11 guides
The Alberta building code, one rule at a time.
Each guide takes one part of the National Building Code, 2023 Alberta Edition (second printing) that shapes a home's layout, quotes the numbers it sets, and says plainly what it doesn't cover.
Read the code, then ask the City
These guides quote the National Building Code, 2023 Alberta Edition, second printing, in force in Alberta since 17 August 2026, and cite every number to its clause.
The code sets minimums for safety, not good design, and your municipality decides whether a plan meets it. Use these guides to know which questions to ask before your plans go in. For room-by-room sizes, see the room size guides.
The guides
- 9 min readAttached garage code in Alberta: doors, drywall, curbs and CO alarmsIn Alberta, the door from an attached garage must be self-closing and weather-stripped and can't open into a bedroom, with 12.7 mm gypsum on the garage.Read the guide
- 8 min readBathroom building code in Alberta: doors, fans and ceilingsAlberta's code sets no minimum bathroom size, but it sets a 610 mm door, a 2.1 m ceiling over 2.2 m² and a 25 L/s fan switched in the room.Read the guide
- 10 min readDeck code in Alberta: loads, footings, guards and stairsAn Alberta deck must carry 1.9 kPa or the snow load, needs a guard past a 600 mm drop, and in Calgary needs a permit once it's over 0.6 m above grade.Read the guide
- 9 min readGuard height in Alberta: when you need a railing, and how highIn Alberta, a guard is needed where the drop is over 600 mm. It must be 900 mm high in a home, 1 070 mm elsewhere, and stop a 100 mm sphere.Read the guide
- 9 min readLoft or third storey in Alberta: mezzanine rules and escape windowsIn Alberta, a loft stays a mezzanine up to 40% of the room's open area. A level two storeys from an exit needs a 1 m by 0.55 m window or a balcony.Read the guide
- 10 min readSecondary suite fire separation in Alberta: the code clausesIn Alberta, a house with a secondary suite can use a 12.7 mm gypsum smoke-tight barrier instead of a rated fire separation, with 45 mm self-closing doors.Read the guide
- 8 min readSmoke and CO alarm locations in Alberta homes: what the code saysAlberta homes need a smoke alarm on every storey, in every bedroom and in the hall outside them; CO alarms go in bedrooms or within 5 m of each bedroom door.Read the guide
- 8 min readStove clearance in Alberta: cabinets, side walls and range hoodsIn Alberta, cabinets over a cooktop must sit 750 mm above the burners, or 600 mm with a metal hood, and combustibles within 450 mm need 9.5 mm gypsum.Read the guide
- 8 min readWinder and spiral stairs in Alberta: angles, treads and limitsIn Alberta, each winder must turn exactly 30° or 45°, up to 90° per set. A spiral stair needs 660 mm between handrails and can never be an exit.Read the guide
- 9 min readWindow fall protection in Alberta: sill heights and limitersIn Alberta, an openable window needs a guard or a 100 mm limiter unless its sill is over 900 mm up or the drop outside is under 1 800 mm, as of 2026.Read the guide
- 10 min readWindows near the property line in Alberta: limiting distance rulesIn Alberta, a house wall under 1.2 m from the property line can have no windows; at 1.2 m it can glaze 7% of the wall, and more as the distance grows.Read the guide
Walk the plan before you build
On the studio's LED floor your plan is shown at full size, so you can walk it room by room while a change is still an edit to a drawing.
Unit 105 · 2750 22 St NE
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Every day, 9 am to 5 pm, by appointment. In the South Airways business park in northeast Calgary, with parking at the door.
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