1. Introduction
The International Residential Code (IRC) has specific requirements for house design. This is cool because it means that you don’t need to hire an engineer (or Architect) to concrete house design. I mean you can if you want (hire an engineer or an architect), but we are expensive. However, there are limitations to these provisions. Stay within the limits, and the “Codex” provides the way; They are wandering outside… We are in the yellow pages. We need to hire one of us to design it in every part.
These provisions have probably been confirmed by the recent type of Insular Concrete (ICF) systems. These systems are cooling. They provide concrete “forms” in place, and, unlike traditional forms, which once the concrete treatments are removed, these forms remain, and no substrate is used to make the wall, nor do they provide lead and electrical space. But it does not make sense that there would be regulations for concrete construction, since there are already provisions for light frame construction. .
What’s even cooler is that these provisions also allow non-ICF construction. In other words, if you want to build a concrete house with traditional molding, you can.
2. Limitations
Behold, the sum of the limits is kind. They may seem ‘restrictive’, but remember, the idea is to provide you with a secure structure without hiring a technician. If you do not like the limitations in whole or in part, then you need to hire an engineer to design them in whole or in part. Another way of saying this is: Yes, the Code allows for a system of just portions to be designated if the just portions do not meet the limitations.
Here the boundaries are thick.
1. Maximum building dimension (length) … 60 ft.
2. The maximum width of the building … 32 ff.
3. The maximum number of plays above the level… II.
That right there allows for quite large structures. Let’s see…if we have a basement, then 60 x 32 times 3 floors (incl. basement)…that gives 5760 square feet. That’s a sizable residence!
There are some limitations here.
4. The roof… should be of light frame construction.
5. The floor … should be of light body construction (except for the BASE which can be floor-to-level).
6. The exterior walls must be fixed directly.
There are many roofs around here, light chests of wood anyway, so there is no weight. The limitation in areas can be a bit irritating, as many future home owners (around here) as it is thought of concrete floors with (in the area) radiant heat. And, to top it off, there are now pretty cool IFC (concrete) file systems. This very scenario still brings me consulting work (to design structures that otherwise don’t need engineering).
Aligning the walls vertically suggests that the structure is a sort of ‘arch’, but there are many things you can do to the box to compose it. And it should not be, as I say, all the width of one. Things bump and shake, as long as they do so vertically.
There are other limitations, but if you can understand your goals, especially at the beginning of the building plan, you can find your way through the project to a happy ending. If the limitations of the Code are kept for the last (after the extension of space, sizes, etc. are established), the misleading result can be quite frustrating.
3. Annona
Once you have a design that ‘fits’ within the limitations, the rest of the prescriptive code basically tells you how to build Structure. You will need to decide on the type of system you will use;
1. Flat;
2. Waffle-Grid, or
3. Screen-drive.
In all, the face plane system is equivalent to the traditional system. Waffle-grid and Screen-grid systems are more “complicated” because, instead of a flat face (uniform thickness) of concrete walls, there are horizontal and vertical cores of concrete. (Yikes!)
When you have decided on the system, then Code (with text and figures) the construction of the wall … above and around the openings (thresholds), the minimum percentage of the solid length of the wall (for stability), the wall to the floor. guests, joining the wall-to-ceiling. The quality (and strength) of the concrete that is needed is given, the level of reinforcement, and so on. Reading can get ‘tough’ at times, especially if you are new to construction. I when reading the bible … sometimes read several as a message. You can find someone who has dared to travel before you to do some explaining.
4. Conclusion
Around here (in the Midwest Northwest) it took about “a decade” for concrete house construction to become accepted. The contractors wanted it to be “safe” and wood with wood (all wood construction), which they are familiar with, and for which they are already prescribed. And even now it is ‘accepted’ by the building authorities, especially now with it in the model code (IRC). Employers now willing to take back something new are doing exciting projects. If you are thinking about your next house being concrete, take a look at the calculations, and talk to the contractors, and start thinking about whether your structure meets the ‘prescription’ or needs to be engineered.
5. Notes
International Residential Code, International Council, 4051 West Flossmoor Road, Country Club Hills, IL 60478.
