The owner asks that the stairway in the existing portion, which cannot be reframed without taking down a structural masonry wall, be permitted to keep its present riser height where the new addition ties into it. He is not offering a different product or an equivalent assembly; he is asking for relief from one requirement in this one building. Which action matches what he is requesting?
- AApproval of an alternative material, method or design, supported by evidence that what is proposed is at least equivalent to the code requirement in quality, strength, durability and safety, with the approval and the evidence behind it recorded in the permit file kept for the job
An alternative approval turns on the equivalency of something proposed in place of the requirement. The owner is proposing nothing new; he is asking to leave an existing condition alone, which the code answers with a modification.
- BA variance from the board of appeals, which is the only body with authority to relieve a requirement of the code, granted where compliance would impose an unreasonable hardship on the owner of an existing building, with the decision entered in the department's record
The board of appeals hears appeals of the code official's decisions and does not issue variances or weigh hardship. The authority to modify a requirement in an individual case sits with the code official in the first instance.
- A modification granted by the code official for this individual case, available where practical difficulties make the strict letter of the code impractical, provided the intent is met and health and life safety are not lessened, with the action recorded in the department's files
- DA stop work order, since existing construction that does not comply with the current code may not be incorporated into new work, so the addition may not proceed until the stairway in the existing portion of the house has been reframed and then reinspected
Nothing described is unsafe or unpermitted work in progress, which is what a stop work order answers. Reaching for the strongest enforcement tool against a request for relief is a serious misuse of authority.
Why C is correct
A modification is relief for an individual case where a practical difficulty makes strict compliance impractical. That is precisely the request, and the code conditions it on meeting the intent, not lessening health and life safety, and recording the action in the files.
What this question is testing
Whether the candidate can distinguish a modification from an alternative approval and from a board appeal, and knows the conditions and recordkeeping the code attaches to a modification.
On the job
Old houses generate these requests constantly: stairs, ceiling heights, window sizes and landing dimensions that were legal when built and cannot be changed without gutting the building. Inspectors do not grant modifications themselves; they identify the condition, tell the owner the path exists, and route the request to the code official. Where a modification is granted, the inspector needs the written record in the file before signing off the work it touches.
Memory technique
Alternative is a substitute; modification is relief.
Exam tip
Something new proposed means alternative; nothing new but a real difficulty means modification.
Where to look it up
IRC Chapter 1 administration, duties and powers of the code official, modifications, read alongside the alternative materials provision that follows it.