28 TAC §5.4007, §5.4008
The Commissioner of Insurance adopts amendments to §5.4007
and §5.4008, concerning building code specifications in the plan of operation
of the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (Association or TWIA). The amendments
to §5.4007 and §5.4008 are adopted without changes to the text published
in the December 15, 2000, issue of the
Texas Register
(25 TexReg 12320) and will not be republished.
The purpose of the Association is to provide windstorm and hail insurance
coverage to residents in designated catastrophe areas who are unable to obtain
such coverage in the voluntary market. The Association's plan of operation
specifies in §5.4008 the applicable building code standards to qualify
for coverage from the Association for structures located in designated catastrophe
areas which were constructed, repaired, or to which additions are made on
and after September 1, 1998, the effective date of the Building Code for Windstorm
Resistant Construction (code) and the Windstorm Resistant Construction Guide
(guide) adopted by reference in §5.4007(b). The proposed amendments are
necessary to make editorial and clarifying changes that make the rules, the
code and the guide more user-friendly and easier to use. The amendments to §5.4007
and §5.4008 insert new effective dates for the amendments to the code
and the guide and are for clarification. The amendment made to §5.4007(b)
will take effect on April 1, 2001. The amendments to §5.4008 are necessary
to specify a new effective date, April 1, 2001, for the amendments to the
code to take effect, and to change the reference from Windstorm Resistant
Construction Code to Windstorm Resistant Construction Guide to clarify the
document to be used.
The amendments to the code and the guide are a result of recommendations
by the Building Code Advisory Committee on Specifications and Maintenance
to expand the available use of the code and the guide in the designated catastrophe
areas. The advisory committee's recommended changes were submitted to the
Commissioner on November 13, 2000, and those recommended changes were considered
by the Commissioner at a rulemaking hearing held on January 4, 2001.
Amended §5.4007 and §5.4008 adopt by reference the following
amendments to the guide and the code: The amendments to the guide are as follows:
A. Section 300, Prescriptive Requirements, Inland Construction Guidelines
and Section 400, Prescriptive Requirements, Seaward Construction Guidelines.
1. 312 and 412 Framing. Permit the use of wood structural panels to resist
uplift loads.
The amendments to the code are as follows:
A. Section 200, Basic Definitions, Assumptions, and Limitations of the
Prescriptive Code: Clarify the maximum limits for overhangs at gable endwalls.
B. Section 300, Prescriptive Requirements, Area Inland of Established Dividing
Line and Section 400, Area Seaward of Established Dividing Line.
1. 301 and 401, Foundations. A typographical error regarding the maximum
spacing for slab reinforcement was corrected.
2. 303 and 403, Wood Stud Wall Framing. The requirements for balloon and
platform framing have been clarified which included figures that illustrate
the construction of building corners when balloon framing is used. The corner
stud pack arrangement detail was revised to reflect the use of a nailed holddown
connector rather than bolted holddown connectors, which is more representative
of the current construction practices along the Texas Gulf Coast. Guidance
has been provided for the connection of multi-level top plates along exterior
walls. A typographical error in the text for a reference in framing around
garage doors was corrected. The uplift capacities for wood structural panels
used for wall bracing and uplift were modified, and an additional table was
included for uplift capacities when 10d fasteners are used. The blocking requirements
for wood structural panels used for wall bracing and uplift were simplified
by permitting the use of a single 2 by 4 block if the gypsum wallboard will
not have a horizontal panel edge at the same location as a horizontal panel
edge of the wood structural panels. The uplift capacities for wood structural
panels used for uplift resistance were modified for the use of inch wood structural
panels along with providing an option for use of inch wood structural panels.
Two fastener options are provided in the tables for the uplift capacities
for wood structural panels when used exclusively for uplift resistance. The
blocking requirements for wood structural panels used for uplift resistance
only were simplified by permitting the use of a single 2 by 4 block if the
gypsum wallboard will not have a horizontal panel edge at the same location
as a horizontal panel edge of the wood structural panels.
3. 306 and 406, Roof Framing. A new section was created to provide guidance
for the construction of dormers. The existing section on construction of overhangs
at gable endwalls was divided into three subsections to provide options for
the construction of three types of gable endwall overhangs: (1) laddered soffits,
(2) outlookers (laid on end), and (3) outlookers (laid flat). The new options
also provide guidance on the attachment of the outlookers to the roof framing,
and ten figures were included to illustrate the construction of the gable
endwall overhangs. The attachment of roof sheathing along the perimeter of
the roof has been clarified.
D. Appendices.
1. Texas Department of Insurance Standard TDI 1-98. A section was added
to specify the information that should be reported following the tests specified
in TDI 1-98. A clarification was included to indicate that guidance may be
needed to determine the appropriate impact locations and cyclic loading requirements.
2. Figures. Illustrations are added to correspond to changes and clarifications
for the code.
No comments were received regarding adoption of the amendments.
The amendments are adopted pursuant to the Insurance Code Article
21.49 and §36.001. Article 21.49, §6A specifies building code requirements
and approval or inspection procedures for windstorm and hail insurance through
the Association. Article 21.49, §6C requires the Commissioner to appoint
a Building Code Advisory Committee on Specifications and Maintenance to advise
and make recommendations to the Commissioner on building specifications and
maintenance in the Association's plan of operation for structures to be eligible
for windstorm and hail insurance through the Association. Article 21.49, §5(c)
provides that the Commissioner of Insurance by rule shall adopt the Association's
plan of operation with the advice of the Association's board of directors.
Insurance Code §36.001 authorizes the Commissioner of Insurance to adopt
rules, which must be for general and uniform application, for the conduct
and execution of the duties and functions of the Texas Department of Insurance
only as authorized by statute.
This agency hereby certifies that the adoption has been reviewed
by legal counsel and found to be a valid exercise of the agency's legal authority.
Filed with the Office of
the Secretary of State on January 18, 2001.
TRD-200100349
Lynda Nesenholtz
General Counsel and Chief Clerk
Texas Department of Insurance
Effective date: February 7, 2001
Proposal publication date: December 15, 2000
For further information, please call: (512) 463-6327