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Forum Categories BOMA 2010 - Office Buildings Question

Pipes enclosed in electrical room

Eve Bois: ALAG inc; June 1, 2015

Hello,

I'm working on the measurement of a new office building. When I first measured the electrical rooms, the rooms were rectangle and no pipes were capped. When I returned, weeks later, walls were built around some pipes in corners. I'm pretty sure that those areas are now considered major vertical penetrations.
I wonder:
- Where are the boundaries of those MVP? Sometimes, they are against a thick concrete structural wall. Should the thickness of all the walls around the pipes be included in the MVP area?
- If the "box" (pipe+new walls) is smaller than 1 sq.ft., should it be ignored?
- When evaluating if a MVP (with enclosing walls) is smaller or bigger than 1 sq.ft., do we have to consider the thickness of all the walls around the MVP?

Thank you in advance for your answer

David Fingret: Extreme Measures Inc.; June 9, 2015

Hi Eve,

I apologize for the delay responding. First you should determine if the area is a Major Vertical Penetration. If the pipes do not pass through an opening in the slab above or below than it is not. If they do, the boundaries will be the full thickness of the surrounding walls, including structural walls. If it is less than 1 sq ft, it should be ignored. According to the standard the 1 sq ft is calculated to the floor opening, but this is usually difficult to determine if the area is fully enclosed, so use your best judgement.