Today we have thousands of codes. The reason for these is to protect us in three main areas. Fire, Health and Safety. It’s interesting to look back and see why these have gotten so detailed.

For instance, September 2, 1666 the great fire of London combined the matchstick dry wood frame houses, the strong eastern wind, and the lack of water, which destroyed more than 130,000 homes and business. That led to the design and implementation of fire resistant materials. However on May 4, 1851 in San Francisco a store fire in a business district sent men running for shelter to new, “fireproof” brick and iron buildings, only to perish miserably when the metal shutters and doors expanded and couldn’t be opened. Three quarters of the city was destroyed.

I suppose they should have put the fact that wood burns into the building code, because on October 8th 1871 in Chicago, the streets were covered with pine boards, which quickly caught fire. Three hundred people lost their lives and 18,000 buildings were destroyed. One whole section of the city four miles long and one mile wide was completely flattened by the fire.

Hence, building codes come from previous disasters and problems. Today we are supposed to build to the code, which is a minimum standard for construction.

Currently we use the 1997 edition of the Alberta Building Code and every five years the code is updated and revised. The new one should be out late 2005 or early 2006 and will be called the 2002 edition.

The Code covers every aspect of building, and is one of nine disciplines that are covered under the legislation called the Safety Codes Act.

The Safety Codes Act is a legal document, which incorporates the codes into law and applies jurisdictions, enforcement, penalties and governance throughout the province.

There are building codes of electrical, plumbing, elevators, amusement rides, ropeways, such as chairlifts and others. You name it there’s a code that covers it. When you are going to build, you are first required to obtain a building permit, which you get from the local municipality. They review the plans you submit and issue a permit to you if you meet the intent of the current code.

You are also required to have the municipality inspect the building you erect. If the construction doesn’t meet the code requirements, they can ask you to correct or re-do areas found deficient. If you don’t correct these, they will issue a stop work order, which can be enforced by the police, and you can be fined and even go to jail.

Builders must follow all minimum code standards that protect you as the consumer, as well as workers on the site and the public in general.

Remember though that these are minimum stipulations only and are specific to health, fire and safety. Just because it meets code doesn’t mean that there is quality. The Code does not cover quality, energy or aesthetics, so don’t assume that meeting the code will give you a good finished product.