The NOMMA Technical Committee has expressed serious concern about an amendment to the building codes proposed by the North Carolina Building Code Council. The proposed code change would greatly restrict railing designs without providing a proven safety benefit. The amendment of concern is:

 

1015.4 Opening limitations. Required guards shall not have openings that allow passage of a sphere 4 inches (102 mm) in diameter from the walking surface to the required guard height. The sphere shall not pass through the opening with a minimum of 50 psf applied horizontally to the sphere from the direction of the walking surface that is being protected. A bottom rail or curb shall be provided that will reject the passage of a 2-inch-diameter (51mm) sphere.

 

In addition to creating a bad precedent, the NOMMA Technical Committee has expressed the following concerns:

• The amendment is in the wrong place. It should be in the structural section.
• There is no testing standard cited (ASTM, ICC-ES, or ASCE).
• It is unknown how an inspector could provide testing for this requirement in the field.
• The requirement for a bottom rail would eliminate balusters on steps and floors.
• The wording "MINIMUM of 50 psf" could be interpreted several ways. We worry that it may be interpreted as "50 lbs on the sphere."

The NOMMA Technical Committee is currently trying to find the rationale/comments for this change, and we are determining the correct procedure to oppose. There will be a public hearing on the code changes in Raleigh, NC on March 14. We have notified our members in the Raleigh area, and we may send a team as well. If you can join us at the public hearing, please contact Todd Daniel (todd@nomma.org).