Akron, OH – After years of debate and intense lobbying, Ohio has adopted a new residential building code.
The code will require new homes to be more energy-efficient, come with carbon-monoxide detectors and be tested for air leaks.
Ohio’s residential code is based on a 2003 code, so this is a monumental update, said Corey Roblee, an Ohio manager with the International Code Council, the Washington-based nonprofit that designs building codes. It’s something needed in the state of Ohio.
Adopted by the Ohio Department of Commerce’s Board of Building Standards after passing the last procedural hurdles this month, the new code is scheduled to take effect Jan.1.
The code approved is based on the 2009 International Code Council model, but it omits some aspects, such as requiring that new homes include fire-suppression sprinklers and be built with 2-by-6-inch framing in exterior walls.
Estimates indicate that the new rules will add between $1,100 and $1,200 to the cost of an 1,800-square-foot two-story home. A 2009 U.S. Department of Energy study of a similar proposed code change in Boston concluded that homeowners would save about $230 a year in energy costs with the new guidelines.
Some of the code updates have increased the cost of construction for us builders, not to too great of an extent, and certainly something we felt was reasonable and worth adopting, said Columbus homebuilder Craig Tuckerman, who served on the code’s advisory committee. Hopefully, the homeowner might notice these changes on their utility bills.
Although the code will not radically change the way homes are constructed in Ohio, it was nevertheless the subject of considerable political wrangling since being introduced to the Commerce Department more than three years ago.
On one side were environmental groups such as the Sierra Club, which liked the tougher energy requirements. On the other were Ohio homebuilders, who argued that new code would excessively add to the cost of a new home.
The result is a compromise: a code that will boost energy efficiency but comes with a crucial provision. At the urging of builders, the new code provides contractors two ways to meet the energy requirements: either by following the International Code Council guidelines or by following an alternative set of guidelines designed by builders to achieve the same energy efficiency.
I think they came up with a code that works, said Vincent Squillace, executive vice president of the Ohio Home Builders Association, which opposed the initial proposal. We came up with an equivalent code that’s more strict but is about $2,000 cheaper per home to implement than the original code.
Among other things, the code will:
Raise the minimum insulation for exterior walls from R-13 to R-20, or R-13 plus a layer of insulating sheathing.
Raise the minimum R-value of basement walls from R-5 to R-10.
Require that carbon-monoxide detectors be installed outside each bedroom in a home that uses gas or propane or includes an attached garage.
Require that at least 75 percent of light bulbs in new homes be high-efficiency, such as compact fluorescent bulbs.
Mandate that homes meet an air-tightness standard that includes a blower-door test.
Require that floor joists between the basement and first floor that are less than 10 inches deep include a gypsum or wood layer underneath for additional fire protection.
Increase the efficiency of windows by reducing the maximum U-value from .40 to .35.
Remove the requirement that sump pumps and garage door openers be plugged into GFCI outlets after homeowners complained that sump pumps and garage openers were kicking off.
It’s a new code which recognizes new materials, new methods of construction, said Debbie Ohler, the staff engineer for the Ohio Board of Building Standards, which will administer the code.
It’s definitely an improvement. It also incorporates requirements that provide for safer homes, but at the same time, it incorporates more stringent energy requirements, which should save homeowners money.
Many Ohio builders, especially custom builders, already meet or exceed most provisions of the new code, Roblee and Tuckerman said.