ICC, CALBO Identify Significant Changes to California Codes

Two new publications from the International Code Council and California Building Officials (CALBO) offer key insights into the changes and implications of the 2013 California Building Code and California Residential Code that take effect January 1. Significant Changes to the California Building Code, 2013 Edition and Significant Changes to the California Residential Code, 2013 Edition discuss the most important updates and familiarize code users with the application of those changes.

“CALBO and ICC want to ensure our members have access to innovative and timely code references to assist them with their everyday work,” said Craig Oliver, CALBO President. “These collaborative publications result from taking the very best from both organizations to create user-friendly resources that will streamline comprehension of the many significant changes to the 2013 California Codes and enable code users to better ensure the safety of the public.”

In-depth discussions in the books cover key changes made to structural and nonstructural provisions in a logically organized way that follows the layout of the California Codes, including chapter, section number and title format. Each change analysis features the affected code sections and identifies the change as newly added text, a modification of the existing language or deleted text. Accompanying each change is a detailed illustration or example to provide further clarification of how to apply the change.

“The partnership between ICC and CALBO provides the California code community with key resources to assist in implementing the latest advances in safety in the 2013 California Codes,” said Mark Johnson, ICC Executive Vice President & Director of Business Development. “These publications will benefit all code users in the state.”

Authors Doug Thornburg, AIA, John Henry, P.E., Jay Woodward and Stephen A. Van Note are ICC staff and code experts. Each author has taught seminars and written numerous textbooks including multiple editions of Significant Changes to the International Codes. Paul Armstrong, P.E., CBO, has worked in both the private and public sectors and lectured on many code-related topics.

Significant Changes to the California Building Code, 2013 Edition (Item #5521S13) and Significant Changes to the California Residential Code, 2013 Edition (Item #5526S13) are available for purchase in hardcopy for $46.95, each ($37.95 for ICC Members), directly from the ICC Bookstore. The publications are also included as part of CALBO’s 2013 Education Weeks.

The International Code Council is a member-focused association. It is dedicated to developing model codes and standards used in the design, build and compliance process to construct safe, sustainable, affordable and resilient structures. Most U.S. communities and many global markets choose the International Codes.

Founded in 1962, California Building Officials (CALBO) represents local city and county governments throughout the entire state of California. CALBO is dedicated to promoting public health and safety in building construction through responsible legislation, education and building code development.