Category: Uncategorized (Page 12 of 12)

The summary of MEANS OF EGRESS:

Egress means go out or leave. In architecture, it related to an EXIT.

Building codes specify the security systems and its facilities, and it also specifics the Exit Accesses: the  max and min distance to them,  the amount of them,  some equipment around them, such as emergency light and clear sign, and discharge place, all of them must meet the building codes.

In the reading STAIR DESIGN, the author tell our some specific detail of the dimensions of risers and treads in a stairway.

In the reading STAIR REQUIREMENTS, describe some detail information: the Guardrails, the  Stairway Width, the landings, the Handrails, the Treads, Risers, and Nosings, and some other relatived details.

Egress is the means of getting all occupants of a building out safely and accordingly. A building has many codes it has to follow in order to keep egress to its standards. For example, the building needs to have a specific occupant load. If this load is over its max it can be unsafe when fleeing away from harm inside the building. The occupant load establishes the required number of the width of all the exits.Building codes also have the requirement of the fire resistance rating of material, te fire alarm sprinkler and safety systems. They specify the maximum distance of travel to an exit and the maximum distance between distance between the exits.Stairway widths, landing, handrails, nosing of treads all have specific measurements that lend to the required means of egress.

Egress is the action of leaving a place or getting outside of something, in this case its buildings. Egress has three components to it ,exit access, exits, and exit discharge. Each of these components come with their requirements for following building codes and procedures. There are specific details that should be taken into account when making exits.  For example, making sure every exit has clear signs and hallways that have walls that are fire proof and that have lights that show the path when there are power outages. However, the most important detail that must always be followed when dealing with anything about egress is making sure that these exits are safe for people to walk through when there are certain conditions like fire.

The pages that were assigned to be read explains the means of egress. It is basically the movement of going out or leaving a building. Egress is known to have three different parts to it. The exits access, the exit discharge, and the exits. Exit access is the path or passageway that leads to an exit that should be directed as possible. Exit discharge is when all exits must be discharged to a safe place of refuge outside of the building. Finally Exits which is meanly what must provide an enclosed and protected means of evacuation for the occupants of a building in the event of fire, leading from an exit access to an exit discharge.

In this chapter stair design was also mentioned. It was explained as it being strictly regulated by the building code, especially when a stairway is an essential part of an emergency egress system. It has requirements loke stairway width, landing, handrails, and guardrails. Must of all the treaf, risers, and nosings. Stairs can be different in the way of design, structure, measurements, and shape. The different names of stairs i found in this chapter were Winding stairs, Circular stairs, and Spiral stairs. Each tupe had its own functional and unique way of look.

Stairs are one of the ways to get from one floor to another. And there are many different types like straight-run, quarter-turn, half-turn, winding, circular, and spiral. However, there are rules and codes to follow so that they would not endanger the welfare of a person. Knowing stairs can be dangerous, following the rules will make it beneficial and easier for the people using them. When it comes to stairs we also need to pay attention to the railing (hand and guard) and the landings. The hand rails should be at a height where everyone is able to hold on and the guardrails should be able to protect people from falling of the staircase.

Egress is a mean of getting out the building in case of an emergency like a fire. The exits should be in a position that it is easy to find and everyone is able to escape from it. For example, they should be a minimum of two exits in case one is blocked off. That way people are not stuck in the building.

From what I read in this chapter he explained the means of egress which is  going out or leaving a place, as well as stair design which includes the different types of stairs and the reasons behind handrails, treads, risers, their dimensions and etc. Every building has an occupant load and that is the number of people that may occupy a building or portion. This plays a role when it comes to building stairs because these passageways should be as direct as possible and obtain safe egress. Exits are also very important because an exit must provide an enclosed and protected means of evacuation for the occupants of a building in the event of fire. In the section where he speaks about stair design he explains that the dimensions of risers and treads in a stairway should be proportioned to accommodate our body movement, also the occupant load which is based on the use group and the floor area served, determines the required width of an exit stairway. As you can see in this chapter the reasoning behind the way stairs, exits, and the specific dimensions chosen are made because of building codes which accommodate us while either leaving the building going in or going from different floors.

Egress is the ability to leave a building to go to a large area or place in case of emergencies. Egress is defined in three different parts; exit access, exits, and exit discharge. Ching divided all of these into separate parts, giving them each their own definition. An exit access is the passageway leading to the exit, an exit is a corridor that leads to the outside of the building, and an exit discharge is the safe place that is at the end of the exit.
There was also a section on stairs in the chapter, where stairs are made up of treads and risers, which act as the “slope” of each step. The design of each staircase depends on the building code, a set of rules that the building places for constructed objects, whether it could be only a certain size, or a certain material. Stairways also have different designs, such as a spiral staircase, a half and a quarter stairwell, a straight run stairwell, winding stairwell, and a circular stairwell

Francis Ching, the author of “Building Construction Illustrated” talks about means of egress in one of his chapters. According to him, and online sources, means of egress is an unobstructed path which allows individuals occupying the building to exit safely. The three components a means of egress (or a way to exit) need to have are: Exit access, Exit, and Exit discharge. The width of any exit depends on the number of people occupying a portion of the building (square feet per occupant). Ching stresses that any exit must be unobstructed, lit by emergency lighting, and as direct as possible for occupants to reach and exit court at ground level.

In chapter nine, Ching focuses on the components, rules, and requirements of stairs. Generally, stairs consist of risers and treads. To generate stairs you need to have the formula for it. First, take the height of floor finish to floor finish and divide it by the preferred riser height. The rounded off quotient is a whole number of risers. Then divide the total rise by the quotient and the answer would be the riser height. There is always a minimum of three rises per flight to prevent tripping.

Moreover, the width of the stairs depends on the number of people occupying the floor area. Typically, the minimum width is 44 inches  or 36 inches for 49 people or less.

Building code requires that the handrails must be on both sides on the stairs unless allowed otherwise, and should not be interrupted by a newel post. Most handrails should be 34 inches to 38 inches high and should extend 12 inches parallel to the landing.

Ching goes on to discuss the different types of stairs and their requirements. The straight-run stairs, which lead to one level to another without any winders. Quarter turn stair is an ‘L’ shaped. Half turn stair creates a semi circle at an angle of 180 degrees at intervening landings. Winding stairs are often restricted because of their small foot landing. Circular stair are usually helpful if the inner radius is twice the width of the stairs. And finally, spiral stairs are not recommended but they occupy the least amount of space.

AS I type the word count at the bottom