International Residential Code – A Guide For Home Building

Residential codes vary by local municipality to local municipality. However, one comprehensive codebook is becoming the adopted regulatory source by building departments across the United States – the International Residential Code. The International Residential Code (IRC) first came out in 2000 as the all-inclusive codebook covering each type of climate and hazard as well as regulations to keep residential construction safe from those hazards. New for 2006, the IRC has much of its content updated in response to the damage caused by the hurricane season in 2005. Eighty percent of changes have to do with increased safety considerations and more stringent response to the impact of the elements on housing. Twenty percent of the changes have to do with making complex text and tables easier to read.