building codes
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Building Code
Municipal or sometimes national ordinances governing the safe construction and renovation of buildings. A building code helps ensure that a building is not a hazard to people entering and leaving it, or to the broader public. For example, a building code may prohibit hazardous substances like asbestos from being used in construction. In general, building codes do not apply to existing buildings unless an addition or reconstruction is being done.
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building codes
Regulations established by local governments to specify minimum building standards for foundations, structural support, electrical and plumbing systems, fire retardation, accessibility, safety for small children and others, fire escapes, numbers of exits, numbers of parking places,and many other areas concerned with the health and safety of the population.The most widely employed building code is the standard known as the International Building Code. Some local governments still employ the Southern Building Code.(For more information go to the International Code Council Web site at www.iccsafe.org.)The Complete Real Estate Encyclopedia by Denise L. Evans, JD & O. William Evans, JD. Copyright © 2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.