Dear respndezboo-ga;
Thank you for allowing me an opportunity to answer your interesting
question.
With regard to decks, balconies, stairs, landings, etc. the “2001
CALIFORNIA BUILDING CODE" TITLE 24 (CBC) SECTION 509.3 OPENINGS,
states:
"Open guardrails shall have intermediate rails or an ornamental
pattern such that a sphere 4 inches in diameter cannot pass through".
Referring back to SECTION 509.1, you can clearly see that this only
applies where the deck is greater than 30" above grade or the floor
below "WHERE REQUIRED":
“Section 509.1 of the California Building Code is amended to read as
follows:
“509.1 WHERE REQUIRED. Unenclosed floor and roof openings, open and
glazed sides of stairways, aisles, landings and ramps, balconies or
porches, which are more than 30 inches above grade or floor below,
openable windows whose sill height is less than the required height of
a guardrail, and roofs used for other than service of the building
shall be protected by a guardrail.”
To further confirm this and to supply the historical information your
requested, I visited this official inspection document. As we read in
the code, the terms “balcony”, “landing”, etc. are used synonymously
and interchangeably with the term “deck” for the purposes of this
statute. In addition, the term “baluster” if often referred to as
“intermediate rail” as you will see by examining an actual inspector’s
checklist document:
CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH
RESIDENTIAL BUILDING RECORD INSPECTION CHECKLIST
http://www.city.newport-beach.ca.us/Building/rbr_correction.pdf
Which says in part under item #5:
“5. Intermediate rails for guardrails, at stairs, balconies or
landings and for vertical pool fencing shall not be greater than ____
inches apart”
Shown below this statement are the Inspector’s guidelines for filling
in the blank, refering directly to the history of this regulation and
answering your question most definitively complete with references and
citation. To paraphrase, it states:
4”, after June 8, 1992 see 2001 CBC 509.3
6”, before June 8, 1992, see 88 UBC Section 1711
9” before April 9, 1990, see 79 UBC Section 1716
This means that prior to being amended on April 9, 1990, the code
permitted balusters to be constructed up to nine inches apart. When
the code changed on April 9, 1990 however, the new maximum spacing was
decreased to six inches. Upon amending the regulation again on June 8,
1992, the maximum acceptable distance between balusters on all new
construction was reduced again to four inches.
Ini searching further I also called the “Building Standards
Commission”:
Building Standards Commission
2525 Natomas Park Drive, Suite 130
Sacramento, CA 95833
Phone: (916) 263-0916
Fax: (916) 263-0959
Email: cbsc@dgs.ca.gov
They, in turn referred me to the “California Department of Housing and
Community Development”:
The Department of Housing and Community Development
P. O. Box 952054
Sacramento, CA 94252-2054
(916) 445-9471
http://www.hcd.ca.gov/
I was told by this agency to encourage you to also check with your
local officials regarding the spacing of balusters as the local
agencies may, at their discretion, impose stricter requirements that
those mandated by state law.
To further verify that this regulation information is correct, you may
contact the “California Department of Housing and Community
Development” (HCD). The DHCD can be reached by e-mail via their
website at www.hcd.ca.gov/comments, or (916) 445-9471.
To verify the history of the code you can contact: Government
Information Center,
San Francisco Public Library, 100 Larkin Street, San Francisco, CA
94102
http://sfpl4.sfpl.org/gic/gic6.htm
Or visit the “History of California Building Codes” page on the
“California Standards Commission” web site at:
http://www.bsc.ca.gov/abt_bsc/abt_hstry.html
Again, I cannot stress this enough: Please be sure to contact your
local government and inquire about local regulations as well since
they may enforce a prohibitive ordinance or a somewhat stricter code
than that imposed by State law.
I hope you find that that my research exceeds your expectations. If
you have any questions about my research please post a clarification
request prior to rating the answer. I welcome your rating and your
final comments and I look forward to working with you again in the
near future. Thank you for bringing your question to us.
Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga
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* SUPPORTING QUOTES ON THIS ISSUE *
“On ballusters (sic) the technique used around here is the four inch
ball. The inspector carries a four inch sphere and if it slips between
any opening in the railing you fail.”
Taken from a post on THE JUNKYARD ARCHIVE
http://www.keenjunk.com/_junkyard/jp0002_4.htm
“THE BUILDING CODES NOW REQUIRE THAT A FOUR-INCH SPHERE SHOULD NOT
PASS THROUGH THE RAIL OPENINGS”
ARIF MANSURI - VICE PRESIDENT AND GENERAL MANAGER OF TUBULAR
SPECIALITIES MANUFACTURING.
Taken directly from the transcript of testimony before the US
Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board in a public
hearing on the “American’s With Disabilities Act” (ADA)
Dated Monday, Jan. 31, 2000, 9:40 A.M.
Marriott Hotel
Los Angeles, California
http://www.access-board.gov/ada-aba/LAestimony.htm
-------------------------------------------------------
* INFORMATION SOURCES *
CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH
http://www.city.newport-beach.ca.us/
CALIFORNIA BUILDING STANDARDS COMMISSION
http://www.bsc.ca.gov/
THE JUNKYARD ARCHIVE
http://www.keenjunk.com/_junkyard/jp0002_4.htm
TESTIMONY BEFORE THE U.S. ARCHITECTURAL AND TRANSPORTATION BARRIERS
COMPLIANCE BOARD
PUBLIC HEARING ON THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (ADA)
http://www.access-board.gov/ada-aba/LAestimony.htm
CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT (HCD).
Http://www.hcd.ca.gov/
GOVERNMENT INFOMRATION CENTER
SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC LIBRARY
http://sfpl4.sfpl.org/gic/gic6.htm
-------------------------------------------------------
* RECOMMENDED READING *
“2001 California Building Code Title 24, Part 2, Volume 1”
“Part 2, Volume 1 contains administrative, fire- and life-safety, and
field inspection provisions, including all nonstructural provisions
and those structural provisions necessary for field inspections. Part
2, Volume 1 comes fully integrated with the 1997 Uniform Building
Code, Volume 1 in a custom binder and includes a subscription service
to provide all updates, erratas and supplements from the State of
California.” - $112.50
ISBN: NB12530644 – loose leaf
STACY’S BOOKSTORE – PROFESSIONAL CODE BOOKS
http://www.staceys.com/codes/codes-california.html
“2001 California Building Code Title 24, Part 2, Volume 2”
“Part 2, Volume 2 contains provisions for structural engineering
design. It comes fully integrated with the 1997 Uniform Building Code,
Volume 2 in a custom binder and includes a subscription service to
provide all updates, erratas and supplements from the State of
California.” - $112.50
ISBN: NB12530645 – loose leaf
STACY’S BOOKSTORE – PROFESSIONAL CODE BOOKS
http://www.staceys.com/codes/codes-california.html
-------------------------------------------------------
* SEARCH STRATEGY *
SEARCH ENGINE USED:
Google ://www.google.com
-------------------------------------------------------
* SEARCH TERMS USED *
CALIFORNIA BUILDING CODES
“CALIFORNIA BUILDING CODE”
CALIFORNIA BUILDING REGULATIONS
“CALIFORNIA BUILDING CODE” HISTORY
“CALIFORNIA BUILDING CODE” “SECTION 509.1”
“CALIFORNIA BUILDING CODE” “SECTION 509.3”
“CALIFORNIA BUILDING CODE” BALUSTERS
“CALIFORNIA BUILDING CODE” DECKS
CALIFORNIA BUILDING STANDARDS
CALIFORNIA UNIFORM BUILDING
CALIFORNIA UNIFORMED BUILDING |
