Page 61 - Green Builder May-June 2018 Issue

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CODE ARENA CREDIT: SAM BEEBE/FLICKR Wood worthy. The path is cleared for mass use of timber
products in the state of Washington. A new law allows the
State’s building code council to establish new rules for
The Latest Rules, Regulations and Codes Impacting Sustainable Construction residential and commercial building.

the 2018 IRC. The change summary reads: “When applying the This bill will certainly be a boost to the state’s timber industry,
exception for insulation in ceilings without attics, the insulation “which employs more than 105,000 workers and generates $28 billion
must extend to the outside of the top plate.”2 The excerpt from the in sales each year”. It might also be a boost to insurance companies.
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book “Significant Changes to the IRC 2018 Edition” can be read here A study commissioned by the concrete industry found that “builder’s
(https://bit.ly/2k0JW1r). risk insurance quotes for concrete buildings were about 22-72% less
than quotes for wood frame buildings…and quotes for commercial
property coverage on concrete buildings were 14-65% less than
quotes for wooden frame structures”. 5
SB 5379 proposed a requirement for “all public buildings in the
state rising 12 stories or less be built using Cross-Laminated Timber”.
6
Waivers could be granted to this requirement for such reasons as
“unavailability of building materials or structural infeasibility”,
among others. However, the bill was first introduced in January 2017
and didn’t go anywhere. It was resurrected in January 2018 and once
again never left Committee. With the state Senate in recess, it appears
very unlikely this will become reality anytime soon. GB
CREDIT: GAGE SKIDMORE/FLICKR Links:

1. https://bit.ly/2GpcfQ1
2. https://bit.ly/2k0JW1r

4. Washington state to include mass timber in building codes
Water sense? Organizations, manufacturers and water utilities 3. https://legiscan.com/WA/text/SB5450/2017
nationwide are asking EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to maintain funding by Kim Slowey. https://bit.ly/2pWPFYO
for the highly successful WaterSense program, which has saved 5. Underwriters aware of the risks of wood-frame construction: Survey
consumers more than $46 billion over the past decade. by Lyle Adriano. https://bit.ly/2GsevFY
6. https://legiscan.com/WA/text/SB5379/2017
WASHINGTON
HB 1622 has been signed into law by Governor Jay Inslee. The bill Mike Collignon is the executive director and co-founder of the
helps cement the state’s code adoption cycle at three-year intervals. Green Builder Coalition.
®
It also raises the state’s portion of the residential permit fee for the
first time in nearly 30 years, from $4.50 to $6.50 each.
SB 5450 paves the way for mass timber construction into the state’s COURTESY OF

residential and commercial construction codes. The bill, recently The Green Builder®Coalition
signed into law, went into effect June 7. It states that “the building The Green Builder®Coalition is a not-for-profit association dedicated

code council shall adopt rules for the use of mass timber products for
residential and commercial building construction”. Those rules must to amplifying the voice of green builders and professionals, driving
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consider (but don’t require reference to) national and international advocacy and education for more sustainable homebuilding
standards. practices. For more information, visit GreenBuilderCoalition.org

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