The second round

As development of the 2024 I-Codes continues, NRCA monitors progress and actively participates in developing the codes’ roofing-related provisions. Following is a brief update about the status of the 2024 I-Codes.

Group A

The International Code Council® has split its development process for the 2024 I-Codes into two groups: Group A, which occurred in 2021, and Group B, which occurs this year. Although most of the roofing-related content in the International Building Code®’s Chapter 15-Roof Assemblies and Rooftop Structures and International Residential Code®’s Chapter 9-Roof Assemblies falls within Group B, several roofing-related topics were addressed in Group A, including attic ventilation, rooftop occupancy requirements, the plumbing code’s roof drainage requirements and the fire code.

At ICC’s Group A committee action hearings, which were held online April 11-May 5, 2021, more than 1,250 code change proposals were considered. Thirty-two proposals directly applied to roof assembly design and installation.

ICC held its Group A public comment hearings Sept. 21-25, 2021. The hearings offered proponents of code changes and other interested parties an opportunity to attempt to amend or overturn the committees’ recommendations from the committee action hearings. The public comment hearings had 339 code change proposals on the agenda. Six proposals from NRCA’s roofing-specific watchlist were on the agenda, and four were approved during the public comment hearings.

Code Change S10 provides IBC code requirements for raised deck paver walkways, such as pavers on raised pedestals. Previously, the code did not specifically address these assemblies, which sometimes resulted in inconsistent interpretations of the code’s requirements.

Code Change G20 establishes occupant load and exit and egress requirements for occupiable roofs, such as vegetative roofs with assembly areas and rooftop patios and terraces. Previously, IBC had limited requirements applicable to occupied roofs and, as a result, interpretations varied.

Code Change F15 differentiates between vegetative roofs and landscaped roofs in the IBC and International Fire Code.® With this code change, a landscaped roof is a localized area on a roof that includes landscape planters, vegetation and hardscape. A vegetative roof is a roof assembly with vegetation throughout. IBC and IFC previously used the two terms interchangeably, which sometimes resulted in confusion and inconsistent interpretations.

Code Change WUIC15 as it applies to the International Wildland-Urban Interface Code® requires vents, including attic intake and exhaust vents, to be tested for entry of burning embers and direct flame impingement or meet specific prescriptive criteria.

From Oct. 15-Nov. 1, 2021, ICC held its online governmental consensus vote to ratify the decisions resulting from the public comment hearings. The published results of the online governmental consensus vote show ICC’s code official members ratified all but four of the decisions. None of the four code change proposals overturned by the online governmental consensus vote were on NRCA’s roofing-specific watchlist.

Group B

ICC’s Group B covers most of the requirements in IBC’s Chapter 15, IRC’s Chapter 9 and the International Existing Building Code.® Reroofing is addressed in IEBC’s Chapter 7-Alterations-Level 1.

The deadline for submitting Group B code change proposals was Jan. 10. NRCA submitted 29 code change proposals to IBC, IRC and IEBC. Several manufacturers and other roofing associations also submitted Group B code change proposals.

ICC published its monograph of Group B code change proposal submissions on its website, iccsafe.org, Feb. 23.

ICC’s Group B committee action hearings will be held March 27-April 6. ICC’s Group B public comment hearings will be held Sept. 14-21 in conjunction with ICC’s annual conference. The Group B online governmental consensus vote will start about two weeks after the conclusion of the public comment hearings and be open for two weeks.

The code change proposals already approved during ICC’s Group A and those that will be approved during the Group B process will be published as the 2024 I-Codes in mid-2023. The 2024 I-Codes are intended for first adoption by state and local jurisdictions no earlier than 2024.

Closing thoughts

NRCA has been an active participant in ICC’s code development process since its inception in the late 1990s. NRCA also participated in the code development processes of the legacy model codes since they first included roofing-specific chapters in the mid-1980s. I have represented NRCA at the legacy codes’ and ICC’s code development processes since 1993.

NRCA members can direct code-related questions to NRCA’s Technical Services Section at (847) 299-9070, option 4, or nrcatechnical@nrca.net.

MARK S. GRAHAM is NRCA’s vice president of technical services.

@MarkGrahamNRCA

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