New York Codes, Rules and Regulations
Title 14 - DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HYGIENE
Appendices
Appendix 5
Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 12, March 20, 2024
GENERAL STANDARDS OF CONSTRUCTION AND EQUIPMENT
Introduction. These standards have been established by the Commissioner of Mental Hygiene as required by the Act. They constitute minimum requirements for construction and equipment, and shall apply to all projects for which State aid is requested under the Act. The commissioner may approve plans and specifications which contain deviations from the requirements prescribed if he is satisfied that the purposes of such requirements have been fulfilled. In addition to these requirements, it is recognized that the project will have to meet the requirements of local codes and ordinances relating to construction.
Flexibility. All project facilities shall be designed and constructed so as to permit maximum flexibility in the proposed uses of those facilities. Provision shall be made, wherever possible, for future expansion of the floor areas and the relocation of interior partitions.
Architectural.
(1) Facilities shall be fire safe, structurally safe, and so planned as to carry out effectively the proposed program. The following requirements have been established to assure an orderly development of the project and to provide a uniform method for the preparation and review of drawings, specifications, and estimates.
The submission of drawings, construction outlines, and estimates shall be in three stages as follows: (Such material is in addition to program and financial information in connection with such applications as may be required by the commissioner.)
First stage:
Schematic plans [FN1]
Outline specifications
Site survey
Estimated construction costs
Second stage:
Preliminary plans
Outline specifications
Revised cost estimates
Third stage:
Working drawings
Specifications
Final cost estimates
Construction.
Boiler rooms and rooms used for the storage of combustible materials shall be of two-hour fire-resistive noncombustible construction.
Interior nonload-bearing partitions, other than those enclosing corridors and vertical shafts, may be of noncombustible construction without a fire-resistive rating.
Buildings more than one story in height shall be constructed of noncombustible materials, using a structural framework of reinforced concrete or structural steel except that load-bearing masonry walls and piers may be utilized for buildings up to and including three stories in height. The fire-resistive requirements of the various building elements shall be of not less than the following hourly ratings:
Hours
Columns, girders, trusses ............ 11/2
Floor construction including beams ............ 11/2
Roof construction including beams ............ 1
Beams supporting masonry; individually protected ............ 2
Bearing walls ............ 2
Corridor partitions ............ 1
Walls enclosing stairways, elevator shafts, chutes and other vertical shafts, boiler rooms and rooms used for storage of combustible materials ............ 2
Subject to prior approval by the commissioner, these requirements may be varied for free-standing facilities containing only outpatient, educational, recreational, or workshop functions utilized by ambulant groups.
Interior finish walls and ceilings of all exitways, storage rooms, laboratories, and areas of unusual fire hazard shall have a flamespread rating of less than 20. Flamespread ratings shall be on the basis of tests conducted in accordance with American Society for Testing Materials, Publication No. E84.
Exit facilities shall comply with the requirements of the Building Exits Code, National Fire Protection Association Bulletin No. 101.
Mechanical.All installations of fuel burning equipment, steam, heating, air conditioning and ventilation, and plumbing systems shall comply with the requirements of the following national codes:
National Board of Fire Underwriter Standards: National Board of Fire Underwriters, 85 John St., New York 38, N.Y.
National Fire Protection Association: 60 Batterymarch St., Boston 10, Mass.
American Standards Association: 70 East 45th St., New York 17, N. Y.
American Gas Association: 1725 I Street, Washington, D.C.
National Plumbing Code: published by American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 29 West 39th St., New York 18, N. Y.
Boilers shall meet the requirements of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (A.S.M.E. codes relating to pressure vessels) , and shall be installed to meet the requirements of State and local codes and regulations.
Electrical. All electrical installations and equipment shall comply with the requirements of local and State codes and the applicable sections of the National Electrical Code and the following:
Hazardous locations. Installations and equipment in rooms in which flammable anesthetic and disinfecting agents are used or stored shall comply with the requirements of NFPA No. 56 and No. 70.
Fire alarms. Manually operated fire alarm system installations shall comply with the requirements of NFPA No. 72 and shall be located as required by the Building Exits Code, NFPA No. 101.
Radiation protection in rooms in which X-ray, gamma-ray, or beta-ray producing equipment is used shall comply with the requirements of the following handbooks of the National Bureau of Standards:
Handbook 55, Protection Against Betatron-Synchrotron Radiations Up to 100 Million Electron Volts.
Handbook 73, Protection Against Radiations From Sealed Gamma Sources.
Handbook 76, Medical X-ray Protection Up to Three Million Volts.
Emergency electric service. Emergency exit lighting shall comply with the requirements of the National Electrical Code and shall be located as required by the Building Exits Code.
Elevators, dumbwaiters, and escalators. Installation of elevators, dumbwaiters, and escalators shall comply with the requirements of the American Standard Safety Code or Elevators. Dumbwaiters, and Escalators, ASA A17, 1-1960.
In addition, all buildings and accessory structures, including equipment and mechanical services, shall be constructed in compliance with the requirements set forth in the National Building Code and in accordance with applicable provisions of such generally accepted standards as the Building Exits Code and the National Electrical Code, except in specific instances where the Commissioner of Mental Hygiene may deem it necessary to require additional safeguards or stricter standards for particular purposes.
Equipment necessary for the functioning of the facility of the program as planned shall be provided in the kind and to the extent required to perform the desired service. 10/26/65
[FN1] Schematic drawings are considered an integral part of the program description to be provided in the initial application.
