Metal composite material manufacturers typically provide two types of core products: standard† and fire retardant††. While these product lines typically differ from one another in core composition, both are regulated by the Metal Composite Material (MCM) Section 1406 of the International Building Code (IBC). In the IBC, the performance requirements for specifying one MCM product type over another primarily depend on panel height above grade or 

grade plane and separation distance to the property line or to other structures within the property boundaries. Moreover, these provisions changed significantly in the 2012 version of the IBC. Making the correct choice of core material can be a complex process. The Metal Construction Association’s MCM Fabricator Council has developed this paper to clarify the allowable uses for standard and fire retardant MCM in accordance with the 2006-2018 editions of the IBC.