelling Unit Ventilation is hereby added to read as follows: - 2 -
SECTION 407 WHOLE-DWELLING UNIT VENTILATION. 407.1 Whole-dwelling unit ventilation. For new buildings, a mechanical exhaust system, supply system, or combination thereof shall be installed for each dwelling unit to provide whole-dwelling unit ventilation. Such system shall comply with Sections 407.1.1 through 407.5. 407.1.1 Whole-dwelling unit ventilation rate. The mechanical ventilation system shall provide outdoor air at no less than the rate specified in Table IRC M1507.4.1.1. TABLE 407.1.1.1 DWELLING UNIT VENTILATION AIR REQUIREMENTS, CFM 1 CONDITIONED NUMBER OF BEDROOMS FLOOR AREA (square feet) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 > 7 < 1,500 30 45 60 75 90 1,501 3,000 45 60 75 90 105 3,001 4,500 60 75 90 105 120 4,501 6,000 75 90 105 120 135 6,001 7,500 90 105 120 135 150 > 7,500 105 120 135 150 165 1. Equation M1507.4.1 can be used as an alternative to Table M1507.4.1.1 Equation M1507.4.1: Q fan = 0.01A floor + 7.5(N br + 1) Where: Q fan = fan flow rate in cubic feet per minute (cfm). A floor = conditioned floor area in square feet (ft 2 ). N br = number of bedrooms; not to be less than one. 407.2 System design. The design of the required whole dwelling unit ventilation system shall comply with the requirements of this Section. System design documents shall be submitted, as required by the Building Official, at the time of application for a building permit. 407.2.1 System type. The system shall consist of one or more supply or exhaust fans, or a combination thereof, and associated ducts and controls. Exhaust fans shall be permitted to be part of a mechanical exhaust system. Outdoor air ducts connected to the return duct of a forced air furnace shall be sized to provide adequate mechanical ventilation in accordance with ASHRAE 62.2 and shall meet the manufacturer s requirements for minimum return air temperature to the furnace heat exchange. 407.2.2 Outdoor air intakes. Outdoor air intakes shall have automatic dampers that close when the ventilation system is not operating. - 3 -
407.2.3. Exhausts. Exhausts shall have gravity dampers that close when the ventilation system is not operating. 407.2.4 Air Circulation fan motors. Motors for air circulation fans used in the ventilation system, rated at one-quarter horsepower or greater, shall meet at least one of the following criteria: 1. Where the furnace serves as an air handler for the ventilation system, the furnace shall be certified as an Electrically Efficient Furnace by the Airconditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI). 2. The blower motor shall be specified as a Brushless DC (BL or BLDC) motor by the manufacturer. 3. The blower motor shall be specified as Brushless Permanent Magnet (BPM) motor. 4. The blower motor shall be specified as Electronically Commutated Motor (ECM). 5. The blower shall meet equivalent criteria acceptable to the Building Official. 407.2.5 System controls. The mechanical ventilation system shall be provided with readily accessible and labeled controls that enable occupant override. 407.2.6 Sound ratings for fans. Whole-building ventilation fans shall be rated for sound at a maximum of 1.0 sones, in accordance with the procedures of the Home Ventilating. Institute (HVI 915, Procedure for Loudness Rating of Residential Fan Products). Exception: Heating, ventilating and air conditioning air handlers and remotemounted fans need not meet sound requirements. To be considered for this exception, a remote-mounted fan must be mounted outside the habitable spaces, bathrooms, toilets and hallways, and there must be at least 4 ft (1 m) of ductwork between the fan and the intake grille. 407.3 System installation. The installation of the whole-dwelling unit ventilation system and equipment shall be carried out in accordance with the manufacturers design requirements and installation instructions. 407.4 Performance verification. Performance of installed mechanical ventilation systems shall be verified in accordance with Section 107.3. 407.5 Multifamily buildings. In multifamily buildings, all doors between dwelling units and common hallways shall be gasketed or otherwise substantially airtight with weather stripping, except when the ventilation system explicitly requires transfer air from corridors into units. Section 504.1 Installation is hereby amended by deleting the exception: - 4 -
504.1 Installation. Clothes dryers shall be exhausted in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions. Dryer exhaust systems shall be independent of all other systems and shall convey the moisture and any products of combustion to the outside of the building. Exception: This section shall not apply to listed and labeled condensing (ductless) clothes dryers. Section 504.6.4.2 Manufacturer s instructions, is amended by deleting in its entirety: 504.6.4.2 Manufacturer s instructions. The maximum length of the exhaust duct shall be determined by the dryer manufacturer s installation instructions. The code official shall be provided with a copy of the installation instructions for the make and model of the dryer. Where the exhaust duct is to be concealed, the installation instructions shall be provided to the code official prior to the concealment inspection. In the absence of fitting equivalent length calculations from the clothes dryer manufacturer, Table 504.6.4.1 shall be used. Section 506.3.10.4 Duct enclosure not required is hereby amended by deleting in its entirety; 506.3.10.4 Duct enclosure not required. A duct enclosure shall not be required for a grease duct that penetrates only a non fire-resistance-rated roof/ceiling assembly. Section 512.1 General is hereby amended to read as follows: 512.1 General. When a subslab soil exhaust system is provided, the duct for such system shall conform to the requirements of Section 1211, entitled Radon-Resistant Construction of the adopted International Building Code. Section 602.3 Stud cavity and joist space plenums, is hereby amended by adding item #6 to read as follows: 6. Such cavities shall be tested for air-tightness in accordance with Section 403.2.2, entitled Sealing of the adopted International Energy Conservation Code. Section 603.18 Construction debris and contamination is hereby added to read as follows: 603.18 Construction debris and contamination. Mechanical air-handling systems and their related ducts shall be protected from the entrance of dirt, debris, and dust during the construction and installation process. Prior to passing final inspection or issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy, such systems shall be substantially free of construction-related contaminants. Section 607.4 Access and identification is hereby amended to read as follows: 607.4. Fire and smoke dampers shall be provided with an approved means of access, large enough to permit inspection and maintenance of the damper and its operating parts. The access shall not affect the integrity of fire-resistance-rated assemblies. The access openings shall not reduce the fire-resistance-rating of the assembly. Access points shall be permanently identified on the exterior of the damper and located without the removal of - 5 -
finish ceiling works by a label having red letters not less than 0.5 inch (12.7 mm) in height reading: SMOKE DAMPER or FIRE DAMPER. Access doors in ducts shall be tight-fitting and suitable for the required duct construction. Section 801.19 Multi-story prohibited is hereby amended to read as follows: 801.19 Multi-story prohibited. Common venting systems for appliances located on more than one floor level shall be prohibited, except engineered systems where all of the appliances served by the common vent are located in rooms or spaces that are accessed only from the outdoors. The appliance enclosures shall not communicate with the occupiable areas of the building. Section 903.1.1 Solid fuel fireplaces and appliances is added to read as follows: 903.1.1 Solid fuel fireplaces and appliances. Solid fuel fireplaces, fireplace stoves and solid-fuel-type room heaters shall also comply with Section 5-110 of the Code of the City. Section 903.3 Unvented gas logs heaters, is deleted in its entirety: 903.3 Unvented gas log heaters. An unvented gas log heater shall not be installed in a factorybuilt fireplace unless the fireplace system has been specifically tested, listed and labeled for such use in accordance with UL 127. - 6 -