North Carolina Commercial Building Code Cycle Extended to 6 Years

North Carolina’s commercial building rules will now be revised every six years, falling in line with the gap between residential codes recently approved by the General Assembly.

A divided state Building Code Council voted this week to move the cycle for the commercial code from three to six years except for the electrical code, which will remain at three.

The legislature approved in 2013 a similar six-year cycle for home building. Proponents at the time said it would save money for builders and discourage higher housing costs.

Supporters of the commercial change said running on two different code cycles would be confusing. But others said it was better to keep the code more current and bring on advances in safety more quickly.

Tuesday’s council vote was 9 to 7.