Wood use in Type I and II (noncombustible) construction

As with many products, the building code regulates the use of wood in construction. Two broad categories separate materials: combustible and noncombustible. Codes limit the application of combustible materials on the basis of fire and life safety. The question then is, ‘‘Are there options available in the 2009 International Building Code for using wood in structural applications in lieu of noncombustible materials?’’ Fire Retardant Treated Wood (FRTW) provides that option. The 2009 IBC recognize FRTW for many applications where a noncombustible material is mandated. A few applications allow FRTW in lieu of 1-hour ratings. 1 INTERNATIONAL BUILDING CODE In 1994 the three existing national building code organizations created the Internal Code Council (ICC), a nonprofit organization dedicated to developing a single set of comprehensive and coordinated national model construction codes. The goal of the ICC was to have a family of national codes available by the year 2000, and ICC met that goal. In 1996 work began on the creation of the International Building Code (IBC). It was developed primarily from the provisions of the three nationally recognized model building codes: the National Building Code (NBC), StandardBuildingCode (SBC), andUniformBuilding Code (UBC). The IBC is a comprehensive code and is the coordinating document for the suite of International codes. In certain instances, the IBC provisions are identical to those of the three model codes. In other instances, the provisions are amodification of requirements from one or more of the three regional codes. Some provisions are entirely new and unique to the IBC.