Chapter 36, the One and Two Family Dwelling Code, has been revised to make it consistent with the 1995 edition of the CABO One and Two Family Dwelling Code to the extent practicable. Substantive changes have been made as a result of reviews by the BBRS staff, state and municipal building officials, and technical advisory boards.

THE USERS' GUIDE TO THE SIXTH EDITION PART I - OVERALL CHANGES

The Sixth Edition of the Massachusetts State Building Code is based on the provisions of the 1993 BOCA National Building Code. However, since significant changes have been made to the national code, the Sixth Edition is considered a unique document to the Commonwealth. One should not assume that the two documents are compatible. There are several reasons for differences between the two codes, some of which
are identified below.

(1) In some instances, requirements of Massachusetts General Laws (M.G.L.) conflict with provisions of
the national code. Since law is superior to regulation, the national code must be stripped of any conflicting
language.

(a) The Board of Building Regulations and Standards (BBRS) is fortunate to employ the services of
various subcommittees comprised of learned and experienced professionals who donate their time in
review of the code. Members of these subcommittees focus on certain aspects of the code and adapt its
language to suit local peculiarities that may not be considered in the national code. These subcommittees
include:

• 1. The Geotechnical Advisory Committee

• 2. The Fire Prevention, Fire Protection Advisory Committee

• 3. The Loads Advisory Committee

• 4. The Seismic Advisory Committee

• 5. The Energy Advisory Committee

Also, Massachusetts must coordinate the provisions of the state building code with the provisions of
other specialized codes under the control of separate independent boards. Some of the specialized codes
include:

• 6. The Fire Prevention Code (527 CMR),

• 7. The Elevator Code (524 CMR),

• 8. The Architectural Access Regulations (521 CMR),

• 9. The Plumbing and Gas Code (248 CMR)

• 10. The Electrical Code (527 CMR).
  

(b) The following chapters, are considered entirely unique to the Commonwealth differing significantly
from the national code, and are so identified with a parenthetical statement below the chapter title.
The chapters include:

• Chapter 1 - Administration

• Chapter 9 - Fire Protection Systems

• Chapter 11 - Accessibility

• Chapter 13 - Energy Conservation

• Chapter 16 - Structural Loads

• Chapter 18 - Foundations and Retaining Walls

• Chapter 27 - Electrical Wiring and Equipment

• Chapter 29 - Plumbing and Gas Fitting

780 CMR: STATE BOARD OF BUILDING REGULATIONS AND STANDARDS THE MASSACHUSETTS STATE BUILDING CODE

• Chapter 30 - Elevator and Conveying Systems

• Chapter 34 - Repair, Alteration and Change of Use of Existing Buildings

• Chapter 35 - Manufactured Buildings, Building Components and Mobile Homes

• Chapter 36 - The One and Two Family Dwelling Code

(c) Changes in other chapters are identified with bolded, italicized face type.

(2) Part II of this Guide contains a summary of some of the major changes relative to the national code and
to the Fifth Edition of the Massachusetts Building Code.

(a) The first change a user will note in the Sixth Edition of the code is the numbering system. Recently, three national code agencies joined forces in the hopes of someday producing a uniform, international
building code. The first matter that these agencies agreed upon in this pursuit was to use a chapter
format in lieu of the article system. Massachusetts has followed this lead.

(b) Recognizing the frustration that may develop in attempting to retrieve information utilizing this new
system, a cross-index of article and primary section numbers of the Fifth Edition relative to the chapter and primary section numbers of the Sixth Edition is included as Part III of this Guide (again, please note that Part III is not meant as an absolute authoritative source identifying all changes from the Fifth Edition- refer to the actual code for definitive requirements).