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For The Record

MID-RISE WOOD FRAME CONSTRUCTION

Feb. 18, 2009
Ministry of Housing and Social Development
 

Letters to the Editor

Here are the facts on recent changes to the BC Building Code to allow mid-rise wood-frame residential construction up to six storeys.

  • Increasing the allowable height of wood buildings is part of the Province's ongoing efforts to increase environmental sustainability and expand domestic markets for B.C. wood products.
  • There is no requirement to build taller wood buildings. Changes to the BC Building Code, which came into effect April 6, open up new opportunities for builders who are prepared and eager to build housing in an innovative way. Each local government has the ability to decide whether mid-rise construction suits the needs of their community.
  • Mid-rise wood frame construction is already practiced in other jurisdictions, including Seattle, Washington and Portland, Oregon. Buildings recently constructed there have performed well.

CONSULTATION

  • Local governments and the building industry have had opportunities to provide input through stakeholder meetings, industry technical advisory group meetings and website updates. A public review of proposed code changes provided another opportunity for stakeholders and the general public to comment on the changes.
  • The Province held two stakeholder meetings and seven technical advisory group meetings with leading B.C. and national code experts specifically to deal with fire safety, structural, seismic, shrinkage and building envelope issues.
  • Concerns expressed by some stakeholders early in the process were used to help develop strong standards for building with wood, ensuring that the new Building Code provisions meet the Province's continuing high standard for public safety.

FIRE SAFETY

  • Many of the code changes are specifically designed to manage fire risks, such as a higher standard of sprinklering and combustion-resistant cladding.
  • The Office of the Fire Commissioner (OFC) is satisfied six-storey wood-frame buildings built to these new BC Building Code provisions will meet the highest level of fire safety standards in place for wood-frame construction in British Columbia.
  • The ministry hired GHL Consultants Ltd. a leading fire protection engineering consultant, to analyze risks and draft the code changes – along with Senez Reed Calder, another fire protection engineering consultant, to provide a second opinion on the changes.
  • The Fire Services Liaison Group (FSLG) and OFC have been involved throughout this project. The Province is working with OFC, FSLG and Union of British Columbia Municipalities to ensure fire officials have the information about mid-rise construction, including how to reduce fire risks during construction.

SEISMIC SAFETY

  • As part of B.C.'s continuing commitment to safety, the Province is partnering in leading edge research to generate the most up-to-date information on how wood-frame buildings perform in an earthquake.
  • B.C. is a partner in the National Science Foundation (U.S.) in the NEESWood project. The Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES) is a consortium of leading seismic experts from 15 university labs across the U.S. The partners are working together to develop a new seismic design philosophy for mid-rise wood-frame construction to make these buildings a safe and affordable option. 
  • As part of NEESWood, seismic computer simulations have been completed for mid-rise wood-frame buildings with satisfactory results. The NEESWood project will conduct further testing of the seismic performance of six-storey wood frame construction.
  • Additionally, engineers designing mid-rise wood buildings are required to account for the seismic load produced by a major earthquake, and these designs will have a number of differences from lower wood buildings to account for the additional height.

TRAINING

  • The Province is working closely with industry and local governments to establish education and training for Building Code users to make the transition to the new requirements as smooth as possible.

Letters to the Editor

February 4, 2009
Letter to the Editor
SIX STOREY WOOD BUILDINGS EXPAND DOMESTIC MARKET
By Rich Coleman
Minister of Housing and Social Development
Submitted: Times Colonist
Status: TBC
Increasing the height of wood buildings is part of the Province's efforts to increase environmental sustainability and expand domestic markets for B.C. wood products...  [Read More]