Bedrooms in the Basement

Have you finished your basement and added a "bedroom" for the folks when they come to visit? Some things to be aware of if you have such a sleeping arrangement. A living space needs to meet certain requirements (heat, ventilation, two exits and a closet) to be classified as a bedroom. The most important being that one of the required exits must be directly to the outside in case of fire. This does not mean the door--unless it does indeed exit directly to the outside--it means a window that qualifies. To qualify as a fire escape a bedroom window must:

Have a maximum sill height of 44" above the floor (so Grandma can actually reach it).
Have a minimum of 5.7 sq ft clear opening (so Beer Belly Bob can get out).

“Clear opening” means when the window is fully opened there is 5.7 sq ft of unobstructed air—e.g. a 34”wide x 24” high opening.

Be a minimum of 20" wide and 24" high (so firemen with backpacks on can get in).
Security bars must have approved fast release hardware (is this not obvious?).

Typically a basement window, such as those little hoppers or awnings doesn’t even come close to allowing Grandma to get out. What to do? Build a window well (assuming you are mostly below grade) that meets the following code requirements:

It must be 9 sq ft minimum.
There must be 36” minimum horizontal dimension (from house wall out).
Wells more than 44" below grade require a permanent ladder (which may protrude 6" into the req'd well space)

Granted, building a window well is not easy, especially if you have to cut it out from cured poured concrete. But the alternative is putting someone in a life-threatening situation should fire breakout in the basement. Also, be aware that such a "bedroom" cannot be listed as a bedroom when it's time to sell since it is NOT a legal bedroom. No permit would be issued for such a room declaring it to be a bedroom if it does not meet the above requirements.

Also a smoke detector is required inside the bedroom AND one outside the bedroom in the “adjoining area”. Battery powered OK for a remodel.

And finally, no electrical outlets can be more than 12 ft apart—the idea being that lamps and appliances come with 6 ft cords and the code does not like extension cords. This is usually my biggest clue that a finished off room was done without a permit and without the required inspections.