Wenatchee Home Inspections

Now I know many in the appraisal industry do use a closet as one aspect of a bedroom. Some municipalities may use this also but if we are strictly talking the building code a closet is nowhere to be seen.

So let’s look at defining the bedroom space (sleeping room), it is important for several reasons: home value, safety and what is legal for a septic system.

Number of bedrooms has value to buyers and usually the tax assessor, and can have tax assessment implications. More bedrooms may mean higher taxes. So knowing what legally can be considered a bedroom despite how a room might be used is important.

I assume that code requirements may vary from state to state and even town to town. Yet a space can only be defined as a bedroom when it meets the code requirements or some jurisdictional requirement and typically is designated on the building plans.

So first off a bedroom/sleeping room is a habitable space so it needs to meet those requirements for habitable spaces. Then there are some additional requirements based on safety if the room is designated for sleeping purposes.

I am basing the applicable codes on the 2012 IRC, 2012 IPMC (Property Management code(we will talk about this implication later)) and 2014 NEC.

So let's’ us start. (Now there will be some areas I did not include or even missed but I think you will see that “closet” is not one of them)

First off from the code definitions

IRC- SECTION R202 DEFINITIONS

HABITABLE SPACE. A space in a building for living, sleeping, eating or cooking. Bathrooms, toilet rooms, closets, halls, storage or utility spaces and similar areas are not considered habitable spaces.

Habitable space requirements

Ceiling height-Requirements

R305.1 Minimum height.

Habitable space, hallways, bathrooms, toilet rooms, laundry rooms and portions of basements containing these spaces shall have a ceiling height of not less than 7 feet (2134 mm).

Exceptions:

1. For rooms with sloped ceilings, at least 50 percent of the required floor area of the room must have a ceiling height of at least 7 feet (2134 mm) and no portion of the required floor area may have a ceiling height of less than 5 feet (1524 mm).

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.

Floor space- Requirements

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. (which would include a bedroom/sleeping room)

Other habitable rooms shall have a floor area of not less than 70 square feet (6.5 m2).

R304.3 Minimum dimensions.

Habitable rooms shall not be less than 7 feet (2134 mm) in any horizontal dimension.

Exception: Kitchens.

Glazing and ventilation- Requirements

R303.1 Habitable rooms.

All habitable rooms shall have an aggregate glazing area of not less than 8 percent of the floor area of such rooms. Natural ventilation shall be through windows, doors, louvers or other approved openings to the outdoor air. Such openings shall be provided with ready access or shall otherwise be readily controllable by the building occupants. The minimum openable area to the outdoors shall be 4 percent of the floor area being ventilated.

Heat Source- Requirements

R303.9 Required heating.

When the winter design temperature in Table R301.2(1) is below 60°F (16°C), every dwelling unit shall be provided with heating facilities capable of maintaining a minimum room temperature of 68°F (20°C) at a point 3 feet (914 mm) above the floor and 2 feet (610 mm) from exterior walls in all habitable rooms at the design temperature. The installation of one or more portable space heaters shall not be used to achieve compliance with this section.

Emergency Egress requirements-

R310.1 Emergency escape and rescue required.

Basements, habitable attics and every sleeping room shall have at least one operable emergency escape and rescue opening. Where basements contain one or more sleeping rooms, emergency egress and rescue openings shall be required in each sleeping room. Where emergency escape and rescue openings are provided they shall have a sill height of not more than 44 inches (1118 mm) measured from the finished floor to the bottom of the clear opening. Where a door opening having a threshold below the adjacent ground elevation serves as an emergency escape and rescue opening and is provided with a bulkhead enclosure, the bulkhead enclosure shall comply with Section R310.3. The net clear opening dimensions required by this section shall be obtained by the normal operation of the emergency escape and rescue opening from the inside. Emergency escape and rescue openings with a finished sill height below the adjacent ground elevation shall be provided with a window well in accordance with Section R310.2. Emergency escape and rescue openings shall open directly into a public way, or to a yard or court that opens to a public way.

R302.5.1 Opening protection.

Openings from a private garage directly into a room used for sleeping purposes shall not be permitted. Other openings between the garage and residence shall be equipped with solid wood doors not less than 13/8 inches (35 mm) in thickness, solid or honeycomb-core steel doors not less than 13/8 inches (35 mm) thick, or 20-minute fire-rated doors, equipped with a self-closing device.

R310.4 Bars, grilles, covers and screens.

Bars, grilles, covers, screens or similar devices are permitted to be placed over emergency escape and rescue openings, bulkhead enclosures, or window wells that serve such openings, provided the minimum net clear opening size complies with Sections R310.1.1 to R310.1.3, and such devices shall be releasable or removable from the inside without the use of a key, tool, special knowledge or force greater than that which is required for normal operation of the escape and rescue opening.

R314.3 Location.

Smoke alarms shall be installed in the following locations:

1. In each sleeping room.

2. Outside each separate sleeping area in the immediate vicinity of the bedrooms.

R315.1 Carbon monoxide alarms.

For new construction, an approved carbon monoxide alarm shall be installed outside of each separate sleeping area in the immediate vicinity of the bedrooms in dwelling units within which fuel-fired appliances are installed and in dwelling units that have attached garages.

Note: In Washington State CO alarms are required on all homes sold.

No egress thru other bedroom?

Well this is a bit of an odd one. The IRC has no restrictions in a sense but there are other code bodies that do. The International Property Management Code (IPMC) has some requirements. So the IRC regulates how the home is to be built then the IPMC regulates how the home is to be maintained. Oddly these two codes do not perfectly overlap.

From the 2012 IPMC which is adopted in some areas. Scope-

The International Property Maintenance Code (IPMC) is a model code that regulates the minimum maintenance requirements for existing buildings.

The IPMC is a maintenance document intended to establish minimum maintenance standards for basic equipment, light, ventilation, heating, sanitation and fire safety. Responsibility is fixed among owners, operators and occupants for code compliance. The IPMC provides for the regulation and safe use of existing structures in the interest of the social and economic welfare of the community.

2012 IPMC-
404.4 Bedroom and living room requirements.

Every bedroom and living room shall comply with the requirements of Sections 404.4.1 through 404.4.5.

404.4.1 Room area.

Every living room shall contain at least 120 square feet (11.2 m2) and every bedroom shall contain a minimum of 70 square feet (6.5 m2) and every bedroom occupied by more than one person shall contain a minimum of 50 square feet (4.6 m2) of floor area for each occupant thereof.

404.4.2 Access from bedrooms.

Bedrooms shall not constitute the only means of access to other bedrooms or habitable spaces and shall not serve as the only means of egress from other habitable spaces.

Exception: Units that contain fewer than two bedrooms.

404.4.3 Water closet accessibility.

Every bedroom shall have access to at least one water closet and one lavatory without passing through another bedroom. Every bedroom in a dwelling unit shall have access to at least one water closet and lavatory located in the same story as the bedroom or an adjacent story.

404.4.4 Prohibited occupancy.

Kitchens and non-habitable spaces shall not be used for sleeping purposes.

404.4.5 Other requirements.

Bedrooms shall comply with the applicable provisions of this code including, but not limited to, the light, ventilation, room area, ceiling height and room width requirements of this chapter; the plumbing facilities and water-heating facilities requirements of Chapter 5; the heating facilities and electrical receptacle requirements of Chapter 6; and the smoke detector and emergency escape requirements of Chapter 7.

702.4 Emergency escape openings.

Required emergency escape openings shall be maintained in accordance with the code in effect at the time of construction, and the following. Required emergency escape and rescue openings shall be operational from the inside of the room without the use of keys or tools. Bars, grilles, grates or similar devices are permitted to be placed over emergency escape and rescue openings provided the minimum net clear opening size complies with the code that was in effect at the time of construction and such devices shall be releasable or removable from the inside without the use of a key, tool or force greater than that which is required for normal operation of the escape and rescue opening.

210.52(A) General Provisions. (receptacles)

In every kitchen, family room, dining room, living room, parlor, library, den, sunroom, bedroom, recreation room, or similar room or area of dwelling units, receptacle outlets shall be installed in accordance with the general provisions specified in 210.52(A)(1) through (A)(4).

From the NEC Handbook-

“Receptacle outlets are to be installed so that an appliance or lamp with an attached flexible cord may be placed anywhere in the room near a wall and be within 6 feet of a receptacle, minimizing the need for occupants to use extension cords. The receptacle layout may be designed for intended utilization equipment or practical room use. For example, receptacles in a family room that are intended to serve home entertainment equipment or home office equipment may be placed in corners, may be grouped, or may be placed in a convenient location. Receptacles intended for window-type holiday lighting may be placed under windows.”Even if more receptacles than the minimum required are installed in a room, no point in any wall space is permitted to be more than 6 feet from a receptacle.”

In addition in more modern homes AFCI protection is required for bedroom receptacles/outlets and receptacles need to be tamper resistant (210.12 Arc-Fault Circuit-Interrupter Protection & 406.12 Tamper-Resistant Receptacles).

Lighting Required NEC 210.7 (A)(1)

210.70 Lighting Outlets Required

(A) Dwelling Units.

In dwelling units, lighting outlets shall be installed in accordance with 210.70(A)(1), (A)(2), and (A)(3).

(1) Habitable Rooms.

At least one wall switch–controlled lighting outlet shall be installed in every habitable room and bathroom.

Exception No. 1: In other than kitchens and bathrooms, one or more receptacles controlled by a wall switch shall be permitted in lieu of lighting outlets.

Exception No. 2: Lighting outlets shall be permitted to be controlled by occupancy sensors that are (1) in addition to wall switches or (2) located at a customary wall switch location and equipped with a manual override that will allow the sensor to function as a wall switch.

As you can see all of the codes that pertain to a bedroom and sleeping maintain it is a habitable space and that it has some built in safety feature if used for sleeping. There is nowhere in the model building codes that mandates a closet. For the most part the closet just make it easier for some to define, but it is not based in a building code.  A place designated for sleeping really does not need a closet.

“Codes are minimum standards and most houses are built by the lowest bidder”

Don Hester

If you find any errors or have additional information that would expand on any code, building standards or manufacture requirements please let me know.

NCW Home Inspections, LLC  is a Licensed Washington State Home Inspection service located in Wenatchee Washington serving Chelan County, Douglas County, Kittitas County, Okanogan County and Grant County Washington and the cities of Wenatchee, Leavenworth, Cashmere, Oroville, Cle Elum, East Wenatchee, Quincy and many more…  

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