Minnesota Administrative Rules

4645.2700 CONSTRUCTION.

Foundations shall rest on natural solid ground and shall be carried to depth of not less than one foot below the estimated frost line or shall rest on leveled rock or load-bearing piles when solid ground is not encountered. Footings, piers, and foundation walls shall be adequately protected against deterioration from the action of groundwater. Reasonable care shall be taken to establish proper soil-bearing values for the soil at the building site. If the bearing capacity of a soil is not definitely known or is in question, a recognized load test shall be used to determine the safe bearing value. Hospitals shall be constructed of incombustible materials, using a structural framework of reinforced concrete or structural steel except that masonry walls and piers may be utilized for buildings up to three stories in height not accounting for penthouses. The various elements of such buildings shall meet the following fire-resistive requirements:

A.

party and firewalls, four hours;

B.

exterior bearing walls, three hours;

C.

exterior panel and curtain walls, three hours;

D.

inner court walls, three hours;

E.

bearing partitions, three hours;

F.

non-load-bearing partitions, one hour;

G.

enclosures for stairs, elevators and other vertical openings, two hours;

H.

columns, girders, beams, trusses, three hours;

I.

floor panels, including beams and joists in same, two hours; and

J.

roof panels, including beams and joists in same, two hours.

Stairs and platforms shall be reinforced concrete or structural steel with hard incombustible materials for the finish of risers and treads. Rooms housing furnaces, boilers, combustible storage or other facilities which may provide fire hazards shall be of three-hour fire-resistive construction.

Statutory Authority:

MS s 144.55; 144.56

Published Electronically:

October 3, 2013