Building codes are in place to provide a means to safeguard life and protect the public welfare through regulating the design, construction practices, construction material quality (including fire performance), location, occupancy, and maintenance of buildings and structures. When regulating materials, many of the model building codes refer to quality standards developed by standard-setting organizations such as the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) and Underwriters’ Laboratories of Canada (ULC). Some building codes and/or insurance rating organizations also rely on test information from Factory Mutual Research (FM) , Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL) and Underwriters’ Laboratories of Canada (ULC).

United States Codes

Polyiso manufacturers create products that meet or exceed all Model Building Codes, including:

• International Building Code
• International Residential Code

Because of continuous improvement in the product and years of rigorous testing, Polyiso offers the most extensive range of code approvals for insulation use in roof systems. It remains the only foam plastic insulation product for direct application to steel deck to earn FM Approval for Class 1 Roof Systems. Polyiso is also classified by UL for use in roof systems with direct-to-steel-deck applications of foam plastic insulation under both single-ply and asphalt-based roof coverings.

For more information on polyiso’s fire safety, please refer to PIMA’s technical bulletins: Fire Performance and Roof Systems, Fire Test Definitions and Class A and Class 1 Roof Systems are Not the Same.

Canada Codes

Under Canada's constitution, provinces and territories regulate design and construction of new houses and buildings, and the maintenance and operation of fire safety systems in existing buildings. While the model national building, fire and plumbing codes are prepared centrally under the direction of the Canadian Commission on Building and Fire Codes, adoption and enforcement of the codes are the responsibility of the provincial and territorial authorities having jurisdiction.

Consult the applicable code in your location.

Useful links:

• NBC National Building Code also www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca
• Summary of building codes used by the different provinces:
• BNQ Bureau de Normalisation du Quebec
• OBC Ontario Building Code
• British Columbia Building Code
• Nova Scotia Building Code
• Alberta Building Code
• Manitoba Building Code
• Saskatchewan Building Code
  

Canada will also update the Model National Energy Code for Buildings (MNECB), which was last revised in 1997. Natural Resources Canada will work with the National Research Council of Canada and the model energy code will be updated for publication in 2011.