Canada code requirements

Each page states the requirement, the conditions that come with it, and the document it comes from. Verify against the edition actually adopted where you are building — these pages point you to the publisher rather than reproducing the code text.

• How high does a guard need to be on a residential deck?A guard must be at least 1 070 mm high, dropping to 900 mm where the walking surface it serves is not more than 1 800 mm above the finished ground.
• When can an exterior guard be lower than 1 070 mm?An exterior guard may be 900 mm high when the walking surface it serves is not more than 1 800 mm above the adjacent finished ground.
• What is the minimum ceiling height for a bedroom?A bedroom requires a clear height of 2.1 m over the required floor area.
• What is the minimum ceiling height in an unfinished basement?An unfinished basement requires a clear height of 2.0 m.
• What ceiling height is required in a secondary suite?A secondary suite requires 1.95 m of clear height over the required floor area, reducing to 1.85 m under beams and ducts.
• How wide must a hallway be inside a dwelling unit?A hallway within a dwelling unit requires an unobstructed width of 860 mm, reducing to 710 mm in limited cases.
• When do two areas count as a combination room?Two areas are treated as a combination room when the opening between them is at least 40% of the wall area shared by the two spaces.
• At what supported joist span do the basic footing width tables stop applying?The prescriptive footing width tables stop applying once the supported joist span exceeds 4.9 m.
• What is the minimum clear height in a storage garage?A storage garage requires a clear height of 2.0 m.
• What maximum air leakage rate is allowed for the air barrier system?Under NECB 2025 the air barrier system must not exceed a normalized air leakage rate of 1.50 L/(s·m²) at 75 Pa.
• How often must self-contained emergency lighting be tested?Self-contained emergency lighting unit equipment must be tested at intervals not greater than one month, and at intervals not greater than 12 months for the longer-duration test.
• What minimum slope is required for a drainage pipe NPS 3 or smaller?A drainage pipe of NPS 3 or less must have a downward slope of at least 1 in 50 in the direction of flow.

Why these requirements are written the way they are