ADTEK BUILDING CONSULTANTS

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THESE ARE OUR NEW SITE SIGNS!
THESE NEW SIGNS WILL BE COMING SOON AND WILL BE SEEN ON OUR PROJECTS ALL OVER THE GTA.
 

ARE YOU READY ?
The 2024 Ontario Building Code comes into effect on January 01, 2025.

New Accessibility Ammendments to Ontario's Building Code

On December 27, 2013, Ontario Regulation 368/13 was filed to amend the new 2012 Building Code, O.Reg. 332/12.

The effective date of the amendment is January 1, 2015. 

The amended requirements will substantially enhance accessibility in newly constructed buildings and existing buildings that are to be extensively renovated. They maintain Ontario’s leadership role in requirements for barrier-free design.

In 2005, the government committed to the development of five accessibility standards under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act.  These amendments to the Building Code work together with the Design of Public Spaces standard, introduced in 2012, to finalize the government’s commitment to an accessibility standard for the built environment.

Five accessibility standards are already in regulation under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act: Customer Service, Information and Communications, Employment, Transportation, and Design of Public Spaces. For more information on Accessibility Standards, please visit www.ontario.ca/AccessOn.

The new requirements apply to most new construction and extensive renovations. Existing buildings, where no work is planned, are not affected by these new requirements. Houses, including semi-detached houses, townhouses and duplexes, are not affected by most accessibility requirements, with the exception of smoke alarm requirements. 

Amended requirements cover a range of areas, including:
  • Requirements for visual fire alarms to be installed in all public corridors of multi-unit residential buildings and in all multi-unit residential suites
  • Requirements for all smoke alarms in all buildings, including houses, to include a visual component
  • Requirements for an elevator or other barrier-free access to be provided between storeys in most buildings, with some exemptions for small residential and business occupancy buildings
  • Requirements for power door operators to be provided at entrances to a wider range of buildings, and at entrances to barrier-free washrooms and common rooms in multi-unit residential buildings 
  • Updated requirements for barrier-free washrooms and universal washrooms
  • Requirements for barrier-free access to public pools and spas
  • Updated requirements for accessible and adaptable seating spaces in public assembly buildings such as theatres, lecture halls and places of worship

For more information on new requirements, see Overview of Updated Accessibility Requirements.  

In addition, the text of the amending regulation is available on E-Laws: Ontario Regulation 368/13 - Amendment to Building Code Accessibility Requirements.
 

  New Building Code requirements came into effect on January 1, 2012. These relate to energy efficiency and occupancy permits.
 Energy Efficiency
 If you apply for a building permit on or after January 1, 2012, the proposed construction must conform with enhanced energy efficiency requirements of Ontario’s Building Code.
 The 2006 Ontario Building Code set out a “roadmap” for energy efficiency to be implemented from January 1, 2006 through to December 31, 2011. As part of that roadmap, the Code set out energy efficiency benchmarks for houses and for large buildings. Subsequent Code amendments provided additional compliance paths that are consistent with those benchmarks.
  The Building Code provides that construction for which an application for a building permit is made on or after January 1, 2012 must meet the following energy efficiency requirements:
  o  Houses and other Part 9 residential buildings intended for occupancy on a continuing basis during the winter months must meet the performance level that is equal to a rating of 80 or more when evaluated in accordance with EnerGuide801 (based on the Hot 2000 V9.34c1,2 software) or conform to Supplementary Standard SB-12, which is referenced in the Building Code. The alternative compliance paths set out in this Supplementary Standard are referenced in an amendment to the Building Code which came into force on January 1, 2010. For more information about the updated Supplementary Standard SB-12 follow the link to Service Ontario’s publications site at http://www.publications.serviceontario.ca/ecomlinks/510090.pdf.
 o  Other buildings (including Part 3 residential and commercial buildings) must conform to Supplementary Standard SB-10 (July 1, 2011 update), which is referenced in the Building Code. This Supplementary Standard indicates that the energy efficiency of these buildings shall be at least 25% greater than the
  1 the EnerGuide rating system was developed by Natural Resources Canada to evaluate the energy efficiency of houses
energy efficiency levels attained by conforming to the 1997 Model National Energy Code for Buildings, but provides additional compliance paths to achieve them. The updated Supplementary Standard SB-10 is referenced in an amendment to the Building Code which came into force on July 1, 2011. For more information about the updated Supplementary Standard SB-10 follow the link to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing’s Building Code
website at  http://www.mah.gov.on.ca/Page9528.aspx
  If Code Users haven’t done so already, they may wish to participate in technical training courses on the Building Code’s energy efficiency requirements developed by MMAH and offered by stakeholder organizations such as the Ontario Building Officials Association and community colleges. The Ontario Building Officials’ Association link
to their training information is:  http://www.oboa.on.ca/cgi-bin/news2/#a41. Related information is on the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing’s Building Code website at  http://www.mah.gov.on.ca/Page8526.aspx.
  Other technical training may also be offered by professional and building sector organizations. The Ontario Home Builders Association, for example, can help builders to find out about such opportunities. For more information follow the link to the Ontario Home Builders Association website at  http://ohba.ca/ontario-building- code-training.
 Occupancy Permits for Certain New Residential Buildings
 Amendments to the Building Code which come into force on January 1, 2012 will require an inspection to be made and a permit issued, prior to the occupancy of certain new residential buildings.
 The new occupancy permit provisions apply to houses for which a building permit application is made on or after January 1, 2012.
 As described in article 1.3.3.4, of Division C, the new occupancy permit requirements will apply to buildings under Part 9 of the Building Code which are intended for residential occupancy, and that are: three or fewer stories in building height and
have a building area not exceeding 600 square metres; have no accommodation for tourists; do not have a dwelling unit above another dwelling unit; and do not have any dwelling units sharing a common means of egress.

Houses covered under these provisions would include detached, semi-detached and townhouses that meet the criteria outlined above.
 The provisions will not apply to an existing building, or part thereof, that has been subject to extension, or material alteration or repair. This means that both the existing part of a building and an addition to a building, subject to extension, material alteration or repair, would not be subject to an occupancy permit.
 The amendments to the Code include criteria that must be met before an occupancy permit can be issued. Sentence 1.3.3.4 (5), Division C, sets out those building components that must be substantially complete, complete, installed or operational, as the case may be, before issuance of an occupancy permit.
 The amendments also add a new “prescribed notice”, which is the completion of construction and installation of components required to allow for the issuance of an occupancy permit. Also, amendments to the Building Code include a new “additional notice” stage, which allows a municipality through a bylaw, to require a notice upon the final completion of a building for which an occupancy permit has already been issued.
 Supportive information including a model Occupancy Permit that municipalities may wish to use, as well as checklists and best practice information for building officials,
is being developed by the Occupancy Permit Working Group established by the Large
 Municipalities Building Official Association (LMCBO). This Working Group is composed of building officials and is chaired by Techa van Leeuwen, Director of Building and Bylaw Services at the Town of Aurora. Documents prepared by the Working Group will be available on the LMCBO/TACBOC website soon.
  Next Edition of the Building Code
 The development of the next edition of the Building Code continues. The timing and development of the next edition does not affect the timing of the energy efficiency and occupancy permit requirements of the 2006 Building Code described above, which will take effect on January 1, 2012.
 
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For more comprehensive information on all of the services that we can provide, please visit our "SERVICES" Page. 

We have a very extensive background with more than 59 years of experience in both the Architectural Technology, Building Science and Surveying disciplines. Some samples of our work can been seen on the "PORTFOLIO" Page.

Personal profiles and letters of references can be read by visiting "CV & REFERENCES" Page.

Accredited Member of the Association of Architectural Technologists of Ontario (AATO), a Member of Construction Specifications Canada (CSC), the Ontario Building Officials Association (OBOA), Ontario Building Envelope Council (OBEC), the Ontario Association of Certified Engineering Technicians and Technologists (OACETT), the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists in UK (CIAT), the American Institute os Architects (AIA), the Canadian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (CIQS) and, more recently the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).

We are a small Toronto based company networking with Associates here in Toronto, throughout Ontario, in the United Kingdom, Bermuda and Australia. If you would like to receive additional information, please do not hesitate to contact us. You can find our contact information on the "CONTACT US" Page.
 

BUILDING CODE QUALIFICATIONS.

To stay ahead of the impending changes to the Building Regulatory System as it was supposed to come into effect on July 1st 2005, ADTEK BUILDING CONSULTANTS are very proud to advise that they invested a lot of valuable time and effort into Ministry approved courses with both the AATO and the OBOA as well as the Ministry examinations to ensure their readiness. We are pleased to announce that we are Building Code Qualified (BCQ) as certified by the Ontario Building Officials Association and have been approved and formally registered by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing as a Registered Design Firm (BCIN # 27003) in readiness for the implemenation date of January 1st 2006.

Because of the changes that make it mandatory for Designers to carry Professional Liability Insurance, we are pleased to inform and reassure our Clients that we already carry full Errors and Omissions Insurance and have satisfied the Ministry's requirements for the additional coverage as stipulated in Division C. Part 3.6.1.1.(1). of the 2012 Ontario Building Code.

We trust that this information will give every potential Client the full confidence to make a simple decision to use the services of  ADTEK BUILDING CONSULTANTS. Thank You for your time.
"........so what is an Accredited Architectural Technologist anyway?" Click opposite to find out!