Chapter 2 — DEFINITIONS

Adopting agency	BSC	BSC- CG	SFM	HCD			DSA			OSHPD						BSCC	DPH	AGR	DWR	CA	SL	SLC
Adopting agency	BSC	BSC- CG	SFM	1	2	1-AC	AC	SS	SS/CC	1	1R	2	3	4	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5
Adopt entire chapter			X
Adopt entire chapter as amended (amended sections listed below)
Adopt only those sections that are listed below								S	A	M	P	L	E
Chapter/Section

Adopt the entire IEBC chapter as amended, state-amended sections are listed below:

If there is an “X” under a particular state agency’s acronym on this row, it means that particular state agency has adopted the entire model code chapter; with state amendments.

Each state-amended section that the agency has added to that particular chapter is listed. There will be an “X” in the column, by that particular section, under the agency’s acronym, as well as an “X” by each section that the agency has adopted.

Example:

CHAPTER 2 – DEFINITIONS

vi 2019 CALIFORNIA EXISTING 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.

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Adopt only those sections that are listed below:

If there is an “X” under a particular state agency’s acronym on this row, it means that particular state agency is adopting only specific model code or state-amended sections within this chapter. There will be an “X” in the column under the agency’s acronym, as well as an “X” by each section that the agency has adopted.

Example:

CHAPTER 2 – DEFINITIONS

Adopting agency	BSC	BSC- CG	SFM	HCD			DSA			OSHPD						BSCC	DPH	AGR	DWR	CA	SL	SLC
Adopting agency	BSC	BSC- CG	SFM	1	2	1-AC	AC	SS	SS/CC	1	1R	2	3	4	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5
Adopt entire chapter
Adopt entire chapter as amended (amended sections listed below)
Adopt only those sections that are listed below					X	X		S	A	M	P	L	E
Chapter 1
202					X	X		S	A	M	P	L	E
202					X	X			C	O	N	T.
203					X	X
203					X	X

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Marginal Markings

Solid vertical lines in the margins within the body of the code indicate a technical change from the requirements of the 2015 edition. Deletion indicators in the form of an arrow ( ¬ ) are provided in the margin where an entire section, paragraph, exception or table has been deleted or an item in a list of items or a table has been deleted.

A single asterisk [*] placed in the margin indicates that text or a table has been relocated within the code. A double asterisk [**] placed in the margin indicates that the text or table immediately following it has been relocated there from elsewhere in the code. The following table indicates such relocations in the 2018 edition of the International Existing Building Code .

2018 LOCATION	2015 LOCATION
302.2	401.3
305	410
904.1.4	804.2.4
1201.5	1202.2
1206.1	1202.3

Symbols in the margin indicate the status of code changes as follows:

The 2018 edition of the IEBC had several chapters moved based on the need for more effective and consistent application of the provisions. The following table shows the chapter numbering changes:

Chapter, 2018	Chapter, 2015	Title
4	6	Repairs
5	4	Prescriptive Method
6	5	Classification of Work
13	14	Performance Method
14	13	Relocated or Moved Buildings

viii 2019 CALIFORNIA EXISTING BUILDING CODE

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Maintenance

The International Existing Building Code is kept up to date through the review of proposed changes submitted by code enforcement officials, industry representatives, design professionals and other interested parties. Proposed changes are carefully considered through an open code development process in which all interested and affected parties may participate.

The ICC Code Development Process reflects principles of openness, transparency, balance, due process and consensus, the principles embodied in OMB Circular A-119, which governs the federal government’s use of private-sector standards. The ICC process is open to anyone; there is no cost to participate, and people can participate without travel cost through the ICC’s cloud-based app, cdpAccess . A broad cross section of interests are represented in the ICC Code Development Process. The codes, which are updated regularly, include safeguards that allow for emergency action when required for health and safety reasons.

In order to ensure that organizations with a direct and material interest in the codes have a voice in the process, the ICC has developed partnerships with key industry segments that support the ICC’s important public safety mission. Some code development committee members were nominated by the following industry partners and approved by the ICC Board:

        - American Institute of Architects (AIA)

        - National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)

The Code Development Committees evaluate and make recommendations regarding proposed changes to the codes. Their recommendations are then subject to public comment and council-wide votes. The ICC’s governmental members—public safety officials who have no financial or business interest in the outcome—cast the final votes on proposed changes.

The contents of this work are subject to change through the code development cycles and by any governmental entity that enacts the code into law. For more information regarding the code development process, contact the Codes and Standards Development Department of the International Code Council.

While the I-Code development procedure is thorough and comprehensive, the ICC, its members and those participating in the development of the codes disclaim any liability resulting from the publication or use of the I-Codes, or from compliance or noncompliance with their provisions. The ICC does not have the power or authority to police or enforce compliance with the contents of this code.

Code Development Committee Responsibilities (Letter Designations in Front of Section Numbers)

In each code development cycle, proposed changes to this code are considered at the Committee Action Hearings by the International Existing Building Code Development Committee. Proposed changes to a code section having a number beginning with a letter in brackets are considered by a different code development committee. For example, proposed changes to code sections that are preceded by the designation [F] (e.g., [F] 1404.2) are considered by the International Fire Code Development Committee at the Committee Action Hearings.

The content of sections in this code that begin with a letter designation is maintained by another code development committee in accordance with the following:

[A] = Administrative Code Development Committee;

[BE] = IBC – Means of Egress Code Development Committee;

[BG] = IBC – General Code Development Committee;

[BS] = IBC – Structural Code Development Committee;

[E] = International Commercial Energy Conservation Code Development Committee or

International Residential Energy Conservation Code Development Committee;

[F] = International Fire Code Development Committee;

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[FG] = International Fuel Gas Code Development Committee;

[M] = International Mechanical Code Development Committee; and

[P] = International Plumbing Code Development Committee.

For the development of the 2018 edition of the I-Codes, there will be three groups of code development committees and they will meet in separate years. Note that these are tentative groups.

Group A Codes (Heard in 2018, Code Change Proposals Deadline: January 8, 2018)	Group B Codes (Heard in 2019, Code Change Proposals Deadline: January 7, 2019)
International Building Code – Egress (Chapters 10, 11, Appendix E) – Fire Safety (Chapters 7, 8, 9, 14, 26) – General (Chapters 2–6, 12, 27–33, Appendices A, B, C, D, K, N)	Administrative Provisions (Chapter 1 of all codes except IECC, IRC and IgCC, administra- tive updates to currently referenced stan- dards, and designated definitions)
International Fire Code	International Building Code – Structural (Chapters 15–25, Appendices F, G, H, I, J, L, M)
International Fuel Gas Code	International Existing Building Code
International Mechanical Code	International Energy Conservation Code— Commercial
International Plumbing Code	International Energy Conservation Code— Residential – IECC—Residential – IRC—Energy (Chapter 11)
International Property Maintenance Code	International Green Construction Code (Chapter 1)
International Private Sewage Disposal Code	International Residential Code – IRC—Building (Chapters 1–10, Appendices E, F, H, J, K, L, M, O, Q, R, S, T)
International Residential Code – IRC—Mechanical (Chapters 12–23) – IRC—Plumbing (Chapters 25–33, Appendices G, I, N, P)
International Swimming Pool and Spa Code
International Wildland-Urban Interface Code
International Zoning Code
Note: Proposed changes to the ICC_Performance Code_ will be heard by the code development committee noted in brack- ets [ ] in the text of the ICC_Performance Code_.

Code change proposals submitted for code sections that have a letter designation in front of them will be heard by the respective committee responsible for such code sections. Because different committees hold Committee Action Hearings in different years, it is possible that some proposals for this code will be heard by a committee in a different year than the year in which the primary committee for this code meets. In the case of the IEBC, the primary committees that maintain this code will meet in 2019.

For instance, Section 503.3 is designated as the responsibility of the IBC—Structural Code Development Committee, along with all structural-related provisions of the IEBC. This committee will conduct its code development hearings in 2019 to consider all code change proposals to the Inter- national Building Code and any portions of other codes that it is responsible for, including Section 503.3 of the IEBC and other structural provisions of the IEBC (designated with [BS] in front of those sections). Therefore, any proposals received for Section 503.3 will be considered in 2019 by the IBC—Structural Code Development Committee.

As another example, every section of Chapter 1 of this code is designated as the responsibility of the Administrative Code Development Committee, which is part of the Group B portion of the hearings. This committee will hold its Committee Action Hearings in 2019 to consider code change proposals for Chapter 1 of all I-Codes except the International Energy Conservation Code, International

x 2019 CALIFORNIA EXISTING BUILDING CODE

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Residential Code and International Green Construction Code . Therefore, any proposals received for Chapter 1 of this code will be assigned to the Administrative Code Development Committee for consideration in 2019.

It is very important that anyone submitting code change proposals understand which code development committee is responsible for the section of the code that is the subject of the code change proposal. For further information on the Code Development Committee responsibilities, please visit the ICC website at www.iccsafe.org/scoping.

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xii 2019 CALIFORNIA EXISTING 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.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1 SCOPE AND ADMINISTRATION . . . . . 3

DIVISION I – CALIFORNIA ADMINISTRATION

Section

1.1 General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

1.2 Building Standards Commission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

1.3 Board of State and Community Corrections . . . . . . . 7

1.4 Department of Consumer Affairs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

1.5 California Energy Commission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

1.6 Department of Food and Agriculture . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

1.7 California Department of Public Health. . . . . . . . . . . 7

1.8 Department of Housing and Community

Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

1.8.2 Authority and Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

1.8.3 Local Enforcing Agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

1.8.4 Permits, Fees, Applications and Inspections . . . . . . . 9

1.8.5 Right of Entry for Enforcement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

1.8.6 Local Modification by Ordinance or Regulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

1.8.7 Alternate Materials, Designs, Tests and Methods of Construction . . . . . . . . . . . 10

1.8.8 Appeals Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

1.8.9 Unsafe Buildings or Structures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

1.8.10 Other Building Regulations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

1.9 Division of the State Architect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

1.10 Office of Statewide Health Planning

and Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

1.11 Office of the State Fire Marshal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

1.12 State Librarian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

1.13 Department of Water Resources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

1.14 California State Lands Commission. . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

109	Inspections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
110	Certificate of Occupancy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
111	Service Utilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
112	Board of Appeals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
113	Violations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
114	Stop Work Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
115	Unsafe Buildings and Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
116	Emergency Measures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
117	Demolition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

CHAPTER 2 DEFINITIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Section

201 General. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

202 General Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

CHAPTER 3 PROVISIONS FOR ALL COMPLIANCE METHODS. . . . . . . . . 41

Section

301	Administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
302	General Provisions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
303	Structural Design Loads and Evaluation
	and Design Procedures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
304	In-Situ Load Tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
305	Accessibility for Existing Buildings . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
306	Reserved. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
307	[OSHPD 1R, 2, and 5] Services/Systems
	and Utilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
308	[OSHPD 1R, 2 and 5] Means of Egress . . . . . . . . . 46
309	[OSHPD 1R] Removal of Hospital Buildings
	from General Acute Care Services . . . . . . . . . . . 46
310__312	310__312
	Reserved. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
313	Existing Group R-1 and
	Group R-2 Occupancies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
314	Existing High-Rise Buildings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
315	Existing Group I Occupancies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
316	Existing Group L Occupancies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
317	Earthquake Evaluation and Design for
	Retrofit of Existing Buildings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
318	Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
319	Seismic Criteria Selection
	for Existing Buildings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

DIVI	SION II – SCOPE AND ADMINISTRATION
Section	Section
101	General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
102	Applicability. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
103	Department of Building Safety. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
104	Duties and Powers of Code Official. . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
105	Permits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
106	Construction Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
107	Temporary Structures and Uses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
108	Fees. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

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320	Method A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
321	Method B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
322	Peer Review Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
323	Additional Requirements for Public
	Schools and Community Colleges . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

CHAPTER 3A [OSHPD 1] PROVISIONS FOR ALL COMPLIANCE METHODS. . . . . 65

Section

405A	Structural . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
_406A _	Electrical. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
_407A _	Mechanical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
_408A _	Plumbing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

CHA	PTER 5 PRESCRIPTIVE COMPLIANCE METHOD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Section	Section
501	General. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
502	Additions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
503	Alterations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
504	Fire Escapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
505	Windows and Emergency Escape Openings . . . . . . 97
506	Change of Occupancy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
507	Historic Buildings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

CHAPTER 5A [OSHPD 1] PRESCRIPTIVE COMPLIANCE METHOD . . . . . . . . . 103

Section

501A General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

502A Additions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

503A Alterations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

504A Reserved . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

505A Reserved . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

506A Change of Occupancy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

507A Historic Buildings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

CHAPTER 6 CLASSIFICATION OF WORK . . . . 109

301A	Administration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
_302A _	General Provisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
_303A _	Structural Design Loads and Evaluation
	and Design Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
_304A _	In-Situ Load Tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
_305A _	Accessibility for Existing Buildings. . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
_306A _	Earthquake Monitoring Instruments
	for Existing Buildings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
_307A _	Compliance Alternatives for
	Services/Systems and Utilities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
_308A _	Compliance Alternatives for Means of Egress . . . . 73
_309A _	Removal of Hospital Buildings
	from General Acute Care Services . . . . . . . . . . . 74
_310A _	Hospital Buildings Removed from
	General Acute Care Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
CHAPTER 4 REPAIRS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Section	Section
401	General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
402	Building Elements and Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
403	Fire Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
404	Means of Egress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
405	Structural . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
406	Electrical. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
407	Mechanical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
408	Plumbing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
*CHAPTER 4A* *REPAIRS [OSHPD 1] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87*
Section	Section
_401A _	General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
_402A _	Building Elements and Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
_403A _	Fire Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
_404A _	Means of Egress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

CHAPTER 7	ALTERATIONS—LEVEL 1. . . . . . . 111
CHAPTER 8	ALTERATIONS—LEVEL 2. . . . . . . 113
CHAPTER 9	ALTERATIONS—LEVEL 3. . . . . . . 115
CHAPTER 10	CHANGE OF OCCUPANCY . . . . . . 117
CHAPTER 11	ADDITIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
CHAPTER 12	HISTORIC BUILDINGS . . . . . . . . . . 121
CHAPTER 13	PERFORMANCE COMPLIANCE METHODS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

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CHAPTER 14 RELOCATED OR MOVED

BUILDINGS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

Section

1401 General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

1402 Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

CHAP Sectio	PTER 15 CONSTRUCTION SAFEGUARDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131 on
Sectio	n
1501	General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
1502	Protection of Adjoining Property . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
1503	Temporary Use of Streets,
	Alleys and Public Property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
1504	Fire Extinguishers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
1505	Means of Egress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
1506	Standpipes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
1507	Automatic Sprinkler System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
1508	Accessibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
1509	Water Supply for Fire Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

CHAPTER 16 REFERENCED STANDARDS . . . . . 137