Level 3 alterations as described in Section 505 shall comply with the requirements of this chapter.
In addition to the provisions of this chapter, work shall comply with all of the requirements of Chapters 7 and 8. The requirements of Sections 803, 804 and 805 shall apply within all work areas whether or not they include exits and corridors shared by more than one tenant and regardless of the occupant load.
Exception: Buildings in which the reconfiguration of space affecting exits or shared egress access is exclusively the result of compliance with the accessibility requirements of Section 705.2 shall not be required to comply with this chapter.
When a floor is served by a recirculating air or exhaust system with a capacity greater than 15,000 cubic feet per minute (701 m3/s), that system shall be equipped with approved smoke and heat detection devices installed in accordance with the Florida Building Code, Mechanical.
Where there is an elevator or elevators for public use, at least one elevator serving the work area shall comply with this section. Existing elevators with a travel distance of 25 feet (7620 mm) or more above or below the main floor or other level of a building and intended to serve the needs of emergency personnel for fire-fighting or rescue purposes shall be provided with emergency operation in accordance with ASME A17.3. New elevators shall be provided with Phase I emergency recall operation and Phase II emergency in-car operation in accordance with ASME A17.1.
Boiler and furnace equipment rooms adjacent to or within the following facilities shall be enclosed by 1-hour fire-resistance-rated construction: day nurseries, children's shelter facilities, residential childcare facilities, and similar facilities with children below the age of 21/2 years or that are classified as Group I-2 occupancies, shelter facilities, residences for the developmentally disabled, group homes, teaching family homes, transitional living homes, rooming and boarding houses, hotels, and multiple dwellings.
Exceptions:
- Furnace and boiler equipment of low-pressure type, operating at pressures of 15 pounds per square inch gauge (psig) (103.4 KPa) or less for steam equipment or 170 psig (1171 KPa) or less for hot water equipment, when installed in accordance with manufacturer recommendations.
- Furnace and boiler equipment of residential R-3 type with 200,000 British thermal units (Btu) (2.11 × 108 J) per hour input rating or less is not required to be enclosed.
- Furnace rooms protected with automatic sprinkler protection.
Emergency controls for boilers and furnace equipment shall be provided in accordance with the Florida Building Code, Mechanical in all buildings classified as day nurseries, children's shelter facilities, residential childcare facilities, and similar facilities with children below the age of 21/2 years or that are classified as Group I-2 occupancies, and in group homes, teaching family homes, and supervised transitional living homes in accordance with the following:
- Emergency shutoff switches for furnaces and boilers in basements shall be located at the top of the stairs leading to the basement; and
- Emergency shutoff switches for furnaces and boilers in other enclosed rooms shall be located outside of such room.
Existing stairways that are part of the means of egress shall be enclosed in accordance with Section 803.2.1 from the highest work area floor to, and including, the level of exit discharge and all floors below.
Fire separation in Group R-3 occupancies shall be in accordance with Section 903.2.1.
Where the work area is in any attached dwelling unit in Group R-3 or any multiple single-family dwelling (townhouse), walls separating the dwelling units that are not continuous from the foundation to the underside of the roof sheathing shall be constructed to provide a continuous fire separation using construction materials consistent with the existing wall or complying with the requirements for new structures. All work shall be performed on the side of the dwelling unit wall that is part of the work area.
Exception: Where alterations or repairs do not result in the removal of wall or ceiling finishes exposing the structure, walls are not required to be continuous through concealed floor spaces.
Interior finish in exits serving the work area shall comply with Section 803.4 between the highest floor on which there is a work area to the floor of exit discharge.
Automatic sprinkler systems shall be provided in all work areas when required by Section 804.2 or this section.
In high-rise buildings, work areas shall be provided with automatic sprinkler protection where the building has a sufficient municipal water supply system to the site. Where the work area exceeds 50 percent of floor area, sprinklers shall be provided in the specified areas where sufficient municipal water supply for design and installation of a fire sprinkler system is available at the site.
Rubbish and linen chutes located in the work area shall be provided with automatic sprinkler system protection or an approved automatic fire-extinguishing system where protection of the rubbish and linen chute would be required under the provisions of the Florida Building Code, Building for new construction.
Fire alarm and detection systems complying with Sections 804.4.1 and 804.4.3 shall be provided throughout the building in accordance with the Florida Building Code, Building.
Where required by the Florida Building Code, Building, a manual fire alarm system shall be provided throughout the work area. Alarm notification appliances shall be provided on such floors and shall be automatically activated as required by the Florida Building Code, Building.
Exceptions:
- Alarm-initiating and notification appliances shall not be required to be installed in tenant spaces outside of the work area.
- Visual alarm notification appliances are not required, except where an existing alarm system is upgraded or replaced or where a new fire alarm system is installed.
Where required by the Florida Building Code, Building for new buildings, automatic fire detection systems shall be provided throughout the work area.
The means of egress shall comply with the requirements of Section 805 except as specifically required in Sections 905.2 and 905.3.
Means of egress from the highest work area floor to the floor of exit discharge shall be provided with artificial lighting within the exit enclosure in accordance with the requirements of the Florida Building Code, Building.
Means of egress from the highest work area floor to the floor of exit discharge shall be provided with exit signs in accordance with the requirements of the Florida Building Code, Building.
A building, facility or element that is altered shall comply with the provision of the Florida Building Code, Accessibility.
Where buildings are undergoing Level 3 alterations including structural alterations, the provisions of this section shall apply.
New structural elements shall comply with Section 807.2.
Existing structural elements carrying gravity loads shall comply with Section 807.4.
All existing elements of the lateral force-resisting system shall comply with this section.
Exceptions:
- Buildings of Group R occupancy with no more than five dwelling or sleeping units used solely for residential purposes that are altered based on the conventional light-frame construction methods of the Florida Building Code, Building or in compliance with the provisions of the Florida Building Code, Residential.
- Where such alterations involve only the lowest story of a building and the change of occupancy provisions of Chapter 10 do not apply, only the lateral force-resisting components in and below that story need comply with this section.
An engineering evaluation and analysis that establishes the structural adequacy of the altered structure shall be prepared by a registered design professional and submitted to the code official.
Where more than 30 percent of the total floor and roof areas of the building or structure have been or are proposed to be involved in structural alteration within a five-year period, the evaluation and analysis shall demonstrate that the altered building or structure complies with the Florida Building Code, Building for wind loading and with reduced IBC-level seismic forces. The areas to be counted toward the 30 percent shall be those areas tributary to the vertical load-carrying components, such as joists, beams, columns, walls and other structural components that have been or will be removed, added or altered, as well as areas such as mezzanines, penthouses, roof structures and in-filled courts and shafts.
Where the work does not involve a substantial structural alteration, the existing elements of the lateral load-resisting system shall comply with Section 807.5.
For any building assigned to Seismic Design Category D, E or F with a structural system consisting of concrete or reinforced masonry walls with a flexible roof diaphragm or unreinforced masonry walls with any type of roof diaphragm, the alteration work shall include installation of wall anchors at the roof line to resist the reduced IBC-level seismic forces, unless an evaluation demonstrates compliance of existing wall anchorage.
Parapets constructed of unreinforced masonry in buildings assigned to Seismic Design Category D, E or F shall have bracing installed as needed to resist the reduced IBC-level seismic forces, unless an evaluation demonstrates compliance of such items.
Alterations subject to this chapter shall comply with the requirements of the Florida Building Code, Energy Conservation.