[MassHistPres] Question about state building code for insulation/windows

[Ralph Slate]

Thank you (and everyone else!) - this is the precise answer I was looking for - the stretch code exempts designated historic buildings (i.e. local historic districts), and there is no discretion required on the part of local building commissioners (who often don't care about historic preservation).


FYI, this is not my property, though I appreciate the sentiment over the fire damage. It is a property being repaired in our of our local historic districts, and I wanted to know for sure that the law hadn't changed.


Ralph Slate
Springfield, MA


On Wed, 16 Oct, 2019 at 10:58 AM, Tad Heuer <tadheuer at gmail.com> wrote:
 

To: ralph slate

Ralph -


This may have something to do with the Stretch Code (if Springfield has adopted it), which is the supplement to the state building code.  This issue came up a few years ago in Wellesley, so my legal may be slightly out of date but I think the general principal still holds. The citations then were 780 CMR 115.AA, available at http://www.mass.gov/eopss/docs/dps/8th-edition/115-appendices.pdf), which adopts (and in places amends) the International Energy Conservation Code 7th Ed. (2009) (which itself operates in parallel with the general state building code).


We had at least two owners of older residences who were renovating but wanted to retain their historic windows.  Our building inspector ruled that once a certain amount of renovation work had been done on a structure, the Stretch Code applied. That Code has more stringent requirements for meeting insulation values (essentially, whether the building will pass a door blower test), and owners are told that they will fail a blower test unless they replace all of their windows. 


In both instances the owners of older residences were told (correctly) that the could appeal the local denial to the State Building Code Appeals Board, and I know at least one owner did (and received the variance without any problems).  But for all but the most committed preservationists, that's another hassle that often doesn't seem worth the trouble.   An additional unintended consequence of the Stretch Code is that it essentially prohibits reuse of salvaged historic fabric (absent a state variance), since a salvaged front door constructed in 1890 doesn't have a "stretch code rating," and thus won't receive approval from the building department. 


Note that even if the stretch code has been adopted by a municipality, there is an express exemption in the IECC in Section 101.4.2 (a provision that is not amended by 780 CMR 115.AA) for designated historic buildings, as follows:





101.4.2 Historic buildings. Any building or structure that is listed in the State or National Register of Historic Places; designated as a historic property under local or state designation law or survey; certified as a contributing resource with a National Register listed or locally designated historic district; or with an opinion or certification that the property is eligible to be listed on the National or State Registers of Historic Places either individually or as a contributing building to a historic district by the State Historic Preservation Officer or the Keeper of the National Register of Historic Places, are exempt from this code. http://publicecodes.cyberregs.com/icod/iecc/2009/icod_iecc_2009_1_sec002.htmBest,
Tad Heuer
Former Chair, Wellesley Historical Commission


On Wed, Oct 16, 2019 at 8:43 AM Ralph Slate <slater at alum.rpi.edu<mailto:slater at alum.rpi.edu>> wrote:



A contractor has made the claim that in order to do repairs to a property (from fire damage), he MUST replace the windows because current code requires it. His exact quote on the application is:


"Due to the fire we must remove the plaster and replace the wiring, plumbing, and insulate to meet the newer requirements. The remaining windows are single-pane and cannot be sealed sufficiently ,,, especially the window weight cavity".


Is anyone aware of changes to the building code that REQUIRE replacing windows versus single pane + storms, particularly focusing on the weight cavities?


Thanks,


Ralph Slate
Springfield, MA _______________________________________________
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