Let in the Sun: 2005 IRC to Include Sunroom Spec

AAMA ANALYSIS
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Let in the Sun
2015 IRC to Include Sunroom Spec
BY
ast fall the International Code
Council (ICC) voted to adopt
AAMA/NPEA/NSA 2100-12,
Specification for Sunrooms, into the
2015 International Residential
Code (IRC). The specification,
cosponsored by AAMA, the
National
Patio
Enclosure
Association (NPEA) and the
National Sunroom Association
(NSA), establishes minimum performance requirements for residential sunrooms (including sunspaces, conservatories, patio enclosures, patio covers, porch enclosures and other related structures)
and the fenestration products used
in their assembly, as built from all
framing materials.
DEAN
LEWIS
L
Lack of Specifications
In its advocacy to the ICC for
adoption of the standard, AAMA
pointed out that prior editions of
the IRC had only addressed sunrooms consisting of typical wood
framing techniques. There were no
provisions for using a stick system
consisting of prefabricated framing
of aluminum, fiberglass, wood or
other materials, with glass or
opaque wall or roof panels and
steel or aluminum connections,
other than by engineering analysis
or other means of demonstrating
equivalency with the IRC.
The lack of definitive specifications and code requirements that
specifically address the full spectrum of sunroom designs had
created confusion in the construction community, as building
officials and industry members
alike struggled to apply unrelated
code definitions and requirements to sunrooms.
Sunroom Categories
The standard establishes five different categories of sunrooms
based upon the intended use of the
space and defines specific design
criteria for each:
• Category I is defined as a nonhabitable, non-conditioned sunroom, thermally isolated from the
primary structure, with walls that
are either open or enclosed with
insect screening or plastic film;
• Category II is defined as a nonhabitable, non-conditioned sunroom, also thermally isolated
from the primary structure but
with enclosed walls with openings glazed with translucent or
transparent plastic or glass;
• Category III is essentially the
same as Category II, except the
fenestration complies with additional requirements for resistance to air infiltration and water
penetration;
• Category IV is defined as a thermally isolated and non-habitable structure with enclosed
walls, but conditioned (heated
and/or cooled) by a separate
temperature control.
• Category V is designed to be heated and/or cooled and is open to
the main structure. It is subject to
additional requirements for air
infiltration resistance, water penetration resistance and thermal
performance.
Each category has specified
structural requirements for wind
loads, dead loads, roof snow loads,
live loads and seismic loads, roof
load safety factor and maximum
deflection of structural members
and panels. These requirements
reference specified sections of the
IRC or ASCE/SEI 7, Minimum
Design Loads for Buildings and
Other Structures, as appropriate.
The document also establishes
specific parameters for a test structure, including minimum depth,
width, slope of roof, etc.
Why the Standard is Needed
The new reference to the specification is expected to make permit
review and inspection of the various
types of sunrooms a much smoother
process because it makes clarifies
those portions of the code that apply
to the five sunroom categories.
Although the AAMA/NPEA/NSA
2100-12 document won’t appear in
the IRC until the publication of the
2015 code is finalized, the industry
plans to begin referencing the sunroom categories in permit applications to familiarize contractors
and building officials with the
requirements.
❙
Dean Lewis serves as educational and
technical information manager for the
American Architectural Manufacturers
Association in Schaumburg, Ill.
©2014 Door & Window Market Magazine, 540/720-5584, www.dwmmag.com, All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.
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