The International Residential Code (IRC) is now a reality, five years after the three regional model code organizations — BOCA, ICBO, and SBCCI — decided to work together to create a single model code for residential construction, suitable for use throughout the U.S. (see Notebook, 12/97). The IRC, which covers oneand two-family detached dwellings and apartment buildings up to three stories, was approved by code officials at a conference in September 1999 in St. Louis, Mo., and published at the end of January. The push for a national code originated with major manufacturers of building materials, as well as many architects, who have long complained of the inconsistencies in the existing model building codes (namely BOCA's National Building Code, used mainly in
