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PaperclipPerfector  8hr ago (text post)   321 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for March 20, 2026

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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ICC (the International Code Council), in collaboration with THIA (the Tiny Home Industry Association), is in the process of developing a new standard for "small residential units and tiny houses", ICC/THIA 1215.

  • The IRC (International Residential Code) already defines "tiny house" as 400 ft2 (37 m2) or smaller.

  • The latest draft of this new standard (available through the "documents" link on this page) additionally defines "small residential unit" as 1200 ft2 (111 m2) or smaller.

The name of the committee is "Standard for Off-Site Construction Tiny Houses", and this collaboration with THIA is building on a previous collaboration with MBI (the Modular Building Institute). However, this new standard will apply, not just to newfangled off-site (wheeled, modular, and panelized) construction, but also to traditional on-site (stick-built) construction.

For ease of visualization, here are examples of "tiny" and "small" floor plans. (I still am waiting for you to post the plan of your dream house (1 2)—or your dream neighborhood.)

(Can we extend this progression? "Normal" ≤ 3600 ft2 (334 m2), "large" ≤ 10800 ft2 (1003 m2), and "mansion" > 10,800 ft2 (1003 m2)? ;-) Generally, for apartment buildings (occupancy R-2) made of wood with no special fire rating (construction type V), the IBC prescribes limits of 7000 ft2 without sprinklers (no longer allowed in new buildings), 21,000 ft2 with spinklers and multiple stories, and 28,000 ft2 with sprinklers and one story. But no such restrictions apply to houses (occupancy R-3).)

This interesting article covers how ICC was caught flat-footed by data centers' sudden rise in popularity. In what occupancy do they belong?

  • Business, like electronic data entry?

  • Moderate-hazard factory/industrial, like lithium-ion-battery assembly and usage?

  • Moderate-hazard storage, like lithium-ion-battery storage?

This has important ramifications for code requirements.

In the end (technically not finalized at the time of this article's publication), the responsible committee decided to put it in moderate-hazard factory/industrial. (See the committee's response to proposal G38-25, contained in the "report of committee action to CAH 1" document on this page.)

ICC is in the very early stages of developing a guideline on data centers. Nothing but a tentative outline has been published so far (in the "documents" on the linked page).

The latest draft of this new standard (available through the "documents" link on this page) additionally defines "small residential unit" as 1200 ft2 (111 m2) or smaller.

9 residents in 1198 sq ft seems bonkers to me. That's about 133 sq ft per person. The average male takes up 8.625 sq ft laying down.

When I was young we lived in a 700sq ft rental as a family of five, and it was not a good time, despite being more square footage per person than the example dwelling above.

Is there an assumption that people are sleeping in shifts, or something?

  • Bedrooms: The IPMC (International Property Maintenance Code) requires 50 ft2 per occupant, but not less than 70 ft2 for one occupant. IMO, this is a bit small but not totally unreasonable. A 10′ × 10′ bedroom (even when the two doorways are taken into account) has room for a twin XL bunk bed (80″ × 40″, which we can round up to 7′ × 3′6″ for simplicity), a 4′ × 2′ desk, a 3′ × 2′ desk, and two 3′ × 2′ wardrobes or shelving units.

  • Living room and dining room: The IPMC's requirements are complicated, but can be approximated as 37 ft2 per occupant for seven or more occupants (15 in the dining room and 22 in the living room). Under the IBC, 37 ft2 is enough to accommodate one person sitting at a table in the dining room, plus one person sitting at a table and one person sitting without a table in the living room.

  • Kitchen: NKBA (the National Kitchen and Bath Association) has guidelines that essentially boiled down to a minimum of around 8′3″ × 10′ the last time that I looked at them (many months ago). I use 10′ × 10′ for simplicity.

  • Utility room: Width of 5 feet accommodates a washer and a dryer (though I hear they make stacking residential washers and dryers). Length of 10 feet leaves ample room for water heater and circuit-breaker box.

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