Building code in the context of "Concrete masonry unit"

A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or serves a decorative purpose. There are various types of walls, including border barriers between countries, brick walls, defensive walls in fortifications, and retaining walls that hold back dirt, stone, water, or noise. Walls can also be found in buildings, where they support roofs, floors, and ceilings, enclose spaces, and provide shelter and security.

The construction of walls can be categorized into framed walls and mass-walls. Framed walls transfer the load to the foundation through posts, columns, or studs and typically consist of structural elements, insulation, and finish elements. Mass-walls are made of solid materials such as masonry, concrete, adobe, or rammed earth. Walls may also house utilities like electrical wiring or plumbing and must conform to local building and fire codes.

A warning system is any system of biological or technical nature deployed by an individual or group to inform of a future danger. Its purpose is to enable the deployer of the warning system to prepare for the danger and act accordingly to mitigate or avoid it.

Warnings cannot be effective unless people react to them. People are more likely to ignore a system that regularly produces false warnings (the cry-wolf effect), but reducing the number of false warnings generally also increases the risk of not giving a warning when it is needed. Some warnings are non-specific: for instance, the probability of an earthquake of a certain magnitude in a certain area over the next decade. Such warnings cannot be used to guide short-term precautions such as evacuation. Opportunities to take long-term precautions, such as better building codes and disaster preparedness, may be ignored.

A fire test is a means of determining whether fire protection products meet minimum performance criteria as set out in a building code or other applicable legislation. Successful tests in laboratories holding national accreditation for testing and certification result in the issuance of a certification listing.

Components and systems subject to certification fire testing include fire rated walls and floors, closures within them such as windows, fire doors, fire dampers, structural steel, and fire stops. Fire tests are conducted both on active fire protection and on passive fire protection items. There are full-scale, small-scale and bench-scale tests.

Fire protection is the study and practice of mitigating the unwanted effects of potentially destructive fires. It involves the study of the behaviour, compartmentalisation, suppression and investigation of fire and its related emergencies, as well as the research and development, production, testing and application of mitigating systems. In structures, be they land-based, offshore or even ships, owners and operators may be responsible for maintaining their facilities in accordance with a design-basis rooted in law, including local building and fire codes.

Buildings must be maintained in accordance with the current fire code, enforced by fire prevention officers of a local fire department. In the event of fire emergencies, Firefighters, fire investigators, and other fire prevention personnel are called to mitigate, investigate and learn from the damage of a fire.

A storage room or storeroom is a room in a building for storing objects. They are not designed for permanent residence, and are often small and without windows. Such rooms often have more lenient requirements for fire protection, daylight entry and emergency exits compared to rooms intended for permanent residence.

In businesses, the storage is a place where the employees can put their goods and then take them out when the store starts to become empty or when there is a high demand.

An electrical conduit is a tube used to protect and route electrical wiring in a building or structure. Electrical conduit may be made of metal, plastic, fiber, or fired clay. Most conduit is rigid, but flexible conduit is used for some purposes. Conduit is generally installed by electricians at the site of installation of electrical equipment. Its use, form, and installation details are often specified by wiring regulations, such as the US National Electrical Code (NEC) and other building codes.

A flue is a pipe, or opening in a chimney for conveying exhaust gases from a fireplace, furnace, water heater, boiler, or generator to the outdoors. Historically the term flue meant the chimney itself. In the United States, they are also known as vents for boilers and as breeching for water heaters and modern furnaces. They usually operate by buoyancy, also known as the stack effect, or the combustion products may be "induced" via a blower. As combustion products contain carbon monoxide and other dangerous compounds, proper "draft", and admission of replacement air is imperative. Building codes, and other standards, regulate their materials, design, and installation.

Safety glass is glass with additional safety features that make it less likely to break, or less likely to become a hazard when broken. Common designs include toughened glass (also known as tempered glass), laminated glass, and wire mesh glass (also known as wired glass). Toughened glass was invented in 1874 by Francois Barthelemy Alfred Royer de la Bastie. Wire mesh glass was invented in 1892 by Frank Shuman. Laminated glass was invented in 1903 by the French chemist Édouard Bénédictus (1878–1930).

These three approaches can easily be combined, allowing for the creation of glass that is at the same time toughened, laminated, and contains a wire mesh. However, combination of a wire mesh with other techniques is unusual, as it typically betrays their individual qualities. In many developed countries safety glass is part of the building regulations making properties safer.

Planning permission or building permit refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions.

House building permits, for example, are subject to building codes. There is also a "plan check" (PLCK) to check compliance with plans for the area, if any. For example, one cannot obtain permission to build a nightclub in an area where it is inappropriate such as a high-density suburb. The criteria for planning permission are a part of urban planning and construction law, and are usually managed by town planners employed by local governments.