USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Norwood > Norwood annual report 1957-1959 > Part 5
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"Grade" with reference to a building means the average elevation of the ground adjoining the building on all sides.
"Habitable room," means a room occupied by one or more persons for living, eating or sleeping.
"Height," as applied to a building, means the vertical distance from grade to the highest point of the roof; "Height" of a building in stories does not include basements and cellars; "height" as applied to a wall, means the vertical distance to the top measured from the foundation wall, or from a girder or other immediate support of such wall.
"Latest," as applied to standard specifications, regulations or other refer- ences means latest at the time of use, and is not intended to be limited to latest at the time of the adoption of this By-Law.
"Live load," means all loads except dead loads.
"Occupied," as applied to a building shall be construed as though followed by the words "or intended, arranged or designed to be occupied."
"Owner," includes his duly authorized agent or attorney, a purchaser, devisee, fiduciary, and a person having a vested or contigent interest in the property in question.
"Penthouse" means an enclosed structure, located on a roof and extend- ing not more than twelve feet above the roof.
"Person," includes corporation and co-partnership as well as individual.
"Repair," see "Structurally Repaired."
"Self-closing," as applied to a fire door or other opening protective, means normally closed and equipped with an approved device which will insure closing after having been opened for use.
"Story," means that part of a building comprised between a floor and the floor or roof next above.
"Street line," means a line dividing a lot from a street.
"Structurally repaired," means repairs involving members necessary for the structural safety or stability of the building or structure.
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"Structure," means a combination of materials to form a construction that is safe and stable; including among others, stadiums, gospel and circus tents, reviewing stands, platforms, stagings, observation towers, radio towers, water tanks and towers, trestles, sheds, coal bins, fences and display signs; the term "structure" shall be construed as if followed by the words "or part thereof."
"Timber sizes" - All width, depth and thickness dimensions specified for wood construction shall be interpreted as nominal dimensions. Boarding shall mean wooden boards.
"Bearing wall," means a wall which supports any vertical load in addi- tion to its own weight;
"Fire wall," means a wall which subdivides a building or separates build- ings to restrict the spread of fire;
"Foundation wall," means a wall below the first floor extending below the adjacent ground level and serving as support for a wall, pier, column or other structural part of a building.
"Nonbearing wall," means a wall which supports no load other than its own weight.
"Party wall," means a wall used or adapted for joining service between two buildings;
"Veneered wall," means a wall having a facing which is not attachéd and bonded to the backing so as to form an integral part of the wall for pur- poses of load bearing and stability.
"Writing," includes printing and typewriting.
"Written notice," shall be considered to have been served if delivered in person to the individual or to the parties intended, or if delivered at or sent by registered mail to the last business address known to the party giving the notice.
"Chimney" - means a vertical shaft enclosing one or more flues.
"Flue" - means a vertical passageway for products of combustion.
"Smoke Pipe" - means a pipe or breeching connecting a heating appli- ance to a flue or smokestack.
"Vent pipe" - as applied to a heating, means a pipe for removing products of combustion for gas appliances.
"Smokestack" - means a vertical flue constructed of metal to which is connected one or more smoke pipes.
Section 2. Classification of Occupancy
(a) PUBLIC BUILDING - "Public building," means a building in which pesons congregate for civic, political, educational, religious, social or recrea- tional purposes.
(b) INSTITUTIONAL BUILDING - "Institutional building," means a building in which persons are harbored to receive medical, charitable or
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other care or treatment; or in which persons are held or detained by reason of public or civic duty; or for correctional purposes.
(c) RESIDENCE BUILDING - "Residence building," except when classed as an institutional building, means a building in which sleeping accommo- dations are provided.
(d) BUSINESS BUILDING - "Business building," means a building occupied for the transaction of business, for the rendering of professional services, for the display or sale of goods, wares, or merchandise, or for the performance of work or labor.
(e) STORAGE BUILDING - "Storage building," means a building for the storage and housing, except for purely display purposes of goods, wares or merchandise, not excluding in any case offices incidental to such uses.
(f) MIXED OCCUPANCY - In case a building is occupied for two or more purposes not included in one class, the provisions of this By-Law apply- ing to each class of occupancy shall apply to such parts of the building as come within that class; and if there should be conflicting provisions, the requirements securing the greater safety shall apply. However, if the different areas are fully separated by fire walls each may be considered separately under its own class.
Section 3. Classifications of Construction
(a) FIRST CLASS CONSTRUCTION. First class construction shall have structural members of approved noncombustible materials and shall have fire- resistance ratings of not less than four hours for exterior walls and for wall panels; of not less than three hours for columns, and for wall supporting beams, girders, and trusses; and of not less than two hours for floors and roofs, and their supporting beams, girders and trusses, except as modified in Section 6 (a) of Article III. Bearing walls, if any, shall be of approved mason- ry or reinforced concrete.
(b) MILL CONSTRUCTION - Mill construction shall have walls of approved masonry or reinforced concrete and all structural members which support masonry walls shall have a fire-resistance rating of not less than three hours. -
Interior structural elements, including floor and roof supporting framing and columns shall consist of heavy timbers with smooth flat surfaces assem- bled to avoid thin sections, sharp projections and concealed or inaccessible spaces; or they shall consist of steel or reinforced concrete members having a fire-resistance rating of not less than one hour.
(c) SECOND CLASS CONSTRUCTION - Second class construction in- cludes all buildings in which exterior walls and bearing walls are of approved masonry or reinforced concrete, but in which the structural elements are wholly or partly of wood of smaller dimensions than required for mill con- struction, or of metal not protected as required for first class construction.
(d) THIRD CLASS CONSTRUCTION - Third class construction covers all buildings in which the walls and interior construction are wholly or partly of wood.
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(e) FOURTH CLASS CONSTRUCTION-Fourth class construction covers buildings in which the structural supports are unprotected metal and in which the roofing and walls are of sheet metal or other non-combustible materials.
ARTICLE III General Building Requirements and Limitations
Section 1. Requirements of First Class Construction
(a) EXTERIOR WALLS - Exterior walls shall be of approved masonry not less than twelve inches thick or of reinforced concrete not less than five inches thick.
Walls composed entirely of hollow clay tile shall have not less than three cells in the thickness of the wall.
All exterior sash, doors, and frames shall be of metal or metal covered.
(b) FIREPROOFING OF FRAMING - Columns and wall supporting beams shall be protected with not less than two inches of concrete, and other floor and roof supporting beams, girders and trusses with not less than one and one-half inches. Other strong and durable materials may be used in place of concrete if they have the same fire-resistance rating as the specified thick- ness of concrete.
No pipes, wires, cables or other service equipment shall be embedded in the required fireproofing of columns or other structural members.
(c) FLOOR AND ROOF CONSTRUCTION - Floor and roof construc- tion shall have a fire-resistance rating of not less than two hours, except as modified in Section 6. (a) of this Article. Suspended ceilings may be included in determining the fire-resistance ratings of floor and roof construction.
(d) FIREPROOFING OF LINTELS - Lintels over openings in walls shall be protected as required for beams, provided, that when the span does not exceed six feet or such opening is spanned by an adequate masonry arch above the lintel, the fireproofing may be omitted.
(e) INTERIOR FINISH - Interior partitions shall have a fire-resistance rating of not less than one hour. Wood may be used for finish floors; interior finish and trim; interior doors, sash and transoms; and for wainscotting if backing or furring strips are firestopped at not more than ten foot intervals in any direction. Nothing in this section shall prevent the use of linoleum, rubber tile, asphalt tile, cork or similar flooring material or the use of tem- porary partitions of wood, glass or other approved material.
Section 2. Requirements for Mill Construction
(a) WALLS - Requirements for masonry and reinforced concrete walls, including lintels, shall be the same as for first class construction.
(b) WOODEN COLUMNS - Wooden columns shall be not less than eight inches in any dimension. All corners shall be rounded or chamfered.
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Columns shall not rest on floor timbers but shall be superimposed through- out all stories and bear directly on each other or on suitable noncombustible caps or bases.
(c) WOODEN BEAMS AND GIRDERS - Beams and girders of wood shall be not less than six inches in least dimension nor less than ten inches in depth.
Where girders and beams meet columns they shall be closely fitted and cross tied by approved combustible ties. Corbel blocks, side bolsters, splice blocks or similar members shall be connected so that the stresses are trans- ferred by means of devices or connectors housed within the contacting faces of the members.
Where intermediate beams are found necessary for the support of a floor, they shall rest on top of the girders; or they may be supported by approved steel or iron hangers.
Wall plates shall be provided where girders rest on walls.
Wooden beams and girders supported by walls shall have at least eight inches of masonry between their ends and the outside face of the wall. Where beams enter walls from opposite sides, there shall be at least eight inches of masonry between sides of adjacent beams.
(d) FLOORS - Floors shall be constructed of spliced or tongued and grooved plank not less than three inches in thickness and covered with one inch flooring laid crosswise or diagonally; or of laminated flooring consisting of four inch wide planks laid on edge. Flooring shall have at least one-half inch clearance from all walls to allow for expansion.
(e) ROOFS - Roof decks shall be matched or splined plank not less than two and one-half inches thick; or of laminated plank not less than three inches in width, set on edge. Other forms of roof decks may be used if of non- combustible materials. Beams and girders supporting roof loads only shall be not less than six inches in least dimension.
If timber arches or trusses are used to support roof loads, the framing members shall be not less than four by six inches in size, except that if pro- tected by approved automatic sprinklers under the roof deck the minimum size may be three by six inches; and if the members are fireproofed by an approved impregnation process the minimum size may be two by six inches.
Section 3. Requirements of Second Class Construction
(a) WALLS - Exterior walls shall be of approved masonry not less than twelve (12) inches thick except that for one story buildings and for the top story of buildings over one story in height the allowable thickness shall be eight (8) inches subject to the requirements of Section 3 (g) of Article V.
(b) FLOORS AND ROOFS - Within the fire limits, floors and roofs of combustible construction, unless sprinklered, shall be protected by walls and ceilings equivalent in fire-resistance to 34" of gypsum plaster on metal lath.
(c) WOODEN FRAMING - Wooden beams, girders, joists and rafters entering masonry walls shall have end bearings of not less than four (4)
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inches on such walls, and shall be separated from each other by not less than four (4) inches of solid masonry.
Girders, beams or other timbers, where joined over bearings shall be tied to each other by metal dogs or anchors to provide continuous ties across the building.
Bearing partitions shall be of 2 x 4 frame or larger - 16" O.C .; 12" O.C. and cross braced over ten (10) feet high.
(d) ANCHORAGE OF PLATES - Wooden plates on masonry walls shall be fastened to the wall with anchors or bolts, not less than 1%" in diameter; with washers or hooks and imbeded not less than 16" in hollow wall con- struction. Bolts shall be spaced not more than 8' O.C.
(e) Openings in wooden partitions shall be doubled studded and headered.
Section 4. Requirements of Third Class Construction
(a) FRAMING - Every building or structure of third class construction shall be built with a full braced frame. Balloon framing is prohibited.
(b) SILLS, POSTS, GIRTS AND PLATES - Exterior walls shall be framed with not less than 4" x 6" sills and posts and any such wall more than one story in height shall be framed with girts of the same size. Plates shall be built of not less than two 2" x 4" members.
SILLS SHALL BE HALVED AT JOININGS. In buildings of more than one and one-half stories, posts shall be spaced not more than 24' -9" center to center. Posts and girts shall be mortised, tenoned and pinned together at each story height, and shall be braced at all corners in each story where a design of building allows, otherwise to the satisfaction of the Building Inspector.
The buildings or structures not used for habitation, not more than 12'-0" in height and covering not more than 500 square feet of floor area, the sills and posts may be not less than 4" x 4".
(c) STUDS - Studs in exterior walls shall be not less than 2" x 4", spaced not more than 16 inches center to center, and nailed at each end with not less than four 8d common nails. Except that in buildings where 4" x 4" sills and posts are allowed, studs shall be not less than 2" x "3 spaced not more than 16" center to center. Bearing partitions 10' or over in height shall be bridged every five feet in height with stock the full width of studing -2" thick.
(d) PLATFORM FRAMING - Platform or box construction may be used in the construction of one and a half story dwellings and on the first floor of two and a half story dwellings. In this type of construction the first floor joist at each side shall be doubled and one joist spiked at the ends of all joists resting on sills.
(e) Openings in walls and partitions shall be double studded and shall have double headers.
(f) BOARDING - All third class buildings shall be boarded in with not less than 1" wood boards or 1/2" grade marked plywood.
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(g) FLOOR JOISTS - In Third Class Buildings not exceeding two and one-half (21/2) stories in height, the floor joists shall be of the following sizes, or in special construction as the Inspector of Buildings may require. Floor joist shall be doubled under partitions parallel with floor joist.
Distance between
Size of Joist
Distance on Centers
Bearings-Clear
Span of -
10 feet
2 × 8 inches
16 inches
11 feet
2 × 8 inches
16 inches
12 feet
2 × 8 inches
16 inches
13 feet
2 × 8 inches
16 inches
14 feet
2 × 10 inches
16 inches
15 feet
2 x 10 inches
16 inches
16 feet
2 × 10 inches
16 inches
17 feet
2 x 12 inches
16 inches
18 feet
2 x 12 inches
16 inches
All floor joists wtih a span of twelve (12) feet or over shall be cross bridged with stock of seven-eights (7/8) inches by three (3) inches.
The attic floor joist in dwellings can be two (2) inches less in depth than is given in the above table, but the attic, whethered finished or unfinished, that can be used for storage purposes, shall have the same strength.
In wooden buildings of two (2) stories or more, girts shall be used on all sides. In no case will ledger boards be allowed where girts are practical.
Section 5. Four Class Buildings
A building of unprotected metal construction shall consist of structural supports of metal and, or roofing and walls or other enclosures of sheet metal or other incombustible covering.
To all intents and purposes of these By-Laws QUONSET buildings and trailers shall be considered fourth class buildings.
No Fourth Class building shall be used for habitation.
Section 6. Height Restrictions.
(a) FIRST CLASS CONSTRUCTION - Buildings of first class construc- tion shall be limited in height to 65 feet. Storage buildings of this type shall be sprinklered if over 50 feet in height. These height restrictions may be ex- ceeded within the limits permitted by the Zoning Ordinance if the fire-resis- tance ratings as required by the Building By-Law for this type of construc- tion are increased to four hours where three hours is specified and to three hours where two hours is specified.
(b) MILL CONSTRUCTION - Buildings of mill construction shall be limited in height to 55 feet. Storage buildings of this type shall be sprink- lered if over 40 feet high.
(c) SECOND CLASS CONSTRUCTION - Buildings of second class con- struction shall be limited in height to 45 feet. Storage buildings of this type shall be sprinklered if over 35 feet high.
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(d) THIRD CLASS CONSTRUCTION - Buildings of third Class con- struction shall be not over 21% stories or 35 feet in height except that storage buildings shall be limited to 25 feet.
(e) FOURTH CLASS CONSTRUCTION - Buildings of fourth class con- struction shall be not more than one story high; povided, that this shall not prohibit mezzanine stories, the aggregate area of which does not exceed 25 percent of the area of the building.
(f) EXCEPTIONS - In determining heights, the following appurtenances shall not be deemed parts of buildings, church spires, tanks and their sup- ports, towers and penthouses not used for human occupancy, chimneys, signs attached to the building, radio masts, flag poles, water cooling towers for air conditioning or other apparatus and parapets that do not extend more than five feet above the roof surface at their point of contact.
Section 7. Fire Limits
For the Prevention of Fires and the Preservation of Life; Health and Morals. The territories within the limits hereinafter bounded and described are designated as "Fire Limit District Number 1" and "Fire Limit District Number 2".
FIRE LIMIT DISTRICT NUMBER 1
Paragraph 1.
The territory lying within the bounded by a line beginning at a point in the southeasterly line of Washington Street-192 feet northerly from the northerly line of Railroad Avenue and running thence southeasterly by the southerly line of a way leading to the Old Parish Cemetery; thence running southerly and southeasterly following the westerly and southwesterly line of said Old Parish Cemetery to the northwesterly line of Central Street, thence running southwesterly following the said northwesterly line of Central Street to a point where the southwesterly line of Lyman Place extended would intersect and said northwesterly line of Central Street; thence running south- easterly across Central Street and continuing to the same direction following the said southwesterly line of Lyman Place to a point distant 100 feet from the southwesterly line of Central Street; thence running southwesterly by a line parallel with and 100 feet distant from the southeasterly line of Central Street to the northeasterly line of Nahatan Street; thence along the north- easterly line of Nahatan Street to a point where the northwesterly line of Central Street extended would intersect the said northeasterly line of Nahatan Street; thence running southeasterly across Nahatan Street and continuing in the same direction following the said northwesterly line of Central Street to the northeasterly line of Guild Street; thence running northwesterly following the said northwesterly line of Guild Street to the southwesterly line of Wash- ington Street; thence running northwesterly across Washington Street to the intersection of the northwesterly lines of Washington and Walpole Streets; thence northwesterly by a right angle to the northwesterly line of Washington St. 150 feet; thence running northeasterly by a line parallel with the 150 feet distant, from the said northwesterly line of Washington Street to the south- westerly line of Howard Street; thence running southeasterly following the
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said southwesterly line of Howard Street to the northwesterly line of Wash- ington Street thence running southerly across Washington Street to the point of beginning.
FIRE LIMIT DISTRICT NUMBER 2
Paragraph 1
Beginning at a point in the southerly line of the right of way of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad at the intersection with the line drawn parallel with the 100 feet distant in a northwesterly direction from the northwesterly line of Washington Street; and running thence southwesterly parallel with the 100 feet distant from the northwesterly line of said Wash- ington Street to the northeasterly line of Hawes Brook; thence running south- easterly by the said northeasterly line of Hawes Brook to a point 100 feet southeasterly from the southeasterly line of Washington Street; thence run- ning northeasterly by a line parallel with the 100 feet distant from the said southeasterly line of Washington Street to a point in the southwesterly line of Dean Street; thence running across Dean Street to a point in the north- easterly line of said Dean Street at its intersection with a line parallel with and 100 feet distant from the southeasterly line of New Washington Street; thence running northeasterly by a line parallel with and 100 feet distant from the said southeasterly line of New Washington Street to the southerly line of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad; thence running westerly by the said southerly line of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad to the point of beginning.
Paragraph 2
Every building hereafter erected within the limits respectively of Fire Limit District 1 and Fire Limit District 2 shall have self-sustaining exterior or party walls constructed of brick, stone, iron, steel, concrete, concrete block or other equally substantial fire-proof material with roof covering, cornices and gutters of incombustible material in such construction. Wood may be used for floors, roofs, inside finish, doors, window frames and sashes. All walls and ceilings in 2nd class buildings shall be plastered on wire lath.
Paragraph 3
No building within the Fire Limit Districts described in Section 1 shall be altered, if the estimated cost of the proposed alteration as determined by the Building Inspector shall exceed sixty per-cent of the cost of a like new building, without making said building as altered conform to the requirements of these By-Laws as to new buildings in said Fire Limit Districts.
Paragraph 4
No wooden building shall hereafter be moved into said Fire Limit Dis- trict. No wooden building shall be moved from one place to another within either of said Fire Limit Districts unless a permit is granted for such moving by the Building Inspector.
Section 8. Area Restrictions
(a) EFFECT OF SPRINKLERS - In buildings not protected by auto- matic sprinklers, the maximum area permitted on any floor without suitable divisions by fire walls shall be as given in this section.
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Except as otherwise provided, these areas may be increased by one hun- dred percent when the building is fully sprinklered.
(d) FIRST CLASS CONSTRUCTION - For first class construction, un- limited, except that buildings over two stories in height used for the manu- facture, sale or storage of combustible goods or merchandise and exceeding in area eight thousand square feet shall be sprinklered.
(c) MILL CONSTRUCTION - For mill construction, the area shall not exceed 8000 square feet.
(d) SECOND CLASS CONSTRUCTION - For second class construction, the area shall not exceed 6000 square feet.
(e) THIRD CLASS CONSTRUCTION - For third class construction, the area shall not exceed 5000 square feet.
(f) ALTERATIONS - No building shall be hereafter altered so as to exceed in area in any story the limits fixed in this section, provided that a building heretofore erected which already exceeds the limit of area may, nevertheless, be extended on a side by means of the type of construction prescribed for a building hereafter erected, if the existing and new portions are separated by fire walls.
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