Significant changes to the 2018 International Building Code

The 2018 Significant Changes guides are available for the International Building, Residential, Fire, Plumbing, Mechanical and Fuel Gas Codes. This valuable series can help any code user save time by zeroing in on the most critical changes in the 2018 International Codes. The Code Council’s technical experts provide summaries, analysis and graphics for these changes making them clear and easy to understand.

2018 International Building Code

An addition to Section 1010.1.4.4 (Locking Arrangements in Educational Occupancies) states that guidance has been provided to allow for enhanced security measures on educational classroom egress doors and yet still continue to comply with applicable means of egress requirements. A high priority in educational facilities is the safety of occupants while in classrooms and other occupied spaces during the event of a threatening situation. It is important that the International Building Code provides criteria which balance the challenges of providing protection for students and teachers in the classroom and at the same time provide for free and immediate egress.

Oftentimes locks or devices are added to doors to provide security, but they do not allow free egress, or comply with the single operation requirement. The new provisions provide guidance for combining security while maintaining safe egress capabilities. Door locksets with some type of “classroom security function” are readily available at a comparable cost to the traditional “classroom function” door locksets. Additionally, this language requires that the door shall be unlockable from outside the classroom. This allows for school personnel, law enforcement and emergency responders to obtain entry even after the door is locked from the inside. This can be accomplished at the door with a key, or other approved means, including remotely as permitted in Section 1010.4.4.1.

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