Pitkin County and Aspen, Colo., adopted new wildfire resilient building codes in respective meetings last week. For both the county and city, the new codes are not a major jump in their past wildfire mandates. However, these new codes focus on the structural hardening for new projects. This requires new homes to be built using fire-resistant materials, which does treated wood. Retrofitting current buildings is not required unless a project would already plan to replace more than a quarter of the current structure or expand over 500 square feet.
“It’s not a retrofit code, so it’s not going to make you do something to your house when you’re not doing anything,” Jeffrey Erickson, Pitkin County chief building official, said. “There is a 25% rule: If you’re replacing 25% of your existing covering, the whole home has to come up to code … the roof is the same (as siding). And then, any additions 500 square feet or greater, including decks and floor area, will mean bringing your home up to code.”
