Changes to B.C. Building Code raising hackles of industry-watchers
Frank Luba
Province
Raising the roof on residential wood-frame buildings in B.C. from four to six storeys is raising the ire of some industry watchers.
With the forestry sector struggling, finding more uses for wood is important, and Premier Gordon Campbell said in May that he would support taller wood-framed buildings.
Housing Minister Rich Coleman announced changes to the building code in September to allow wood-frame buildings of up to six storeys. The changes take effect April 6.
The Consumer Advocacy and Support for Homeowners [CASH] Society is concerned about the change, particularly considering the ongoing leaky-condo situation.
A report prepared for the government earlier this year indicated there are more leaky condos than previously estimated. Still awaiting repairs are at least 45 per cent and possibly as many as 68 per cent of the leaky buildings constructed between 1982 and 1999.
CASH Society president John Grasty doesn’t understand why the government wants to push ahead with the new, taller buildings when the problems of older buildings haven’t been solved.
While the National Building Code limits wood-frame residential buildings to three storeys, provinces can adopt their own standards; B.C. has already pushed the limit to four.
The government used the argument that buildings with more storeys are built elsewhere.
“For them to say it works here and works there is irresponsible,” said Grasty. “It’s a little too convenient for them to rely on information from somewhere else.”
Grasty said higher wood-frame buildings might be even more prone to the ‘shrinkage’ problem, where walls and ceilings crack as the construction materials dry and settle.
That problem is currently not covered by the 2-5-10 Home Warranty Insurance program.
“The shrinkage thing is a major issue,” said Grasty.
He’s not the only one concerned.
Pieter den Uyl is the manager of building permits for the municipality of Abbotsford. He’s already aware of builders interested in going to six storeys, which is an economical way of increasing density in multifamily residential construction.
“I think the heat is on lots of communities like ours,” said den Uyl of builders’ interest.
He said the change in code from three storeys to four storeys took about 10 years.
“From my perspective, it’s a really rapid move,” said den Uyl of the jump to six storeys.
Den Uyl participated in some of the discussions prior to the adoption of the newer heights and he’s concerned the fire-safety requirements in the new six-storey code aren’t as stringent as was previously suggested.
Coleman was out of the province and unavailable for comment.
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