When to use IEBC vs. IBC

programming & analysis
1

Looking for more information on when to reference/utilize the IEBC (International Existing Building Code) vs. the IBC for Historic projects.

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Hi @poterec ! Let’s see if one of our expert architects can help with this! @coachchrishopstock do you mind jumping in?

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Hi @poterec and thanks for the question.
If a municipality adopts the IEBC, it can be used on alteration, renovation, etc. type projects. The purpose of using the IEBC is that it recognizes that older buildings are often not up to the standards of today’s codes, and the IEBC allows for such deviations.
To use the IEBC, one of 3 compliance methods must be used:

  1. Prescriptive Compliance Method
  2. Work Area Method
  3. Performance Compliance Method
    You can read more about the specifics of those methods under the ‘Effective use of the International Existing Building Code’ section of that code.

I’ll also note that while NCARB does list the abbreviation for the IEBC under it’s abbreviation section, the code itself is not a reference in the ARE handbook and therefore, any questions related to this code would probably be generalizations. I wouldn’t get into detail learning the IEBC for the purposes of studying for the ARE.