scope:

Introduction

The purpose of this Guide is to help Code users understand and apply the provisions in Part 9 of the National Building Code (NBC) of Canada 2010. It is a companion document to NBC Part 9-not a stand-alone document.

This Guide has no legal status and is not intended for formal adoption: its purpose is solely informational. Sketches and diagrams illustrate principles only; other methods of satisfying the requirements may be equally valid. If there are cases where text in the Guide conflicts with a requirement in the NBC, the NBC requirement governs.

Structure

The Guide discusses each Part 9 Article in turn in Code order through the use of text, illustrations, tables and examples. However, some sections of the Guide cover topics that span multiple Articles.

Each discussion starts with a general statement about the purpose of the Article in question. These general statements are not meant to summarize or paraphrase the content of the "Supplement to the NBC 2010: Intent Statements," which contains detailed statements on the specific intent of each NBC provision and is available on-line at www.nationalcodes.ca.

Units of Measurement

Although the NBC only provides measurements in SI units, the Guide, in many cases, also shows corresponding Imperial units in parentheses. Surveys indicate that persons from all aspects of the housing industry still use Imperial units while those involved in the design and construction of small, non-residential buildings rely almost exclusively on SI units.

Soft conversions of SI measurements are presented for the spacing of framing and dimensions for products like wood-based panels (for example, a 1200 × 2400 mm panel is represented as 4 × 8 ft.). For dimensions that are in effect Code requirements, such as minimum corridor widths, hard conversions of the SI units are presented and the Imperial measure is rounded up or down as required. This means that the SI version of the measurement is the legal requirement and may differ slightly from the Imperial measure, which is provided for convenience, as an approximation of the SI requirement.

Use of Illustrations

The illustrations explain general concepts and principles as well as key features of construction methods and technologies: they are not meant to be used as design or construction drawings. Many drawings focus only on one of many possible solutions. Most drawings highlight key features addressed in the surrounding text and show other construction details in the background. Although efforts have been made to show Code-compliant construction, it is important to note that the illustrations are not to be used as acceptable solutions to Code requirements.