Would you call this part of the bedroom? There was another door that entered that area.
How about this one…the master. Note there was also a gas water heater in this area and a large walk-in master closet was also in this area, so it makes it hard to argue it isn’t part of the bedroom if the closet is in there.
It looks like they are using a dinning room as a bedroom which happens to be adjacent to the family room.
what constitutes a bedroom? do the rooms comply?
A. The IRC does not define a bedroom or sleeping room, therefore one has to look at what the IRC says about rooms and the dictionary definition of a bedroom.
The dictionary defines a bedroom as a room containing a bed and used especially for sleeping. Section R304 & 305 says a habitable room shall be not less than 70 sf, except kitchens, at least 7 feet long and 7 feet wide with a ceiling height 7 feet (Basement 6’ 8”). In the past, most Code Enforcement Officers say if a room has a cloths closet it can be considered a bedroom and had shall have an egress exit. If the plans say bedroom, then it is considered a bedroom and shall have an egress exit and a smoke alarm.
In an unfinished basement, what are the egress/smoke alarm requirements and what if the plans say future bedroom?
A. The basement shall have at least one egress and if a “bedroom” an egress exit with a sill height not more than 44 inches from the floor. There has to be at least one smoke alarm in the basement and if there is a possibility of a future bedroom, that bedroom area should be at least wired to meet the smoke alarm requirements. All smoke alarms are interconnected and if one goes off, all go off. In some jurisdictions, the local Code Official has permitted a possible basement sleeping area to be sprinkled when the walls are masonry and so far below grade that it would take a window well to meet the egress requirements. When this has been permitted, it has been pointed out that the room can not be counted as a bedroom (do not say bedroom on the plans or real estate listing) the room should only be considered as habitable space. This is something that has to be discussed with the Building Official and possibly the Fire Marshal.
SECTION R304
MINIMUM ROOM AREAS
R304.1 Minimum area. Every dwelling unit shall have at least one habitable room that shall have not less than 120 square feet (11 m2) of gross floor area.
R304.2 Other rooms. Other habitable rooms shall have a floor area of not less than 70 square feet (6.5 m2).
Exception: Kitchens.
R304.3 Minimum dimensions. Habitable rooms shall not be less than 7 feet (2134 mm) in any horizontal dimension.
Exception: Kitchens.
R304.4 Height effect on room area. Portions of a room with a sloping ceiling measuring less than 5 feet (1524 mm) or a furred ceiling measuring less than 7 feet (2134 mm) from the finished floor to the finished ceiling shall not be considered as contributing to the minimum required habitable area for that room.
SECTION R305
CEILING HEIGHT
R305.1 Minimum height. Habitable rooms, hallways, corridors, bathrooms, toilet rooms, laundry rooms and basements shall have a ceiling height of not less than 7 feet (2134 mm).
The required height shall be measured from the finish floor to the lowest projection from the ceiling.
Exceptions:
bed•room n: a room containing a bed and used esp. for sleeping
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i’d also advise CO detector installation…jm2c
hth
The gas buring appliance is ok as it gets its combustion air from outside. The water heater is no good and needs to be sealed off from the sleeping room.
