I have attached a copy of the 5th revision to the prior BCBC 2018 which took effect on May 1/2023 https://energystepcode.ca/app/uploads/sites/257/2023/02/BCBC-2018-Revision-5-Convenience-Copy.pdf?mc_cid=ac626dfe4a&mc_eid=879c4d1859
Feel free to upload and read. It deals with ANY building, new or renovated and mostly defines control of greenhouse gas emissions, energy efficiency and fire retardancy. This is a Provincial wide new Building Code. It also leaves any municipality or RD free to dictate such items as live-in quarters in an industrial/commercial building, new plumbing and electrical guidelines, and a long list of new HVAC dictates.
New energy efficiency statements touch upon topics such as in-floor radiant heating, below slab insulation, higher wall and ceiling R values, elimination of air drafts from outside, thermal seals at all corners, and new ways of sealing any air intake around doors and windows. It also dictates install of water heaters, boilers, furnaces, and any HVAC system. There are new guidelines for buildings which have cold areas with partition walls that separate from heated sections, particularly when overhead doors are opened.
Re: fire retardancy, there are new dictates for higher fire rating of raw materials used in a building. The outside of any building can no longer have any material that is not highly fire rated, or be combustible, such as wood, cedar shakes, or asphalt shingles. In fact, Surrey has now dictated that ALL new buildings can only be made of engineered steel and wood is disallowed.
The same guidelines hold true for homes.
Please be sure to (a) read the guidelines before making your decision, and (b) hire either a local engineer or architect to design your structure. That way, you will avoid any issues and the company supplying the building will have a designed roadmap to follow in making your building.
It may just be easier to refurbish an existing building rather than go new!