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Council tables western‑Washington snow‑load proposal, approves wind‑load transition table
Summary
The council asked for re-review of a proposal to adopt ground snow loads for roof design in western Washington and supported adopting a transition wind-load table/figure to smooth coastal wind-load boundaries.
The Building Code Council reviewed structural proposals including a petition by the Structural Engineers Association of Washington to allow a roof snow load equal to the ground snow load in specified Western Washington buildings. A council structural representative said adopting that change would increase design loads for many buildings and asked that the snow-load proposal be set aside for re-review.
By contrast, council members endorsed adding a wind-load transition figure that interpolates wind loads between coastal and inland zones (a transition band rather than a hard boundary). One council member argued the transition zone better reflects storm behavior and recommended the staff include the figure during final drafting for IBC and IRC alignment.
The council did not finalize the snow-load proposal at the work session but directed staff to pursue the wind-load figure and to coordinate the snow-load proposal with the submitting group for further discussion.
