Vacant space

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un(occupied)?

The occ type usually starts with the building, whether or not the space is rented, so if it looks like a multi-tenant office building, the occ-type would be office even when vacant/empty. OTOH, if it's part of a strip mall and fitted out as a barber shop, the type type would be barber shop even if not rented.

I suspect this changes state-to-state and maybe even down to the city level. (And I am not a lawyer...)
 
As far as I'm aware, occupancy types tend to go by the intended purpose of the space, regardless of whether it is occupied or unoccupied.

Imagine if there was separate set of standards for unoccupied and you had to modify things when they became occupied. It would be a massive headache. It's simpler to just have a set of standards for the type (e.g. residential) that remains unchanged whether it is occupied or not.
 
Just wanted to update vacant space is in commercial building with two spaces divided for rent with firewall etc etc as req Not residential building
 
hhsting said:
Just wanted to update vacant space is in commercial building with two spaces divided for rent with firewall etc etc as req Not residential building
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Residential was just an example. The point was that, as far as I'm aware, occupancy types don't change whether they are occupied or unoccupied. Yours would be a commercial space, whether occupied or unoccupied.

It makes sense to follow the standards of it being an occupied commercial space, even if it is currently unoccupied. That way it is ready the moment a tenant takes up occupancy.
 
Jerramundi said:
Residential was just an example. The point was that, as far as I'm aware, occupancy types don't change whether they are occupied or unoccupied. Yours would be a commercial space, whether occupied or unoccupied.
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Ok but commercial space has a lot of occupancy types. Do you mean it depends on building occupancy type the building was intended for?
 
hhsting said:
Ok but commercial space has a lot of occupancy types. Do you mean it depends on building occupancy type the building was intended for?
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I would wager it would just move up to a more generalized category such as Business, Mercantile, or generally Commercial. Whatever the building is zoned for.
 
You could always dive into Muni Code for your particular area... but you may spend hours searching.
 
Jerramundi said:
I would wager it would just move up to a more generalized category such as Business, Mercantile, or generally Commercial. Whatever the building is zoned for.
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I would also agree, because a store space as different code requirements than a office building. Weather or not those are occupied or not. Can always rezone the place


“ shoot low boys their riding shetland ponies”
 
As most have stated, depending on zoning, if it is a single use zone based on area, it would simplify deciding what minimum needs to be set in place for future use. Mixed usage zoning can complicate planing for example residental/commercial retail zoning might allow either and I think the hardest to plan for; office/retail however can be a rather simple minimum pre-enduse setup. For that type of space we usually will only get a minimum lighting and egress lighting set waiting for end user design to be desided on as Office/retail space can have greatly variable layouts. Also minimally need to know direction space potentially would be designed for, as wiring methods can vary, (emt, mc or nm).
 
I’ve run into this a few times , I’ve seen some jurisdictions have modified requirements for different shell building spaces, cold dark shell etc. which is really nice. Unfortunately I never had them for my jurisdiction. I would focus on any life safety things , such as emergency and exit signage. Try a search for these amended shell requirements in other areas.
 
zbang said:
un(occupied)?

The occ type usually starts with the building, whether or not the space is rented, so if it looks like a multi-tenant office building, the occ-type would be office even when vacant/empty. OTOH, if it's part of a strip mall and fitted out as a barber shop, the type type would be barber shop even if not rented.

I suspect this changes state-to-state and maybe even down to the city level. (And I am not a lawyer...)
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The occupancy type would be business, or group B, assuming the jurisdiction goes by the ICC codes. See 304.1 under definitions.
 
Please see below link to thread it is not clear if it complies with NEC 2014 section 230.40 exception no. 1 or not and has vacant space


NEC 2014 230.40 exception no. 1 apply here or not

Attached sketch shows building layout bottom left corner, electrical room detail bottom right corner and Riser at top. Building layout shows Vacant space which has not been filled and Tenant A space occupancy type B. In the top middle of layout is electrical room. Electrical room detail shows...
forums.mikeholt.com
 
Occupancy for the purpose of 240.40 and its exceptions has nothing to do with the types of occupancies as talked about in the building codes.
It has to do with the spaces having different tenants and/or owners. As I have said in other similar threads, in general, each occupancy has its own meter, and each meter has a set of service entrance conductors. Sure, there are some exceptions to this that have to be looked at on an individual basis.
 
hhsting said:
Please see below link to thread it is not clear if it complies with NEC 2014 section 230.40 exception no. 1 or not and has vacant space


NEC 2014 230.40 exception no. 1 apply here or not

Attached sketch shows building layout bottom left corner, electrical room detail bottom right corner and Riser at top. Building layout shows Vacant space which has not been filled and Tenant A space occupancy type B. In the top middle of layout is electrical room. Electrical room detail shows...
forums.mikeholt.com
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You originally asked about occupancy as it relates to the building code. This is not very related to occupancy as it relates to the NEC. Somewhere there is a set of architectural plans for this space. On those plans will be a note or some such that clearly identifies the IBC classification of the space. That classification will govern the HVAC, fire protection, fire alarm, egress, fire separation, and a bunch of other requirements for that space. So, which one do you mean, building code or NEC?
 
gadfly56 said:
You originally asked about occupancy as it relates to the building code. This is not very related to occupancy as it relates to the NEC. Somewhere there is a set of architectural plans for this space. On those plans will be a note or some such that clearly identifies the IBC classification of the space. That classification will govern the HVAC, fire protection, fire alarm, egress, fire separation, and a bunch of other requirements for that space. So, which one do you mean, building code or NEC?
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Unfortunately I looked on Architect plans their is no such classification provided by the Architect??

Anyways correct I don’t know what NEC is defining or NEC intent is when saying occupancy in NFPA 70 itself. Some say it’s about IBC occupancy classification while some say it’s about number of tenants or owner based on meter etc.

What was more confusing is vacant space should NEC intent is IBC classification. However it seems figuring out number of tenant or owner based on meter is equally confusing.


Anyways what is the intent of NEC when it’s saying occupancy IBC or something else
 
hhsting said:
Ok but any opinions on what do most or
Majority of local inspection authority would interpret it as?
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In my opinion most base it on the owners and/or tenants. Each owner and/or tenant gets a meter and their own set of service entrance conductors. With a vacant space, that will typically have its own meter and set of service entrance conductors. The billing would go to the property owner until the space is rented to a tenant.

However, you really have to ask the inspection authority for the location of the project.
 
don_resqcapt19 said:
In my opinion most base it on the owners and/or tenants. Each owner and/or tenant gets a meter and their own set of service entrance conductors. With a vacant space, that will typically have its own meter and set of service entrance conductors. The billing would go to the property owner until the space is rented to a tenant.

However, you really have to ask the inspection authority for the location of the project.
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What is your opinion post #13 link post?


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