New York Codes, Rules and Regulations › Title 14 - DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HYGIENE › Appendices › Appendix 5

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 28, July 10, 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.
(1)
			 One-story buildings shall be constructed of noncombustible materials of not
			 less than one hour fire-resistive construction throughout except as follows:
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.