House Detective: Making the Most of Home Inspection

The House Detective by Barry Stone, Certified Home Inspector

Dear Barry: I’m a loan officer and am currently processing a purchase loan for a home with a basement bedroom. The appraiser says the basement room is not a legal bedroom because is has no windows. In another transaction, an appraiser discounted a bedroom because it did not have a closet. Could you please list the standard requirements for a legal bedroom? Michael

Dear Michael: According to the International Residential Code (IRC), a legal bedroom must be at least 70 square feet in area, with a width not less than 7 feet. The minimum required ceiling height is 7 feet 6 inches. If the ceiling is sloped, the required height applies to at least half of the ceiling. As for windows, the appraiser is correct: Bedrooms must have windows for light, ventilation, and emergency escape. If a basement room does not meet these requirements, it cannot be considered as a legal bedroom.
The minimum size requirement for bedroom windows that provide natural light is at least 8% of the floor area of the room, and minimum size for openable windows is at least 4% of the floor area of the room.

For emergency escape, the openable window must have a sill height of no more than 44 inches above the floor. The size of the opening should be at least 5.7 square feet, measuring no less than 24 inches in height and no less than 20 inches in width. Windows should also be openable without the use of a key or a tool. Screens and bars are permitted as long as they can be opened or removed from inside the dwelling, also without the use of a key or a tool.

The code makes no mention of bedroom closets because these can be provided by means of portable cabinets.

Dear Barry: I just purchased a brand new condo, and one of the bathroom sinks does not drain as quickly as it should. Whenever I run the faucet, the sink fills up faster than it can drain. The funny thing is, it doesn’t do this every time, just sometimes, and gurgling occurs at the drain when the water is going down. What could the problem be? Lisa

Dear Lisa: The gurgling sound indicates that there is a problem with the drain vent. Lack of adequate ventilation can cause slow draining. If the slow draining is intermittent, it may be occurring only when water is draining at another fixture, such as when a toilet is being flushed or when the washing machine is draining.

This needs to be corrected by the builder of the condo or by the plumbing contractor who did the installation. And don’t accept excuses from them. This is not normal plumbing performance, and they should take responsibility for it.

If you bought the condo without a professional home inspection, now is the time to correct that oversight. A truly qualified home inspector will find additional defects for the builder to repair.

The House Detective by Barry Stone, Certified Home Inspector

Dear Barry: We just learned that the county tax assessor is counting our basement as an additional bedroom. This increases the appraised value of our home and requires us to pay higher taxes. We’ve never regarded the basement as a legal bedroom because the window is very small and the sill is more than five feet above the floor. Also, the basement has no clothes closet, as one would expect in a bedroom. What are the applicable requirements that would qualify our basement as a legal bedroom? Leslie

Dear Leslie: Your basement does not qualify as a bedroom unless it has window dimensions that meet a list of particular requirements. These standards can vary in their specifics, depending on which building code is used in your area, but the general intent is the same regardless of the code that is in force. Basically, bedroom windows must be large enough and low enough to enable emergency escape, and the window size must meet minimum standards to privide natural light and adequate ventilation.

For emergency escape, the following standards apply: The openable portion of a bedroom window must have a minimum dimension of 5.7 square feet, unless the sill is lower than the outside grade level. In that case, the overall dimension must be at least 9 square feet. The width of window openings must be no less than 24 inches and the height no less than 20 inches. If the windowsill in a basement bedroom is lower than the outside grade level, there must be an exterior window well that meets an additional list of minimum size requirements.

Windowsills in any bedroom must be no higher than 44 inches above the floor, although lower sills were often allowed in older homes. In a basement bedroom, sill heights can exceed 44 inches if there is a permanently installed ladder or stairway to the window opening.

As a source for natural light, the area of the window, according to the Uniform Building Code (UBC), must be no less than one-tenth of the room’s floor area. In municipalities subject to the International Residential Code (IRC), this requirement is only 8% of the floor area.

As a source of exterior ventilation, the UBC requires the area of the window opening to be no less than one-twentieth of the room’s floor area. According to the IRC, only 4% of the floor area is required.

As for storage, there is a common belief that closets are required in bedrooms. The fact is, no such standards can be found in any of the building codes. Closets are included in the construction of homes as a standard of practice, not as a legal requirement.

If you believe that your home has been incorrectly evaluated by your local tax assessor, you can request a review of their assessment. If they are unwilling to cooperate, you can complain, in person, to your local elected representative (i.e. city counsel-person or county supervisor).