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Chapter 7A — MATERIALS AND CONSTRUCTION

Section 702A

California Building Code (Title 24, Part 2) · 2019 edition · updated 2026-09-12 · California

Italicized text is a California amendment to the model code, as printed in the official publication.

DEFINITIONS

For the purposes of this chapter, certain terms are defined below:

CDF DIRECTOR means the Director of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

EXTERIOR COVERING. The exposed siding or cladding material applied to the exterior side of an exterior wall, roof eave soffit, floor projection or exposed underfloor framing.

FIRE PROTECTION PLAN is a document prepared for a specific project or development proposed for a Wildland Urban Interface Fire Area. It describes ways to minimize and mitigate potential for loss from wildfire exposure.

The Fire Protection Plan shall be in accordance with this chapter and the California Fire Code, Chapter 49. When required by the enforcing agency for the purposes of granting modifications, a fire protection plan shall be submitted. Only locally adopted ordinances that have been filed with the Cali- fornia Building Standards Commission or the Department of Housing and Community Development in accordance with Section 1.1.8 shall apply.

FIRE HAZARD SEVERITY ZONES are geographical areas designated pursuant to California Public Resources Codes Sections 4201 through 4204 and classified as Very High, High, or Moderate in State Responsibility Areas or as Local Agency Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones desig- nated pursuant to California Government Code, Sections 51175 through 51189. See California Fire Code Chapter 49.

The California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Section 1280, entitles the maps of these geographical areas as “Maps of the Fire Hazard Severity Zones in the State Responsibility Area of California.”

IGNITION-RESISTANT MATERIAL. A type of building material that resists ignition or sustained flaming combustion sufficiently so as to reduce losses from wildland-urban inter- face conflagrations under worst-case weather and fuel condi- tions with wildfire exposure of burning embers and small flames, as prescribed in Section 703A and SFM Standard 12- 7A-5, Ignition-Resistant Material.

LOCAL AGENCY VERY HIGH FIRE HAZARD SEVER- ITY ZONE means an area designated by a local agency upon the recommendation of the CDF Director pursuant to Govern- ment Code Sections 51177(c), 51178 and 5118 that is not a state responsibility area and where a local agency, city, county, city and county, or district is responsible for fire protection.

LOG WALL CONSTRUCTION. A type of construction in which exterior walls are constructed of solid wood members and where the smallest horizontal dimension of each solid wood member is at least 6 inches (152 mm).

RAFTER TAIL. The portion of roof rafter framing in a slop- ing roof assembly that projects beyond and overhangs an exterior wall.

ROOF EAVE. The lower portion of a sloping roof assembly that projects beyond and overhangs an exterior wall at the

296 2019 CALIFORNIA BUILDING CODE

Copyright © 2019 ICC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Accessed by Kevin Day (kevin.day@dgs.ca.gov), (California Building Standards Commission) Order Number #100735044 on Jul 24, 2019 03:54 PM (PDT) pursuant to License Agreement with ICC. No further reproduction or distribution authorized. Single user only, copying and networking prohibited. ANY UNAUTHORIZED REPRODUCTION OR DISTRIBUTION IS A VIOLATION OF THE FEDERAL COPYRIGHT ACT AND THE LICENSE AGREEMENT, AND SUBJECT TO CIVIL AND CRIMINAL PENALTIES THEREUNDER.

100735044

MATERIALS AND CONSTRUCTION METHODS FOR EXTERIOR WILDFIRE EXPOSURE

lower end of the rafter tails. Roof eaves may be either “open” or “enclosed.” Open roof eaves have exposed rafter tails and an unenclosed space on the underside of the roof deck. Enclosed roof eaves have a boxed-in roof eave soffit with a horizontal underside or sloping rafter tails with an exterior covering applied to the underside of the rafter tails.

ROOF EAVE SOFFIT. An enclosed boxed-in soffit under a roof eave with exterior covering material applied to the soffit framing creating a horizontal surface on the exposed under- side.

STATE RESPONSIBILITY AREA means lands that are classified by the Board of Forestry pursuant to Public Resources Code Section 4125 where the financial responsi- bility of preventing and suppressing forest fires is primarily the responsibility of the state.

WILDFIRE is any uncontrolled fire spreading through vege- tative fuels that threatens to destroy life, property, or resources as defined in Public Resources Code Sections 4103 and 4104.

WILDFIRE EXPOSURE is one or a combination of radiant heat, convective heat, direct flame contact and burning embers being projected by vegetation fire to a structure and its immediate environment.

WILDLAND-URBAN INTERFACE FIRE AREA is a geo- graphical area identified by the state as a “Fire Hazard Severity Zone” in accordance with the Public Resources Code Sections 4201 through 4204 and Government Code Sections 51175 through 51189, or other areas designated by the enforcing agency to be at a significant risk from wildfires.

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▸Contents — California Building Code (Title 24, Part 2)
California Building Code (Title 24, Part 2)
  1. Chapter 2 — DEFINITIONS AND ABBREVIATIONS
  2. Appendix G — FLOOD-RESISTANT
  3. Appendix L — EARTHQUAKE RECORDING
  4. Appendix M — TSUNAMI-GENERATED
  5. Chapter 1 — SCOPE AND ADMINISTRATION
  6. Chapter 3 — OCCUPANCY CLASSIFICATION AND USE
  7. Chapter 4 — SPECIAL DETAILED REQUIREMENTS BASED
  8. Chapter 5 — GENERAL BUILDING HEIGHTS AND AREAS
  9. Chapter 6 — TYPES OF CONSTRUCTION
  10. Chapter 7 — FIRE AND SMOKE PROTECTION FEATURES
  11. ▸Chapter 7A — MATERIALS AND CONSTRUCTION
    Overview
    1. Section 701A
    2. Section 702A
    3. Section 703A
    4. Section 704A
    5. Section 705A
    6. Section 706A
    7. Section 707A
    8. Section 708A
    9. Section 709A
    10. Section 710A
  12. Chapter 8 — INTERIOR FINISHES
  13. Chapter 9 — FIRE PROTECTION AND LIFE SAFETY SYSTEMS
  14. Chapter 10 — MEANS OF EGRESS
  15. Chapter 11A — HOUSING ACCESSIBILITY
  16. Chapter 11B — ACCESSIBILITY TO PUBLIC BUILDINGS, PUBLIC ACCOMM…
  17. Chapter 12 — INTERIOR ENVIRONMENT
  18. Chapter 14 — EXTERIOR WALLS
  19. Chapter 15 — ROOF ASSEMBLIES AND ROOFTOP STRUCTURES
  20. Chapter 16 — STRUCTURAL DESIGN
  21. Chapter 16A — STRUCTURAL DESIGN
  22. Chapter 17 — SPECIAL INSPECTIONS AND TESTS
  23. Chapter 18 — SOILS AND FOUNDATIONS
  24. Chapter 19 — CONCRETE
  25. Chapter 20 — ALUMINUM
  26. Chapter 21 — MASONRY
  27. Chapter 22 — STEEL
  28. Chapter 23 — WOOD
  29. Chapter 24 — GLASS AND GLAZING
  30. Chapter 25 — GYPSUM BOARD, GYPSUM PANEL PRODUCTS AND PLASTER
  31. Chapter 26 — PLASTIC
  32. Chapter 27 — ELECTRICAL
  33. Chapter 28 — MECHANICAL SYSTEMS
  34. Chapter 30 — ELEVATORS AND CONVEYING SYSTEMS
  35. Chapter 31 — SPECIAL CONSTRUCTION
  36. Chapter 31B — PUBLIC POOLS
  37. Chapter 31C — RADIATION
  38. Chapter 31D — FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS
  39. Chapter 31F — MARINE OIL TERMINALS
  40. Chapter 32 — ENCROACHMENTS INTO THE PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY
  41. Chapter 33 — SAFEGUARDS DURING CONSTRUCTION
  42. Chapter 35 — REFERENCED STANDARDS
  43. Appendix A — EMPLOYEE QUALIFICATIONS
  44. Appendix B — BOARD OF APPEALS
  45. Appendix C — GROUP U – AGRICULTURAL BUILDINGS
  46. Appendix D — FIRE DISTRICTS
  47. Appendix F — RODENTPROOFING
  48. Appendix H — SIGNS
  49. Appendix I — PATIO COVERS
  50. Appendix J — GRADING
  51. Appendix K — GROUP R-3 AND GROUP R-3.1 OCCUPANCIES
  52. Appendix N — REPLICABLE BUILDINGS
  53. Appendix O — EMERGENCY HOUSING

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