Changes in the 2020 Building Code of New York State (BCNYS)
- Accessory storage spaces of any size are now permitted to be classified as part of the occupancy to which they are accessory.
- New code sections have been introduced addressing medical gas systems and higher education laboratories.
- Use of fire walls to create separate buildings is now limited to only the determination of permissible types of construction based on allowable building area and height.
- Where an elevator hoistway door opens into a fire-resistance-rated corridor, the opening must be protected in a manner to address smoke intrusion into the hoistway.
- The occupant load factor for business uses has been revised to one occupant per 150 square feet.
- Live loads on decks and balconies increase the deck live load to one and one-half times the live load of the area served.
- The minimum lateral load that fire walls are required to resist is five pounds per square foot.
- Wind speed maps updated, including maps for the state of Hawaii. Terminology describing wind speeds has changed again with ultimate design wind speeds now called basic design wind speeds.
- Site soil coefficients now correspond to the newest generation of ground motion attenuation equations (seismic values).
- Five-foot tall wood trusses requiring permanent bracing must have a periodic special inspection to verify that the required bracing has been installed.
- New alternative fastener schedule for construction of mechanically laminated decking is added giving equivalent power-driven fasteners for the 20-penny nail.
- Solid sawn lumber header and girder spans for the exterior bearing walls reduce span lengths to allow #2 Southern Pine design values.20
