IPMC Table 404.5 Improved
It doesn&a;t make much sense that a house with a 150&h;ft2 living room and a 100&h;ft2 dining room can accommodate 15 occupants under IPMC table 404.5 when neither of those rooms can accommodate 15 people sitting at tables under IBC table 1004.5. The following table fixes that incongruity.
| Occupant count | Minimum area (ft2) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Per occupant | Total | |||||
| Living | Dining | Total | Living | Dining | Total | |
| 1 | 133 + 1/3 | 0 | 133 + 1/3 | 133 + 1/3 | 0 | 133 + 1/3 |
| 2 | 66 + 2/3 | 0 | 66 + 2/3 | 133 + 1/3 | 0 | 133 + 1/3 |
| 3 | 40 | 26 + 2/3 | 66 + 2/3 | 120 | 80 | 200 |
| 4 | 30 | 20 | 50 | 120 | 80 | 200 |
| 5–∞ | 25 | 16 + 2/3 | 41 + 2/3 | — | — | — |
Demonstration of how this new table makes more sense than the original table:
| Occupant count | Minimum area (ft2) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Original | Improved | |||||||||||
| Total | Per occupant | Per occupant | Total | |||||||||
| Living | Dining | Total | Living | Dining | Total | Living | Dining | Total | Living | Dining | Total | |
| 1 | 120 | 0 | 120 | 120 | 0 | 120 | 133 + 1/3 | 0 | 133 + 1/3 | 133 + 1/3 | 0 | 133 + 1/3 |
| 2 | 120 | 0 | 120 | 60 | 0 | 60 | 66 + 2/3 | 0 | 66 + 2/3 | 133 + 1/3 | 0 | 133 + 1/3 |
| 3 | 120 | 80 | 200 | 40 | 26 + 2/3 | 66 + 2/3 | 40 | 26 + 2/3 | 66 + 2/3 | 120 | 80 | 200 |
| 4 | 120 | 80 | 200 | 30 | 20 | 50 | 30 | 20 | 50 | 120 | 80 | 200 |
| 5 | 120 | 80 | 200 | 24 | 16 | 40 | 25 | 16 + 2/3 | 41 + 2/3 | 125 | 83 + 1/3 | 208 + 1/3 |
| 6 | 150 | 100 | 250 | 25 | 16 + 2/3 | 41 + 2/3 | 25 | 16 + 2/3 | 41 + 2/3 | 150 | 100 | 250 |
| 7 | 150 | 100 | 250 | 21 + 3/7 | 14 + 2/7 | 35 + 5/7 | 25 | 16 + 2/3 | 41 + 2/3 | 175 | 116 + 2/3 | 291 + 2/3 |
| 8 | 150 | 100 | 250 | 18 + 3/4 | 12 + 1/2 | 31 + 1/4 | 25 | 16 + 2/3 | 41 + 2/3 | 200 | 133 + 1/3 | 333 + 1/3 |
| 9 | 150 | 100 | 250 | 16 + 2/3 | 11 + 1/9 | 27 + 7/9 | 25 | 16 + 2/3 | 41 + 2/3 | 225 | 150 | 375 |
| 10 | 150 | 100 | 250 | 15 | 10 | 25 | 25 | 16 + 2/3 | 41 + 2/3 | 250 | 166 + 2/3 | 416 + 2/3 |
| 11 | 150 | 100 | 250 | 13 + 7/11 | 9 + 1/11 | 22 + 8/11 | 25 | 16 + 2/3 | 41 + 2/3 | 275 | 183 + 1/3 | 458 + 1/3 |
| 12 | 150 | 100 | 250 | 12 + 1/2 | 8 + 1/3 | 20 + 5/6 | 25 | 16 + 2/3 | 41 + 2/3 | 300 | 200 | 500 |
| 13 | 150 | 100 | 250 | 11 + 7/13 | 7 + 9/13 | 19 + 3/13 | 25 | 16 + 2/3 | 41 + 2/3 | 325 | 216 + 2/3 | 541 + 2/3 |
| 14 | 150 | 100 | 250 | 10 + 5/7 | 7 + 1/7 | 17 + 6/7 | 25 | 16 + 2/3 | 41 + 2/3 | 350 | 233 + 1/3 | 583 + 1/3 |
| 15 | 150 | 100 | 250 | 10 | 6 + 2/3 | 16 + 2/3 | 25 | 16 + 2/3 | 41 + 2/3 | 375 | 250 | 625 |
| ∞ | 150 | 100 | 250 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 16 + 2/3 | 41 + 2/3 | ∞ | ∞ | ∞ |
In the improved table, as the occupant count rises, the required areas per occupant (1) fall to reasonable nonzero minimums (taken directly from the original table) rather than nonsensically to zero, and (2) progress steadily downward rather than nonsensically zigzagging up and down (except for weirdness caused by the original table&a;s requiring no dining area at all for occupant counts smaller than three).
If you prefer, you can use different numbers, as long as they are no lower than the numbers in the original table. Here are some examples.
Rounding living&h;room size down to 15 ft2 + 7 ft2 (one person sitting at a table and one person sitting on a chair without a table), and dining&h;room size down to 15 ft2 (one person sitting at a table), past 6 occupants:
| Occupant count | Minimum area (ft2) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Per occupant | Total | |||||
| Living | Dining | Total | Living | Dining | Total | |
| 1 | 133 + 1/3 | 0 | 133 + 1/3 | 133 + 1/3 | 0 | 133 + 1/3 |
| 2 | 66 + 2/3 | 0 | 66 + 2/3 | 133 + 1/3 | 0 | 133 + 1/3 |
| 3 | 40 | 26 + 2/3 | 66 + 2/3 | 120 | 80 | 200 |
| 4 | 30 | 20 | 50 | 120 | 80 | 200 |
| 5 | 25 | 16 + 2/3 | 41 + 2/3 | 125 | 83 + 1/3 | 208 + 1/3 |
| 6 | 25 | 16 + 2/3 | 41 + 2/3 | 150 | 100 | 250 |
| 7–∞ | 22 | 15 | 37 | — | — | — |
Further rounding all room sizes to multiples of 1 ft2:
| Occupant count | Minimum area (ft2) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Per occupant | Total | |||||
| Living | Dining | Total | Living | Dining | Total | |
| 1 | 134 | 0 | 134 | 134 | 0 | 134 |
| 2 | 67 | 0 | 67 | 134 | 0 | 134 |
| 3 | 40 | 27 | 67 | 120 | 81 | 201 |
| 4 | 30 | 21 | 51 | 120 | 84 | 204 |
| 5 | 25 | 17 | 42 | 125 | 85 | 210 |
| 6 | 25 | 17 | 42 | 150 | 102 | 252 |
| 7–∞ | 22 | 15 | 37 | — | — | — |
IBC table 1004.5 excerpt:
| Assembly function without fixed seating | Maximum area per occupant (ft2) | Area type |
|---|---|---|
| Exhibit gallery and museum | 30 | Net |
| Unconcentrated (tables and chairs) | 15 | Net |
| Gaming floor (keno, slots, etc.) | 11 | Gross |
| Concentrated (chairs only) | 7 | Net |
| Standing space | 5 | Net |