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No. 15 — Building Classification - Part 2: Construction Types — Page 1
No. 15 — February 2006
RLGA
Technical Services
Building Classification - Part 2: Construction Types
By Ronald L. Geren, AIA, CSI, CCS, CCCA, SCIP
In my last article, I discussed the first of two types of building classifications used in the building
code: Occupancies. The second, which is frequently misunderstood by new users of the building code, is
the Construction Type classification. The Construction Type has little to nothing to do with the
Occupancy classification. But, like the two towers of the Golden Gate suspension bridge, without both,
the whole thing wouldn’t hold together.
A Construction Type, as the term clearly states, is based on how the building is constructed, and the
requirements are found in Chapter 6 of the International Building Code (IBC). Most people will relate
the Construction Type to the materials used for constructing a building. But, it’s a little more than that.
The “little more” is called combustibility and fire-resistance.
There are a total of nine types of construction that span from noncombustible types to combustible
types of construction, with varying degrees of each in between that are based on fire resistance. Table
601, Fire-Resistance Rating Requirements for Building Elements, shows each of the types with their
respective fire-resistance requirements for building elements. These building elements include the
structural frame (columns, beams, girders, trusses, and spandrels), bearing walls (i.e. walls that have
imposed loads on them), nonbearing walls, floors, and roofs. The only exception is for nonbearing
interior walls, which have no fire-resistance requirements unless they’re required to be fire-resistive by
other sections of the code. The nine types of construction are:
Types IA and IB
Types IIA and IIB
Types IIIA and IIIB
Type IV
Types VA and VB
Construction Types IA and IB are considered noncombustible and fire-resistive, and are t