April Meeting Overview for the Massachusetts Board of Building Regulations and Standards

Thursday, April 15, 2010

The Massachusetts Board of Building Regulations and Standards (BBRS) has begun discussing and voting on the Massachusetts State Building Code 8th edition language.  At the April meeting the Board members discussed Chapter 1.  An overview of changes in Chapter 1 between the 7th edition and 8th edition include the following:

• The number of sections was compressed from 25 to 16 in order to fit into the structure of the base code (2009 IBC)
• Massachusetts General Laws (M.G.L.) are now specifically identified as referenced codes
• Construction Supervisor License (CSL) language was removed from Chapter 1 and moved to an Appendix
• Construction control language from the 7th edition was added as an amendment to the 2009 IBC base language
• A table was created to summarize periodical inspection requirements
• Massachusetts licensed care facility requirements were moved to Chapter 1 (They were previously located in Chapter 4 in the 7th edition)
• In the previous 7th edition unsafe structure language had been inadvertently removed.  This has been reinstated in the 8th edition and maintains the same language found in the 6th edition.

The next BBRS meeting will be a Public Hearing during which changes to Chapter 34 and the potential adoption of the International Existing Building Code (IEBC) will be discussed.  For more information refer to the BBRS website: www.mass.gov/BBRS.  Please continue to look for updates on the adoption of the 8th edition of the Massachusetts State Building Code and if you have any questions do not hesitate to contact us.