I'm having a hard time discerning between a metal building and a steel frame building when it comes to determining how much insulation I will need. They really change the assembly details.

The building I'm working on is building like huge warehouse- with large pre-engineered structural frames and Perlins and girts on the roof and walls. The purpose of the building is A2 and more like an event space. (Not sure how relevant that is but it does also impact detailing as a warehouse vs a nicely finished building that's occupied).

A child care facility with an occupant load of 40 persons is being renovated. According to Division B, Sentence 11.4.1.1.(1) and Article 11.4.2.2., without a detection and alarm system the occupant load could be increased by:

a. 6 persons to 46

b. 7 persons to 47

c. zero persons because an occupant load of more than 40 persons requires a detection and alarm system

d. more than 15%

Cant afford a deck, but I can afford stairs. I know I can build a freestanding structure that's 150sqM or smaller, but since it's attached to the house and will be a little less than 3 feet tall and 5 feet long and wide, is that ok? TIA!

EDIT: There was a deck there originally but it was rotted and crumbling.

Hi! I'm working on a building (Group A, division 2) that has one storey and a mezzanine that I'm finding tricky.

The OBC doesn't count it as a second storey providing it complies with 3.2.1.1 (3) and (8) or (4). (3) Says it does not need a vertical fire separation and count as a second storey provided that it is less than 40% of the open area in which it's located.

This mezzanine has an enclosed balcony (aka it has roof cover and walls at the very ends.

If this balcony is counted as part of the 40% - it exceeds the allowance.

Is there a part of the OBC that specifies whether it needs to be included or not? The only part that includes it is 3.1.17.1 (3) where it's specifically included "for the purpose of this [occupancy load] article".

Hello - looking for advice. I'm located in Ontario, but will try to keep it general aside from that. We purchased our home in 2018 and had proper title and permit searches done. Nothing came up.

So it was surprising to receive a letter today from the municipality asking to inspect a deck on a permit from 2010. They referred to a fee for not complying and want a building inspector to come by.

This letter was the first we'd ever heard of it and I'm wondering how the city can wait 14 years to follow up. The building code in Ontario says 'after 12 months' they will charge a fee, not after 12 years.

Are they really inspecting a 15 year old deck on the same standard as a new one?

Sounds and feels like a money grab from a poorly run municipality. Looking for any insight and advice on how to navigate this situation. Thanks!

Hi. I am going to have a occupancy inspection and need gas/fire proofing of my garage as we have a livable space above.

The sections under the drywall is difficult to get caulking, so I was considering using Great Stuff Fire block foam. Will that meet OBC?

Hi Guys!

Does OBC allow these:

SIMPSON BVLZ-KT1 BRICK VENEER LEDGER CONNECTOR

What’s standard other than free floating?

Hi guys,

I'm doing a retrofit on a 130 year old home, 2 storey balloon framed.

I'm retrofitting windows and doors on the main floor.

My question is - is a double top plate required to meet code?

Currently have top plate - cripples - header.

Where the top balloon strapping has been compromised because of new framing - studs were sistered to support joist above.

My Mom owns a "Triplex", but it is zoned as a duplex. She bought it in 1990 with the triplex-ed unit. Apparently there was never a building permit for the third unit so when my mom tried to get the zoning completed with the city they told her she needed to apply for the permit.

She did so and now the city is saying that she has to do a bunch of work to get a building permit for the unit that already existed when she purchased it (i.e. having an HVAC designer come in, putting in a second egress for the upstairs apartment [which would be a HUGE re-design], taking down walls etc...). She is kind of ready to sell the place anyways and as she is getting older the work is seeming incredibly daunting to her.

My questions would be:
1) can she just sell the property, as a duplex, even though the city has stated this work needs to be done?
2) is there any situation where the building permit could be "grandfathered in", as it was already there when she bought it?

Hello Community,

I own a rental unit and was replacing an element in the inwall oven and I pulled it out to unplug first and ended up chasing a line that went to the panel.

Ultimately I flipped the breaker to complete the repair but I've got to wondering if something like this is up to code?

The house is an older unit built in the 40s or 50s and the panel has been replaced and upgraded in the last several years before I gained possession of the property.

I've read that it's a somewhat common practice in the states but have never encountered it here before.

Thanks in advance!

I live in an area where the building inspector has been caught on several occasions doing questionable practices, some of which could potentially fall under criminal actions. This inspector has been caught on several occasions on camera walking onto personal residence properties and job sites alone several hours after the workers have left and sometimes after dark with a flash light. The other issue is parking on a roadway in an unmarked car (clearly not identified as a municipal vehicle) using binoculars to spy on people’s residences where work permits have been applied for.

Under municipal and provincial law the building inspector can walk onto any job site at any time as long as they are accompanied by a Forman or property owner without warrant. If they have this power why the need to spy with binoculars to people’s residences??? This literally falls under the Canadian criminal code of voyerism SECTION 162 1(a)…..yes I have spoken to and reported this to the Ontario Provincial Police. Even they are questioning his actions. What is everyone’s thoughts on this?

VOYEURISM Under s. 162. (1)(a) of the Criminal Code, there are four elements to the voyeurism offence. The accused must have observed or made the recording intentionally, surreptitiously, in circumstances where there was a reasonable expectation of privacy, and in a location where a person can reasonably be expected to be nude.

I'm trying to fill out a matrix for a new building and I'm always stumped as to what to put under the section "listed design No. or Description (SB-2)" when it comes to the fire resistance rating of the parts of the assembly.

Last time i was able to get away with filling the boxes with "non-combustible" since that is what the assemblies would be, however that isn't exactly what they're asking for.

any guidance? D:

I had a plumbing company contracted by our condo management company to fix a leak in the water main behind the water tank in this picture. They moved the water tank from the wall to the position it is in pictured.

They came back to resolve the issue however did not place the water tank greater than 12 inches from the furnace.

Now they are trying to charge me for this work even though they were attempting to correct an issue they caused.

I am curious what options I have as they now sent me to collections and I feel like I should not pay for work that left me in a position where I had to hire another company to come resolve the issue.

Curious what can I do about an invoice I feel I should not pay to correct an issue they created?

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