FGIA Southeast Region member Lynn Miller and Code Compliance Manager for PGT Custom Window + Doors summarized significant changes proposed for the 7th Edition of the Florida Building Code from a fenestration standpoint compared with the 6th edition published in 2017.

Among these were:

• A new wind speed map based on ASCE7-16 was added for Risk Category IV (essential facilities) and increased wind loads for skylights.
• The threshold exception for exterior doors of dwelling units was added back into Chapter 10 of the Commercial Code, as were concrete/masonry buck and installation requirements to Chapter 17. 
• The Safety glazing exception was added for outboard sacrificial lites of laminated, insulated glass in bathroom windows.
• The Sill height requirement was revised to 24” minimum for Existing, Residential and Commercial codes.
• Updated calculations for vertical and skylight glazed fenestration area in the Residential Energy Code were implemented.
• Area-weighted U-factor and Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC) allowance language was added for replacement fenestration in the Residential Energy Code.