Prince William County joins the International Code Council for the 42nd Annual Building Safety Month

Prince William County joins the International Code Council for the 42^nd Annual Building Safety Month in May. This year’s theme is Safety for All: Codes in Action.

“Safety for All: Codes in Action” is a very important message for Building Safety Month 2022,” said Wade A. Hugh, Director, Department of Development Services. “As our homes have increased in use in all our daily lives, becoming the telework office and family hub for entertainment and outdoor living, there is greater demand to ensure building safety to account for increased capacity and use.”

To kick-off week one’s theme: “Planning for a Safe & Sustainable Tomorrow” we compiled the top ten most significant code changes in the 2018 Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code (VUSBC), that all Prince William County construction permit applications must be compliant with as of July 1, 2022.

2018 VUSBC Top Ten most significant code changes

1. Roof-mounted Solar Systems; (VRC) sections R 324.4 & 6, as well as R 905 for underlayment.

• Consolidates and provides prescriptive access, escape, and structural requirements into one section.
• For more in-depth information visit: Residential Solar.

2. Decks: a complete reorganization; section R 507
   • Reorganized for ease of use and additional provisions are added to simplify the prescriptive construction of a deck.
   • For more information visit: Residential Deck.
3. Accessory Dwelling Units; sections R 202, 302.3, 311.1, 314.7, 315.5 & 1602.2

• Provides for a fully compliant dwelling unit to be accessory to a primary unit by sharing at least one component of all dwelling unit requirements.
• If a unit can be considered accessory to the primary, then the fire separation assembly specified in 302.3 is not required.

4. Tiny Houses; section R 333

• Provides for alternative prescriptive construction option/requirements for houses 400 square feet or less – Note Appendix Q.
• For more information visit: Tiny Houses.

5. Combination Waste and Vent Systems; section P 3111

• Food waste disposers are now permitted to connect to a combination waste and vent system.

6. Sprinkler incentive: Common walls; section R 302.2.2 and Structural Independence; section R 302.2.6.

• Permits water-filled sprinkler piping to penetrate common walls separating townhomes.
• Townhomes not required to be structurally independent if protected with sprinkler systems in accordance with P2904, NFPA 13, NFPA 13R, or NFPA 13D.

7. Maximum Stair Rise Between Landings; section R 311.7.3

• The maximum rise has increased by 4 inches, from 147 to 151 inches.

8. Veneer Anchorage Through Insulation; section R 703.8.4.

• Allows brick ties to be fastened through insulated sheathing into wood structural panels (WSP).

9. Air Test on PEX Piping; sections P 2101.10 & 2503.7

• For hydronic and water supply PEX pipe, air and gas pressure tests are now permitted when specified by manufacturers literature.

10. Arc-fault circuit interrupters; section E 3902.16

• Now required throughout the dwelling for all 15- and 20-amp 120V outlets, except where GFCI protection is provided.

To access the free, read only version of the Virginia Building Code Regulations, visit 2018 code books. To access the entire 2018 Virginia Residential Code, visit: https://codes.iccsafe.org/content/VRC2018P1. To learn more about Building Safety Month visit: www.BuildingSafetyMonth.org and join in the conversation by using #BuildingSafety365.