City of Midland, TX Residential Code

The purpose of this Chapter is for regulating and controlling the design, construction, quality of materials, erection, installation, alteration, repair, location, relocation, replacement, addition to, use or maintenance of one-and two-family dwellings and townhouses within the City. All such buildings and structures hereafter constructed, altered, repaired, located, relocated, or added to shall conform to the requirements of this Chapter and to the specifications, rules and regulations herein contained.

(Ordinance 9925, sec. 1, adopted 5/28/2019)

The specifications, rules and regulations entitled 2018 International Residential Code together with appendices A, B, C, D, E, J, N, P and Q, as promulgated and published by the International Code Council, Inc., are hereby adopted as the Residential Code as fully as if copied at length in this Chapter and are hereby incorporated herein by reference and made a part of this Chapter.

(Ordinance 9925, sec. 1, adopted 5/28/2019)

Notwithstanding any provisions of this Chapter or said adopted Residential Code to the contrary, the latter is adopted with certain changes, additions and deletions thereto so that the following sections and provisions thereof shall hereafter read as follows, to wit:

R101.1 Title. Section R101.1 shall read in its entirety as follows:
These provisions shall be known as the Residential Code for One- and Two-Family Dwellings of the City of Midland, and shall be cited as such and will be referred to herein as "this code."
R103.2 Appointment. Section R103.2 shall read in its entirety as follows:
The Building Official, Assistant Building Official, Inspectors and other personnel shall be appointed in accordance with the personnel policies of the City and shall be subject to all personnel rules and regulations of the City of Midland.
R105.2 Work Exempt from Permit. The following deletions and addition are made to Section R105.2:
Building subsections 1, 2, 4 and 10 are deleted; and
Building subsection 11 is added and shall read as follows:
Tree forts or other play structures supported partially or entirely by a tree.
R105.8 Contractor's Responsibilities. Section R105.8 shall read in its entirety as follows:
(a)	It shall be the duty of every contractor or builder, who is engaged in the construction, erection, alteration or repair of residential buildings or structures, subject to the provisions of this Code, to give good and sufficient bond in the sum of ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00) to be approved by the City Attorney, conditioned to conform to the Building Regulations of this Section, and other ordinances and laws of the City of Midland in reference to buildings and related construction and site requirements. The bond herein required shall include the bonds required for early clearance procedures as required by Section 9 of this Title and Chapter and with the sidewalk, driveway and curb bond required by this Code with no increase in amounts.
(b)	No building permit shall be issued by the Building Official unless and until a bond as herein provided has been tendered to and approved by the Building Official by the person or firm requesting such permit.
(c)	Nothing in this Code shall prevent a homeowner from maintaining, altering or adding to his home within his own property boundaries provided such work is done by himself for the exclusive benefit of his family. Such privilege does not convey the right to violate any of the provisions of this Code, nor is it to be construed as exempting any such property owner from obtaining a permit and paying the required fees, therefore.
R108.2 Schedule of Permit Fees. Section R108.2 shall read in its entirety as follows:
The fees for all work requiring a permit shall be as indicated in the current adopted Fee Schedule.
R108.5 Refunds. Section R108.5 shall read in its entirety as follows:
Refunds shall be in accordance with the current adopted Fee Schedule.
R112.1 General. Section R112.1 is renamed Application for Appeal and shall read in its entirety as follows:
A person shall have the right to appeal a decision of the code official to the board of appeals, per International Building Code section 113. An application for appeal shall be based on a claim that the true intent of this code or the rules legally adopted thereunder have been incorrectly interpreted, the provisions of this code do not fully apply, or an equally good or better form of construction is proposed. The application shall be filed on a form obtained from the code official within twenty (20) days after the notice was served.
R112.2—R112.4. Sections R112.2 through R112.4 are deleted in their entirety.
TABLE R301.2(1) Climatic and Geographic Design Criteria. TABLE R301.2(1) shall read in its entirety as follows:
Ground Snow Load		3.5 PSF
Basic Wind Speed		115 MPH
Topographic effects		No
Seismic Design Category		A
Weathering		Moderate
Frost Line Depth		12 inches
Termite		Moderate to Heavy
Decay		Slight to Moderate
Winter Design Temp		21 degrees F
Ice Barrier Underlayment Required		No
Flood Hazards		Adoption Date NFIP 09/27/91 Current FIRM 09/15/05
Air Freezing Index		1500 or less
Mean Annual Temp		65 degrees F
Elevation		2851
Latitude		32 degrees
Winter Heating		21 degrees F
Summer Cooling		103 degrees F
Altitude Correction Factor		0.901
Indoor Design Temperature		68 degrees F
Design Temperature Cooling		75 degrees F
Heating Temperature Difference		47 degrees F
Cooling Temperature Difference		28 degrees F
Wind Velocity Heating		15 mph
Wind Velocity Cooling		10 mph
Coincident Wet Bulb		67
Daily Range		High
Winter Humidity		57%
Summer Humidity		51%
Section R313 Automatic Fire Sprinkler Systems. Section R313 is deleted in its entirety.
G2417.4 Test Pressure Measurement. Section G2417.4 shall read in its entirety as follows:
Test pressure shall be measured with an ounce gauge, manometer or with a mercury gauge designed and calibrated to read, record or indicate a pressure loss due to leakage during the test period. The source of pressure shall be isolated before the pressure tests are made.
G2417.4.1 Test Pressure. Section G2417.4.1 shall read in its entirety as follows:
Low pressure (not in excess of 0.5 psi) gas piping shall withstand a pressure of not less than 1 1/2 times the proposed maximum working pressure, but not less than 5.88 psi, ninety (90) ounces, or twelve inches (12") of mercury for a period of not less than ten (10) minutes without showing any drop in pressure. Higher pressure piping (2-psi gas) shall withstand a pressure of at least 10 psi or twenty inches (20") of mercury for a period of not less than ten (10) minutes without showing any drop in pressure.
G2420.1.4 Service Line Shutoff Valve. Section G2420.1.4 is added and shall read in its entirety as follows:
An approved shutoff valve shall be installed above ground outside on the service line at the building entrance on all new gas line installations and on all replaced gas lines.
P2503.4 Building Sewer Testing. Section P2503.4 shall read in its entirety as follows:
Building sewer tests shall consist of plugging the end of the building sewer at the point of connection with the public sewer, filling the building sewer with water, testing with not less than three feet (3') head of water and maintaining such pressure for fifteen (15) minutes. The building sewer shall be watertight at all points.
P2902.1.1 Backflow Ordinance. Section P2902.1.1 is added and shall read in its entirety as follows:
All potable water supply systems shall conform to Chapter 8-9, of the Midland City Code (Ordinance No. 7605) for purposes of cross connection and backflow prevention.
TABLE P2906.4 Water Service, Pipe. The following footnotes are added to Table P2906.4:
Footnote 1. Copper or copper-alloy tubing shall be minimum Type "L" for underground water supply systems.
Footnote 2. Plastic water pipe used for water service shall terminate thirty-six inches (36") from the water meter. The water service pipe shall be connected to the water meter with not less than thirty-six inches (36") of minimum Type "L" copper.
P2906.20 Underground Hoints. Section P2906.20 is added and shall read in its entirety as follows:
For purposes of repair only, joints in polybutylene (PB) plastic pipe or tubing underground or under a concrete floor slab shall be installed using heat fusion, in accordance with the manufacturer's installation instructions. Joints in copper pipe or tubing installed in a concrete floor slab or under a concrete floor slab on grade shall be installed using wrought-copper fittings and brazed joints.
P3103.1.1 Roof Extension. Section P3103.1.1 shall read in its entirety as follows:
Open vent pipes that extend through a roof that do not meet the conditions of Section P3103.1.2 or P3103.1.3 shall terminate not less than twelve inches (12") above the roof.

(Ordinance 9925, sec. 1, adopted 5/28/2019)

Whenever the owner of a building or structure or its duly authorized agent, or the applicant for a building permit is aggrieved by any order or decision of the Building Official made in connection with their administration of this Chapter, he may appeal such decision or order to the Board of Appeals (provided for in the Building Code of the City), and said Board shall proceed to hear and decide any such appeals in the same manner as it now hears appeals from decisions made under said Building Code, and said Board of Appeals shall have the same power and authority over appeals from the Residential Code and the same rules and regulations shall apply as are fully set out in said Building Code.

(Ordinance 9925, sec. 1, adopted 5/28/2019)