SECTION 554.339. Structural Requirements

(a) Every building and every portion thereof must be designed and constructed to sustain all dead and live loads in accordance with accepted engineering practices and standards.

(b) Special provisions must be made in the design of buildings in regions where local experience shows loss of life or extensive damage to buildings resulting from hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, or floods.

(c) The sponsor is responsible for employing qualified personnel in the preparation of plan designs and engineering and in the construction of the facility to assure that all structural components are adequate, safe, and meet the applicable construction requirements.

(d) The design of the structural system must be done by or under the direction of a professional structural engineer who is currently registered by the Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors in accordance with state law.

(e) The parts of the plans, details, and specifications covering the structural design must bear the legible seal of the engineer on the original drawings from which the prints are made.

(f) If the municipality has a building code, that code must govern the building requirements for the construction involved. NFPA 101 must be used for fire safety requirements. Should discrepancies between the codes arise, they must be called to the attention of HHSC.

(g) In the absence of a local building code, a nationally recognized building code must be used with regard to the construction integrity of the building. NFPA 101 must be used for fire safety requirements.

(h) Each building must be classified as to building construction type for fire resistance rating purposes in accordance with NFPA 220 and NFPA 101.

(i) Enclosures of vertical openings between floors must meet NFPA 101.

(j) All interior walls, partitions, and roof structure in buildings of fire resistive and noncombustible construction must be of noncombustible or limited combustible materials.

(k) Building insulation materials, unless sealed on all sides and edges in an approved manner, must have a flame spread rating of 25 or less when tested in accordance with NFPA 255 and NFPA 258.

Source Note: The provisions of this §554.339 adopted to be effective July 1, 1996, 21 TexReg 4408; transferred effective January 15, 2021, as published in the Texas Register December 11, 2020, 45 TexReg 8871; amended to be effective January 2, 2022, 46 TexReg 9037