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Materials already existing in older buildings which have not been tested in accordance with contemporary standards may be acceptable, if they meet the National Institute for Building Sciences “Guideline on Fire Rating of Archaic Materials and Assemblies” for the rating as required. The NIBS guidelines list a large number of common archaic assemblies of materials for walls, columns, floors and ceilings, beams, and doors with recommended fire resistances in hours. The guidelines describe how to evaluate any archaic material assembly which is not listed or tested. This standard, which is available for reference at the department of buildings, should be consulted for any questionable existing archaic assembly which is required by code to meet a specific fire resistance. It may also be used in those cases where it is desirable to install an archaic material with a required rating to match an archaic material already existing elsewhere in the building. Such archaic assemblies do not have to be brought before the building board of appeals to be acceptable if the appropriate standards are referenced on the permit application.
(Prior code § 78.1-43; Amend Coun. J. 9-13-89, p. 4604; Amend Coun. J. 3-5-03, p. 104990, § 40; Amend Coun. J. 11-13-07, p. 14999, Art. II, § 1)