Description: In under a minute of looking at the 2021 IRC deck beam design table, you’ll probably think you have it all figured out, but you probably don’t.  The footnotes give you clues that there is much more to it, but don’t let the fine print fool you.  There are some huge implications to them, and ones designers and builders should want to hear.  They apply the same to the 2018 edition…but that edition failed to mention them.  As with all prescriptive design, there are load and design assumptions that limit the design choices provided.  However, with an understanding of what’s happening behind the scenes, building authorities can gain comfort in using a few tricks to maximize the use of the code for prescriptive design for their communities.

Objectives: Upon completion of this course, attendees will…

• Understand the load assumptions used to derive the maximum beam spans and adjustments the 2021 IRC allows.
• Learn how to use the IRC in an alternative manner to design beams loaded from both sides.
• Understand the difficulty of providing pre-engineered beam design in the IRC due to variables in the load path.
• Realize the IRC provides methods to fine tune prescriptive design.

Length: 90 minutes.

Schedule: This webinar is presented in one 90-minute session

March 9, 2021, Pacific time
• 8:00 am – 9:30 am

Approved Continuing Education Units:
0.15 Preferred Provider CEU from The International Code Council (ICC)
1.5 HSW LU from The American Institute of Architects (AIA)

Sponsor Benefit: Friends of The Deck Superstore get FREE access to this webinar.  Contact them for your coupon code before you enroll!

Instructor: Glenn Mathewson, MCP.  Click here to learn more about Glenn.

Description: The first half of section 311 spells out the basic requirements for the path of egress from a home and is discussed in this session.  Complimenting those codes is section 312 for guards and window fall protection.  These subjects are intended to provide a safe walking path for occupants throughout a home, including when near the edge of a floor or at an upper floor window opening.

Objectives: Upon completion of this course, attendees will…

• Learn the distinction between a guard and handrail and the various guard designs that can be code compliant.
• Discover the details that regulate the path of egress and the relationship access between rooms.
• Understand the specifics of guard design limitations and the freedoms within the limits.

Length: 90 minutes.

Schedule: This webinar is presented in one 90-minute session

March 10, 2021, Pacific time
• 8:00 am – 9:30 am

Approved Continuing Education Units:
0.15 Preferred Provider CEU from The International Code Council (ICC)
1.5 HSW LU from The American Institute of Architects (AIA)

Instructor: Glenn Mathewson, MCP.  Click here to learn more about Glenn.

Description: The IRC provides two optional methods for resisting deck lateral loads pulling on a house, but they aren’t based on the actual design of the deck.  Though a good start to addressing something long overlooked, connections alone, are not a lateral load design.  Imagine a braced wall panel on a house with hold-down anchors but no bracing.  This course gets well outside the code to discuss deck lateral loads and help reveal what should be considered in design.  Learn what the code provides for deck lateral design and what it doesn’t.

Objectives: Upon completion of this course, attendees will…

• Understand what brought deck lateral load connections into the 2009 IRC.
• Discover what’s missing in deck lateral load design and ideas to provide it.
• Be introduced to the fundamental concepts of deck lateral design and research that was conducted on the subject.
• Realize the need to evaluate the overall deck design when evaluating lateral load design.

Code Edition: 2021 International Residential Code

Length: 90 minutes.

Schedule: This webinar is presented in one 90-minute session

March 16, 2021, Pacific time
• 8:00 am – 9:30 am

Approved Continuing Education Units:
0.15 Preferred Provider CEU from The International Code Council (ICC)
1.5 HSW LU from The American Institute of Architects (AIA)

Instructor: Glenn Mathewson, MCP.  Click here to learn more about Glenn.

Description: Emergency escape and rescue is a critical passive safety concept for residential homes.  Section R310 and its many subsections lay out the design requirements necessary for this core life safety function.  Though the general requirement for “egress windows” is relatively understood, this session reveals the specific details that often are not.

Objectives: Upon completion of this course, attendees will…

• Learn the minimum required sizes for escape and rescue openings.
• Discover the recent code modifications regarding existing and new basements.
• Understand how to handle below grade openings around decks.

Length: 90 minutes.

Schedule: This webinar is presented in one 90-minute session

March 17, 2021
• 8:00 am – 9:30 am Pacific

Approved Continuing Education Units:
0.15 Preferred Provider CEU from The International Code Council (ICC)
1.5 HSW LU from The American Institute of Architects (AIA)

Instructor: Glenn Mathewson, MCP.  Click here to learn more about Glenn.

Description: Until recently, 4×4 posts were used to support decks with little thought to how much they carried or how tall they were.  The 2015 IRC shocked many with a maximum 8 ft. height and the 2018 continued the chaos with a limit that appeared to go down further down.  Finally, in the 2021 edition, the post sizing table is all grown up and ready to accurately size deck support posts based on the deck design.  Other new provisions were added for post connections, but they aren’t as precise as the code so specifically presents them to be.  Learn the details and the design behind the new 2021 post provisions.

Objectives: Upon completion of this course, attendees will…

• Understand the evolution of the post sizing table from the 2015 IRC to the 2021 IRC.
• Be comfortable utilizing and approving the 2021 IRC for post sizing as an alternative to previous editions.
• Realize how the 2021 IRC can be used to size posts for two-level decks and porch roofs.
• Discover the reality behind the specific post-to-beam provisions in the IRC.

Code Edition(s): 2021 International Residential Code

Length: 90 minutes.

Schedule: This webinar is presented in one 90-minute session

March 23, 2021, Pacific time
• 8:00 am – 9:30 am

Approved Continuing Education Units:
0.15 Preferred Provider CEU from The International Code Council (ICC)
1.5 HSW LU from The American Institute of Architects (AIA)

Instructor: Glenn Mathewson, MCP.  Click here to learn more about Glenn.

Description: The IRC provides a number of passive fire protection requirements in section 302, such as limiting space between structures through fire separation distance, and limiting the rapid spread of fire through fireblocking, draft stops and firestopping. Also provided in Section R313 is the requirement for active fire suppression though the use of automatic fire sprinkler systems.

Objectives: Upon completion of this course, attendees will…

• Learn the difference between fireblocking, draft stopping and firestopping.
• Discover the various materials permitted for fireblocking.
• Understand the limitations of construction close to a property line.

Length: 90 minutes.

Schedule: This webinar is presented in one 90-minute session

March 24, 2021
• 8:00 am – 9:30 am Pacific

Approved Continuing Education Units:
0.15 Preferred Provider CEU from The International Code Council (ICC)
1.5 HSW LU from The American Institute of Architects (AIA)

Instructor: Glenn Mathewson, MCP.  Click here to learn more about Glenn.