National Building Code of the Philippines

Division 2. Wholesale and retail stores, office buildings, drinking and dining establishments having an occupant load of less than one hundred persons, printing plants, police and fire stations, factories and workshops using not highly flammable or combustible materials and paint stores without bulk handlings. Division 3. Aircraft hangers and open parking garage with no repair work is done except exchange of parts and maintenance requiring no open flame, welding or the use of highly flammable liquids. (6) Group F. Industrial Group F Occupancies shall include: ice plants, power plants, pumping plants, cold storage, and creameries, factories and workshops using incombustible and non-explosive materials, and storage and sale rooms for incombustible and non- explosive materials. (7) Group G. Storage and Hazardous Group G Occupancies shall include: Division 1. Storage and handling of hazardous and highly flammable material. Division 2. Storage and handling of flammable materials, dry cleaning plants using flammable liquids; paint stores with bulk handling, paint shops and spray painting rooms. Division 3. Wood working establishments, planning mills and box factories, shops, factories where loose combustible fibers or dust are manufactured, processed or generated; warehouses where highly combustible material is store. Division 4. Repair garages. Division 5 . Aircraft repair hangers. (8) Group H. Assembly Other Than Group 1 Group H Occupancies shall include: Division 1. Any assembly building with a stage and an occupant load of less than 1000 in the building. Division 2. Any assembly building without stage and having an occupant load of 300 or more in the building. Division 3. Any assembly building without a stage and having an occupant load of less than 300 in the building. Division 4. Stadia, reviewing stands, amusement park structures not included within Group I or in Division 1, 2, and 3 of this Group. (9) Group I. Assembly Occupant Load 1000 or More Group I Occupancies shall be any assembly building with an age and an occupant load of 1000 or more in the building. (10) Group J. Accessory Group J Occupancies shall include: Division 1. Private garage, carports, sheds and agriculture buildings. Division 2. Fences over 1.80 meters high, tanks, and towers. (b) Other subgroupings or divisions within Groups A to J may be determined by the Secretary. Any other occupancy not mentioned specifically in this Section, or about which there is any question shall be included in the Group which it most nearly resembles based on the existing or proposed life and fire hazard. SECTION 702. Change in Use. No change shall be made in the character of occupancy or use of any building which would place the building in a different division of the same group of occupancy or in a different group of occupancies, unless such building is made to comply with the requirements of this code  for such division or group of  occupancy.  The character of occupancy of existing buildings  may be changed subject to the approval of the Building Official and the building may be occupied or purposes set forth in other Groups: Provided the new or proposed use  is less hazardous,  based on  life  and  fire risk,  than the existing use. SECTION 703. Mixed Occupancy. (a) General Requirements When a building is of mixed occupancy or used for more than one occupancy, the whole building shall be subject to the most restrictive requirement pertaining to any of the type of occupancy found therein except in the following: (1) When a one-storey building houses more than one occupancy, each portion of the building shall conform to the requirement of the particular occupancy housed therein and; (2) Where minor accessory uses do not occupy more than ten percent of the area of any floor or a building, nor more than ten percent of the basic area permitted in the occupancy requirements, in which case, the major use of the building determine the occupancy classification. (b) Forms of Occupancy Separation Occupancy separations shall be vertical or horizontal or both, or when necessary, of such other forms as may be required to afford a complete separation between the various occupancy divisions in the building. (c) Types of Occupancy Separation Occupancy separation shall be classified as "One-Hour Fire- Resistive", "Two-Hour Fire Resistive", "Three-Hour Fire- Resistive" and "Four-Hour Fire-Resistive: (1) A "One-Hour Fire-Resistive Occupancy Separation" shall be of not less than one-hour fire-resistive construction. All openings in such separation shall be protected by a fire-assembly having a one-hour fire-resistive rating. (2) A "Two-Hour Fire-Resistive Occupancy Separation" shall be of not less than two-hour fire-resistive construction. All openings in such separation shall be protected by a fire-assembly having a two-hour fire-resistive rating. (3) A "Three-Hour Fire-Resistive Occupancy Separation" shall be of not less than three-hour fire-resistive construction. All openings in walls forming such separation shall be protected by a fire assembly having a three-hour fire- resistive rating. The total width of all openings in any three-hour fire-resistive occupancy separation wall in any one-storey shall not exceed 25 per cent of the length of the wall in that storey and no single opening shall have an area greater than 10.00 square meters. All openings in floors forming a "Three-Hour Fire-Resistive Occupancy Separation" shall be protected by vertical enclosures extending above and below such openings. The walls of such vertical enclosures shall be of not less than two-hour fire-resistive construction, and all openings therein shall be protected by a fire- assembly having a three-hour fire-resistive rating. (4) A "Four-Hour Fire-Resistive Occupancy Separation" shall have no openings therein and shall be of not less than four-hour fire resistive construction. (d) Fire-Rating for Occupancy Separation Occupancy Separations shall be provided between groups, subgroupings, or divisions of occupancies. The Secretary shall promulgate rules and regulations for appropriate occupancy separations in buildings of mixed occupancy: Provided, that, where any occupancy separation is required, the minimum shall be a "One-Hour Fire-Resistive Occupancy Separation"; and where the occupancy separation is horizontal, structural member supporting the separation shall be protected by an equivalent fire-resistive construction. SECTION 704. Location of Property. (a) General . No Building shall be constructed unless it adjoins or has direct access to a public space yard or street on at least one of its sides. For the purpose of this Section, the center line of an adjoining street or alley shall be considered an adjacent property line. Eaves over required windows shall not be less than 750 millimeters from the side and rear property lines. (b) Fire Resistance of Walls. Exterior walls shall have fire resistance and opening protection in accordance with the requirements set forth by the Secretary. Projections beyond the exterior wall shall not exceed beyond a point one-third the distance from an assumed vertical plane located where the fire-resistive protection of openings is first required to the location on property whichever is the least restrictive. Distance shall be measured at right angles from the property line. When openings in exterior walls are required to be protected due to distance from property line, the sum of the areas of such openings in any storey shall not exceed 50 percent of the total area of the wall in that storey.