Building codes & construction
Type V construction
Wood light-frame construction — V-A (one-hour protected) or V-B (unprotected). The cheapest structural class; tops out around four stories for sprinklered R-2.
Definition
Type V is the California Building Code's least restrictive construction class: structural elements may be any code-permitted material, which in practice means light wood framing. Type V-A requires one-hour fire protection of the structural frame, bearing walls and floors; Type V-B leaves them unprotected. It is the cheapest way to build — and it carries the lowest height and area allowances: for a sprinklered R-2 building, Type V-A generally tops out at four stories and Type V-B at three.
Why it matters in an underwrite
Garden apartments, small infill buildings and most ADUs are Type V because nothing else pencils at that scale. The four-story ceiling is the strategic fact: a fifth residential story means stepping up to Type III-A (fire-retardant-treated exterior walls) or onto a podium, each with real cost. Between the variants, V-B saves rated-assembly cost but gives up a story and area relative to V-A — small buildings often take that trade deliberately.
Sources & related guides
See also
See the term in the law itself
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Last reviewed 2026-07-29. General information, not legal advice.