The Association for Preservation Technology in cooperation with Main Street America presents...
Decoding Building Code Challenges
Dates: August 2 - 4, 2022
Where: Wherever you are - online!
About this workshop:
There are thousands of designated and informal Main Streets in America’s smaller towns and urban neighborhoods. These districts are often composed of smaller, one- to three-story masonry or wood-frame buildings with retail shops or offices on the first floor and opportunities for residential units above. Far too often, the entire building or upper stories are vacant or underutilized, hampering reinvigoration of neighborhoods. Owners wanting to rehabilitate these buildings are commonly stymied by the high cost of building upgrades forced upon them “to meet modern building codes.” These demands become economic barriers to investment and burdens to owners.
The code barrier has become a reality in many communities, particularly for the upper stories, where vacancy rates can exceed 50%. This workshop will provide a detailed examination of the building stock on Main Street to explore its typical building features and connect these characteristics to compliance paths within the International Existing Building Code (IEBC). The team of experts for this workshop will break down issues related to fire safety, accessibility and energy conservation and explore more financially viable alternatives to make buildings safer and meet codes.
Historic building on Main Street with solar panels and no impact on the historic character.
“The repair, alteration, addition to and change of occupancy in existing buildings are in many cases more complicated to design and regulate than construction of new buildings.” ICC Building Department Administration, 4th Edition, 2012
“Don’t make the perfect the enemy of the good.” Voltaire
THE GAMBLE HOUSE IS NOW OPEN FOR INTERIOR TOURS! Tours are offered Tuesdays and Thursdays-Sundays. Please view our ticketing calendar for date and time availability by clicking HERE.
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