We have been given the work to a new school, and there is a storm shelter built into it.
We want to run our pipe over head from the fire pump room, which is not storm-shelter protected, and penetrate through the storm shelter wall to protect this area. I just want to confirm if penetrating through the storm shelter wall is acceptable to do. In the 2020 version of ICC-500, I understand it to read that penetrations shall not degrade the structural integrity and impact resistance of the storm shelter envelope. It also says that penetrations 2 ½ inches or larger in diameter should be considered openings and shall be protected in accordance with section 306.4 (impact protective systems and impact testing). Then, reading into chapter 6, which is fire protection systems, it states: “These systems are not required to remain functional for the design storm event and minimum period of shelter occupancy (24 hours for hurricane shelters, 2 hours for tornado shelters) or to be protected from the wind load and impact requirements of Chapter 3 or flood-resistance requirements of Chapter 4.” Is penetrating the shelter wall the best approach? Sent in anonymously for discussion. Click Title to View | Submit Your Question | Subscribe
8 Comments
sean
2/7/2022 06:17:56 am
You can penetrate the storm shelter but the designer (architect/structural engineer) will have requirements on how. If this was not anticipated they may also have to have their work re-reviewed for the peer review for storm shelters.
Reply
Glenn Berger
2/7/2022 08:07:46 am
Penetrating the storm shelter as described is acceptable. Sean's has some good points in his response.
Reply
Adam
2/7/2022 08:13:17 am
I'm in Canada where storm shelters are not at all common. All of the following questions come from a place of pure ignorance:
Reply
Jesse
2/7/2022 08:17:15 am
Sean has a great answer. The AHJ may require sealed letter from the struc. engineer too.
Reply
CJ Bonczyk
2/7/2022 09:31:35 am
I have done this many times here in Texas. This requires extensive coordination with the Structural Engineer of record. Pipe sizes are required to be limited, spacing of pipes to be separated by certain distances. Couplings are required on opposite sides of the wall at specific distances from the face of walls. Sleeves are required to meet all structural specifications. Thus you are creating mini manifolds entering the room. Many times it depends on the structural design and limitations. Call outs on submitted plans to AHJ should indicate structural details of these. I am not a fan of these penetration requirements. I wish there was something similar to a HILTI speed sleeve that would eliminate the tornado shelter penetration issues. Hope that helps some.
Reply
Chris
2/7/2022 01:24:38 pm
We do storm shelters all the time here in Oklahoma, generally we just have to give dimensions of where the penetrations will be and what diameter the hole will be and then the engineer approves it. We'll core a hole and run the pipe through it after a horizontal offset close to the wall and then the GC (generally) will supply a shroud around our pipe.
Reply
Mark Harris
2/10/2022 11:51:49 am
May be seeing more of this. Has been a hot topic in St. Louis area. Recently a tornado leveled large section of a concrete tilt up construction building in Edwardsville IL with six fatalities.
Reply
12/31/2023 03:15:44 am
Thanks for also talking about how it's important to have an estimate on how long can a below ground shelter be continuously used in the event of an emergency. I want to find a good below ground shelter installation service soon because I plan to look for a good way to make it easier to protect my family during a storm. Winds can reach very alarming speeds where I live so I have to be very mindful of that.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
ALL-ACCESSSUBSCRIBESubscribe and learn something new each day:
COMMUNITYTop September '24 Contributors
YOUR POSTPE EXAMGet 100 Days of Free Sample Questions right to you!
FILTERS
All
ARCHIVES
November 2024
PE PREP SERIES |