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BUILDING TECHNOLOGY – EXAMINATION 2026
COMPREHENSIVE STRUCTURAL, CONSTRUCTION, MATERIALS, AND
BUILDING SERVICES KNOWLEDGE
FOUNDATIONAL AND INTERMEDIATE LEVEL ASSESSMENT COVERING
BUILDING DESIGN PRINCIPLES, FIRE SAFETY, CONSTRUCTION
METHODS, AND BUILDING PERFORMANCE SYSTEMS
SPRING SEMESTER EXAM [2025/2026]
What are the aspects of providing a protected means of egress?
- enough time to escape or places of refuge
- need to protect the escape route from fire, heat, and smoke
- need non-confusing circulation patterns so occupants can find exits easily, marked with exit signs What are different ways of compartmentalizing?
- Preventing vertical spread (avoid open shafts and stairs)
- Preventing horizontal spread with area separation walls
- Protecting the means of egress
- Protecting structural elements of steel and wood
What are the different kinds of automatic suppression? 4 variations of automatic sprinkler systems:
- Wet pipe system: the most common; water under pressure with closed heads, which will open when subjected to high heat
- Dry pipe system: pipes filled with air under pressure; when a sprinkler head opens as a result of exposure to high heat, gas pressure in the pipes is reduced, triggering the pipes to fill with water (useful for conditions where water might freeze in pipes)
- Pre-action system: Water held from piping by an electrically operated valve (pre-action valve); valve is controlled by independent flame, heat, or smoke detection
- Deluge system: sprinkler heads permanently open; water is released when fire is detected (used in severe fire hazard areas) What are the four aspects of site planning for fire safety?
- Access for the fire department (best if they can access all sides of the building)
- Parapets: building elements but protect the building's roof from fires originating off-site
- Blank walls, or walls with limited "unprotected openings" required at or near property lines
- Fire hydrants Who dictates the building codes and zoning ordinances in the US? States have the ability to impose building codes and zoning ordinances. Many states have recently adopted their own building codes.
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What do tables 602 and 705.8 of the IBC show? 602 shows the required rating (number of hours) for exterior walls based on their frontage from the property line. 705.8 tells the percentages of allowable openings in exterior walls What is the distance (in feet) from the site line required to have maximum frontage? 30' What is the calculation for the allowable area for single-occupancy buildings? Aa = At + NS x If (At is the "tabular" area factor found in table 506. NS is the tabular area factor for a non-sprinklered building (even if the building is actually sprinklered) If is the area factor due to frontage) Which construction type do tall buildings have to have and why? Type I because the total allowable building area is unlimited Which is the safest building type? Which is the least safe?
Type 1A is safest; type 5B is least safe What is the calculation of maximum total allowable building area for a single-occupancy building of 1-3 stories? What is the calculation of maximum total allowable building area for a single-occupancy building of 4+ stories? 1 - 3: max allowable building area = allowable area per floor x # of stories 4+: max allowable building area = allowable area per floor x 3 What is the minimum frontage coefficient? Maximum? 0, 0. What are the rules for calculating frontage coefficient? (F, P, W-specific conditions)
- If F (portion of the building perimeter fronting on public way or open space) is less than 25% of the whole or if the perpendicular distance from facade to property line is less than 20 ft wide, I(sub)f is taken as 0
- For W: only count widths >20 ft; use 30ft for all widths greater than 30ft (except for unlimited area buildings) What is ROW?
3 basic parts of EGRESS
- Exit access
- Exit
- Exit Discharge What is exit access? The portion of egress that leads from any occupied point to an exit. What is an exit? The portion of the means of egress separated by fire-proofed construction and opening protectives to provide protected path of egress travel (between exit access and exit discharge) What is a horizontal exit? a 2 hour fire-rated wall with exit openings - usually to travel from one area of a floor to another What is exit discharge? The part of the means of egress between the end of the exit and a public way.
Exit Access: Corridor Fire Ratings you need walls of exit path to have fire-proofing, but there are exceptions (refer to 1020.1 of IBC) Maximum Distance Between Exits? there are none, except as determined by maximum exit access travel distances (only requirement any space be limited in distance from ANY ONE exit) You can measure exit access distance down a stair BUT An open exit access stairway leading to an exit shall not pass through more than a. 1 adjacent story b. 2 adjacent stories c. 3 adjacent stories a. 1 adjacent story What is the common path of egress travel? That portion of the exit access before two separate paths of egress travel TO two exits that are available. (measured from most remote portion of a room or space)
Fun fact: Where are horizontal exits used? Prisons :( Egress must be__, not have___, and have__ in certain instances.
- Continuous
- No elevators, escalators, or moving walks
- Guards When are guards (rail) required? were a floor surface is more than 30" above the floor below (PLEASE BE HUMAN AND ADD RAILS WITH CLOSE-CUTTING HEIGHTS like 28") What are the dimensions of guard rails?
- height: 42" min (exception: 36" in R-3 occupancies)
- configured so that 4" sphere (the literal size of a baby's head) can't pass through
fUn faCt: what is an occupant-evacuation elevator? means of egress through an elevator (can be done in high rise building so handicapped people don't have to wait in an area of refuge by the stairs for someone to save them :( ) What is an egress requirement for a high rise building? have extra means of egress so that firefighters can get through How do you calculate the width of egress stairs occupant load served by stairway x egress capacity factor per occupant (0.3 in. unsprinklered, 0.2 in. sprinklered) (refer to IBC Table 1004.5 for Maximum Floor Area Allowances per Occupant and IBC Section 1005.3.1 for Stairway calculation) What does the width of egress stairs depend on?
of occupants
501 - 1000 peeps: 3 exits more than 1000 peeps: 4 exits In which direction does the door swing in the direction of means of egress (you don't want to die from a door banging into your head when you are trying to get the heck out of a burning building) What is the minimum distance between exits?
- unsprinklered: 1/2 diagonal length of a room or building
- sprinklered: 1/3 diagonal length of a room or building Equation for Allowable Floor Area? A(sub)a = A(sub)t + [NS (Area factor of the non-sprinklered building) x I(sub)f] Equation for Area Increase due to frontage? (I(sub)f part in allow. area eq.) (F/P - 0.25)(w/30)
What is W in the equation (F/P - 0.25)(w/30)? W= weighted avg. of public way corresponding to portion of perim. on building. Consider widths of walls 30ft of greater!!!; multiply wall's dist it is away from public way ONLY if that is 20>30-- it's a hard 30 if length if over 30ft. What is F in the equation (F/P - 0.25)(W/30) [Building perim. fronting public way having 20ft open minimum width.] Consider perpendicular distances of walls >20ft away from public way and only add the pure value of the walls! What is P in the equation (F/P - 0.25)(W/30)? P= total building perimeter What table is used to consider Allowable Area calculations? 506.2 in IBC What is A(sub)t in the equation A(sub)a = A(sub)t + [NS (Area factor of the non-sprinklered building) x I(sub)f]
T or F: Objects above headroom clearance can protrude any amount. True T or F: the maximum rise for a 1:8 sloped ramp is 6" False; the maximum rise for a 1:8 sloped ramp is 3" What is the required diameter of handrails? What is the required distance between the handrail and the wall? 1.25-1.5" diameter of handrail; 1.5" between handrail and wall. What are the required dimensions of stair treads and rises? 7" max riser height; 11" min tread width What are considered mandatory accessible site features?
a) flared sides on sidewalks b) returned curbs c) accessible parking spaces How far and at what slope must handrails extend beyond the top riser of stairs? must extend 12" beyond top riser, horizontally How far and at what slope must handrails extend beyond the bottom riser of stairs? Must extend one tread width (i.e. 11 inches) beyond last stair, sloped. T or F: a minimum width of 36" is required around both sides of doorways to allow circulation to open doors. False; a minimum width of 18" is required around both sides of doorways to allow circulation to open doors. T or F: Doors can be 32" wide and still be considered accessible as long as the spaces on either side have a minimum width of 36" True
Which of the following is not a requirement to address for the ADA? a) turning radius b) min. width for passage c) protruding objects d) elevators e) ramps f) stairs g) doors d) elevators Issues related to sustainability Reducing consumption of non renewable energy pollution/landfill Reducing consumption of non-renewable resources Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Global Warming/acid rain Symptoms related to sustainability Sprawl Loss of agricultural land, forests Sick building syndrome
Air, water. Ground pollution, etc. Solutions related to sustainability Energy efficient strategies Renewable energy sources VOC-free materials/CFC- free mechanical equipment [volatile organic compound/chlorofluorocarbons] Recycling - REUSE is better Strategies and Tools related to sustainability
- Life-cycle analysis
- Certification programs like LEED, Green Globes, Green Building Evaluation Label (GBEL), Living Building Challenge, Net Zero-Energy Building (NZEB), Passive House Institute, Well Building Standard, BREEAM, CASBEE, etc.
- Reuse of existing infrastructure
- Capitalism - feeds on growth When is I(sub)f taken as zero? Where there is no frontage increase
