550
Laws and Regulations: VA Construction Standards
554.2.3
24-1 requires certain door bucks to extend through the ceiling to the slab
above. The Prototype Design specifies that no such frames may
penetrate the ceiling, i.e., they must receive all necessary structural
support from the ceiling itself. This is done to simplify door installation and
relocation, and to minimize obstruction in the service zone.
554.2.4
CD-25 requires used razor blade receptacles to be recessed within
partitions. The Prototypes Design calls for all such items to be surface
mounted, in this case integrated into a lavatory console. The purpose is to
protect the acoustic properties of partitions and to facilitate relocation of
service elements.
554.2.5
CD-34 permits ceiling heights under nine feet in certain areas. The
Prototype Design specifies a uniform ceiling height throughout, and nine
feet is recommended in bed-care areas. The same Construction Standard
also requires a minimum height of ten feet in laboratories, presumably for
fume hood clearance. If an entire floor, or a large area such as a fire
section, were to be assigned mainly as laboratory space, a uniform height
of ten feet could be established by increasing floor-to-floor height by one
foot. For small laboratories, however, conformity to the nine-foot height
should be workable.
554.2.6
FPS-3 requires that fire apparatus cabinets in patient areas be recessed
into partitions. Although this can be done within the Prototype Design, it is
discouraged except where really necessary, for the reasons started in
554.2.4 above.
554.2.7
FPS-11 requires all corridor partitions to be full height and fitted to the
floor slab above. The Prototype Design calls for these partitions to stop
the ceiling. None of the building codes used by the VA (NFPA Life Safety
Code, NBC and UBC) require the extension of corridor partitions beyond
the ceiling. FPS-11 itself allows one-hour smoke barriers to stop at the
ceiling provided the ceiling is rated at one hour and is "impermeable" to
smoke and fumes. The assumption made for the Prototype Design is that
if the ceiling provides one-hour separation, then corridors are adequately
protected by one-hour partitions that stop at the ceiling.
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