This Week's Codes and Standards, April 2

Experts Chosen for ICC, ANCR Buildings Resilience Benchmarks Project

A distinguished group of specialists has been chosen to help develop the nation’s first community-wide resilience benchmarks related to buildings. The group consists of subject matter experts who will assist the International Code Council and the Alliance for National & Community Resilience (ANCR) in the effort. The American Institute of Architects and the American Wood Council will support the project.
 
The Resilient Buildings Committee includes architects, code officials, government experts, and industry professionals from the New York City Department of Buildings, Dow Chemical Company, National Institute of Building Sciences and other organizations. Openings on the water and energy infrastructure committees and sponsorship opportunities are still available.
 
“We are excited to have a diverse group of experts participating in the creation of the ANCR benchmark system,” said ANCR’s Chairman Maj. General Warren C. Edwards USA (Ret.). “Once complete, this system will provide communities a transparent, practical and commonsense self-assessment to quickly and easily gauge their cross-sector resilience efforts. The devastating storms and fires in California, Florida, Puerto Rico, Texas and the U.S. Virgin Islands over the past year illustrate the importance of this groundbreaking program.”

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New ASTM Standard Supports Stucco Use in Construction

A new ASTM International standard supports the use of stucco in the construction industry. Standard C1860 “provides a way to measure the tensile strength or bond strength of stucco in vertical applications,” says ASTM International member and task group chair Matthew J. Innocenzi, P.E. “The results of this test method, when coupled with sound engineering mechanics and analyses, can be used as a tool to help evaluate the performance of stucco when subject to lateral loads.”
 
The standard fills an important need for a consensus-based test method for testing stucco, Innocenzi says.

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In Houston, Proposed Rules Would Require Building Above 500-year Flood Level

City leaders in Houston are considering new floodplain rules that would require buildings to be built above the 500-year flood level. Houston has experienced three “500-year floods” between 2015 and 2017. The current building code requires buildings to be able to withstand a 100-year flood.
 
The change would affect 85,739 pieces of property that were not previously in a regulated area. Some Hurricane Harvey victims are concerned that they would be forced to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to rebuild their homes to the new standards.
 
Homes already in the rebuilding process, though, may not be affected.

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Payback on Rooftop PV Systems Now Estimated From One to Four Years

Solar panels today have become so efficient that their payback is now estimated to be between one and four years. Multicrystalline-silicon PV modules pay for themselves in about four years, according to the latest research.
 
For thin-film modules, it’s three years. Anticipated multicrystalline modules will have a two-year payback. And new thin-film modules are expected to pay for themselves in just one year.
 
With solar panels lasting as long as 25 years, they make more energy over their lifetime than it takes to manufacture the panel.

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New RESNET HERSH2O Standard Targets Water Efficiency

The RESNET Board of Directors adopted the new RESNET HERSH2O standard in February. The new standard is patterned after the HERS Index for energy efficiency, and it rates a home’s water use efficiency.
 
This development will allow for the rapid deployment of the water efficiency rating system through the network of over 1,900 certified RESNET HERS Raters and hundreds of builders that have their homes HERS rated.

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