# what is a bedroom



## edo (Jan 30, 2013)

Example: If I construct a wall in the middle of a living room without a door, does that create two bedrooms or i need to install a door in-order for the two rooms to be considered bedroom?

What is the definition of a bedroom?

Thanks in advance.


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## 97catintenn (Jan 30, 2013)

to keep it easy, it's not a bedroom if the room does not have a closet.


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## fatboy (Jan 31, 2013)

As a rule, we define a bedroom as a room with a clothes closet........but that probably would not stand under scrutiny. If the designer labels it as a bedroom (sleeping room), and it meets the requirements as such, then it is, what it is, move on.


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## cda (Jan 31, 2013)

Window or door to outside??


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## edo (Jan 31, 2013)

Assume each has a window.

Can this be called something other than a bedroom? Or as mentioned before if it doesn't have a closet then it is not a bedroom?


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## Inspector 102 (Jan 31, 2013)

If the plans indicate that it is a bedroom, then inspect as a bedroom. If the plans indicate it is a sewing room or library room, then inspect accordingly. I normally indicate on the Certificate of Occupancy how many bedrooms were approved so if they change later, I am covered. As it has been indicated here numerous times, "what if" is not something we can inspect so go by the plans.


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## Dennis (Jan 31, 2013)

Every county I work in has its own definition.  If there is no window then it cannot be a bedroom.  If the room does not have a bathroom associated with the space, ie you have to walk across a living area to get to the bath then it is not a bedroom.

They used to use the closet idea but most don't anymore.


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## ICE (Jan 31, 2013)

The question comes down to who decides what a room is.  Does the owner get to pick?  How about the designer?  In as much as the code has specific requirements for various rooms I think it falls on the code official to determine what the rooms are.

Some planning departments require a certain amount of parking per bedroom.

Some jurisdictions size a water heater per the number of bedrooms.

Septic systems are sized per the number of bedrooms.

Density studies are based on bedrooms.

I have seen many houses where every room including the garage is a sleeping room.

The owner could say that he has a one bedroom, one den, one study,one office house.

Many times I have heard, "It is the kid's playroom/den/study/sewing room/library/office/TV room/exercise room/store room and it doesn't require an EERO or smoke detector, and in times past, arc fault protection.

I always tell them that the building department makes that determination.

The particular use that is present is no indication of what a room is.

A sleeping room isn't required to have a closet or direct access to a bathroom or a hallway that leads to a bathroom.

Any room can have a closet and a door to a bathroom.

Nobody said that this would be easy.


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## tmurray (Jan 31, 2013)

ICE said:
			
		

> The question comes down to who decides what a room is.  Does the owner get to pick?  How about the designer?  In as much as the code has specific requirements for various rooms I think it falls on the code official to determine what the rooms are.Some planning departments require a certain amount of parking per bedroom.
> 
> Some jurisdictions size a water heater per the number of bedrooms.
> 
> ...


The reason that the building code doesn't regulate things like this is to give the code official some room to apply logic given their jurisdiction. For instance; ICE might find people sleeping in garages in his jurisdiction, but in ours that would be extremely unlikely without significant renovations.


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## Jobsaver (Jan 31, 2013)

http://www.thebuildingcodeforum.com/forum/residential-building-codes/3133-bedroom-storage-room-bonus-room.html

Check out this old thread for a lively discussion on this topic.


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## edo (Jan 31, 2013)

Thank you all for your replies.


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## Gregg Harris (Jan 31, 2013)

A definition for bedroom needs to be addressed by the building. If you look at IRC 1401.3 for sizing of the HVAC system for occupancy load is based on bedrooms plus 1.


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## Gregg Harris (Jan 31, 2013)

Gregg Harris said:
			
		

> A definition for bedroom needs to be addressed by the building codes. If you look at IRC 1401.3 for sizing of the HVAC system for occupancy load is based on bedrooms plus 1.


building codes


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## Pcinspector1 (Jan 31, 2013)

2006IRC, sec. R304.2 Other Rooms. Other habitable rooms shall have a floor area of not less than 70sf, exceptions: Kitchens.

Sec. R304.1 Minimum area, Every dwelling unit shall have one habitable room that shall have not less than 120 sf of gross floor area. Not knowing all the issues, but beaware of these two requirements when dividing up rooms.

Pc1


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## Pcinspector1 (Jan 31, 2013)

Habitable rooms would be: living rooms, bedrooms and a kitchen.

OP sez he/she is dividing a living room, maybe creating two bedrooms. Both bedrooms would also require emergency egress and SD's. Closets would be a hint it's a beroom to the BO or inspector. HVAC issues and wall support below the floor should be considered as well.

pc1


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## Pcinspector1 (Jan 31, 2013)

Typo on post #14, should read 120sf not 12. Sorry not a sawhorse yet! Maybe the moderator can correct it for me?

pc1


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## Yankee (Jan 31, 2013)

Dennis said:
			
		

> Every county I work in has its own definition.  If there is no window then it cannot be a bedroom.  If the room does not have a bathroom associated with the space, ie you have to walk across a living area to get to the bath then it is not a bedroom.  They used to use the closet idea but most don't anymore.


None of that is code language.


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## mtlogcabin (Jan 31, 2013)

IPMC definition

BEDROOM. Any room or space used or intended to be used for sleeping purposes in either a dwelling or sleeping unit.

Sometimes a code official may want to label a den or craft room as a bedroom but then the "bedroom" may not comply with other code requirements. I agree note the number of bedrooms on the CO along with the use of the other room (den, office, craft) and move on

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.

ANSI

1002.2 Primary Entrance.

The accessible primary entrance shall be on an accessible route from public and common areas. The primary entrance shall not be to a bedroom.


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## Glenn (Jan 31, 2013)

This was the same question that brought me to this forum years ago.  I researched this heavily and tried to find a fair definition.  I couldn't, but I learned a lot.

I couldn't find a definition that would still allow my fellow countrymen the freedom of architecture and use of their private home that they should be afforded.  This is a huge problem for us when it comes to basement finishing...a big thing in my region.

We finally decided it was up to the designers, not us.  We require each room be labeled on the plans.  By gosh if someone wants a sewing room, exercise room, craft room or the like it's not our place to tell them they can't have it.  If they label it as such, we put a giant red sticker on the plans that states "Not reviewed for compliance as a bedroom or sleeping room".  We also make it very clear that this is the legal description and use of the room that will forever be discoverable in our records by anyone that wishes...including real estate agents and lawyers.

Personal opinion:

[soapbox]

In our country, I believe that we should be able to buy enough rope to tie a noose if we wish.  We also must be accountable for the results of that noose.  We cannot prohibit your buying the rope based what you "may" do with it.  We cannot prohibit you from buying string, just because you "may" represent it as a climbing rope when you sell it to someone else.  We cannot restrict the rights of responsible Americans that wish to truly have a sewing room, just because we assume it "may" be used as a bedroom in the future.  It would be nice if we could have more personal responsibility and less society regulation.  As a proud administer of government regulations, I can confidently say we have too much regulation.

Cheers to your sewing room!  Enjoy it!  I stand by your right to have it, by not by your fraud to use it or sell it as a bedroom.  Although...I encourage the next family to come check our records before they buy.  Another example of personal responsibility.  Hey...I can dream..

[/soapbox]


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## MikeC (Jan 31, 2013)

I know that there is no easy answer to this.  If it looks like a bedroom, smells like a bedroom, etc ....... I treat it as a bedroom.  I try to keep in mind that the current resident may want to call it an office, but the house will probably be owned by others over it's life.  The realtor will probably list it as a bedroom and sell it to the new owner as a bedroom.  They have no idea that it isn't a bedroom and use it as a bedroom.  You can't stop people from using a dining room as a bedroom, but most dining rooms are obvious due to their location in relation to other rooms.  If I think a room looks like a bedroom, the average person will also assume it is a bedrrom and the room will likely be used as a bedroom eventually.  If the builder doesn't like it, appeal my decision.

We aren't inspecting what the current person is going to do with the house .... we are inspecting a house for the current and all future owners / occupants.


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## Span (Jan 31, 2013)

I'm a little bit luckier, Planning dep't has ordinance under parking requirement.

It states, A dan, library, study or similar habitable room which functionally could be used as a bedroom shall be considered a bedroom for purposes of determining required parking.


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## Daddy-0- (Jan 31, 2013)

We inspect according to what the plans have labeled. If the plans say bedroom it is a bedroom. If the plans say dog wash room it is a dog wash room and will be inspected as a dog wash room. The county real estate assessor records the number of bedrooms based on the plans. This puts it in the official and public record as such. Note the CO and sleep well.


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## Mr Softy (Feb 12, 2013)

the room is what the plans say it is.  i can point out that it cannot be used as a bedroom, but that's about it.

on a side note, the Sanitation dept in the town I used to work had jurisdiction over septic systems.  for system size calculations, they took the total number of rooms and divided it in half to determine the numberof bedrooms as applicable to design.  their state code.


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## Darren Emery (Feb 12, 2013)

MikeC said:
			
		

> We aren't inspecting what the current person is going to do with the house .... we are inspecting a house for the current and all future owners / occupants.


I would have to disagree.  We are inspecting to current code, given current conditions, and current plans.  If it is listed as an office on the plans, it is an office.  If and when a new owner changes the use to a bedroom, then we have a violation. Not before.  We can not predict, or plan, for all future violations.


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## north star (Feb 12, 2013)

*~ + ~*

Mr. Softy,

Long time no see, ...uuuuhhhmm, hear from!   

*+ ~ +*


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## righter101 (Feb 15, 2013)

Darren Emery said:
			
		

> I would have to disagree.  We are inspecting to current code, given current conditions, and current plans.  If it is listed as an office on the plans, it is an office.  If and when a new owner changes the use to a bedroom, then we have a violation. Not before.  We can not predict, or plan, for all future violations.


Hello there.

We had this issue discussed extensively before (as a previous poster included a link). The issue of labeling a room to dictate its use should not be an absolute.

If i have a large unheated area with 2 roll up doors (other wise known as garage doors), concrete slab floor, attached to the house, with say the furnace and water heater, and the designer labels it "sewing room", am I supposed to take them at their word and not require a separation between the garage and dwelling because it's not labeled a "garage".??

Can I have a room that has a dishwasher, cook top, refrigerator, and sink with countertops, and call it simply an "activity room", and therefore it is not a kitchen and requirements specific to a kitchen need not apply??

I know this one got beat to death on the forum previously, and there were some strong opinions, it's not an easy issue.

We have septic design requirements based on bedrooms.  We have a policy (not written by me) that defines a bedroom.  When we have someone that has a room that appears or could be used as a bedroom, if their septic design isn't large enough or there isn't legal egress, we will often use a NTT or Notice to Title.  Basically a permaently recorded document that clarifies that this is truly "not a bedroom" for either lack of egress, or septic limitations.  It usually is noted on the CofO, but this brings the issue to light whenever a real estate transaction is taking place and represents a very permanent record.

JMHO.


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## Architect1281 (Feb 15, 2013)

If the issue is parking or closets we don't care - the issue in much of our state is onsite watste disposal (leach fields) as they are sized by bedrooms in conjunction with DEM (a unique concept of cooperation we devised this for thos regulations.

“Bedroom” means any room in a residential structure which is greater than seventy (70) square feet in area, which is susceptible to present or future use as a private sleeping area and which satisfies all of the following requirements:

(1) Has at least one (1) window that meets the four point four (4.4) square foot minimum size and all other requirements of the “Rhode Island State Building Code SBC-1 or SBC-2”;

(2) Has at least one (1) interior method of entry and egress, excluding closets and bathrooms, allowing the room to be closed off from the remainder of the residence for privacy; and

(3) Is a heated living space that is unrestricted for year-round use.

Rooms located below grade that are not recognized as bedrooms by the “Rhode Island State Building Code SBC-1 or SBC-2” are not recognized as bedrooms under these Rules.


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## lunatick (Mar 5, 2013)

97catintenn said:
			
		

> to keep it easy, it's not a bedroom if the room does not have a closet.


If you go back, say pre WWII, you will find many homes without closets.

Instead they used a furniture items called a Wardrobe for hanging clothes, along with dressers for folding clothes.

Also, I know of a home for a farm family. The upper floor is for the children. They have bunk rooms, play/study room, clothes are stored in same room with laundry.

So would the bunk room be a bedroom. No closet?

Code states, intended for use of sleeping.

This means if you are reasonable, you won't identify a kitchen as a bedroom.

If you are unreasonable, you might speculate how someone might fall asleep in their porge. Thus call it a bedroom.

Official answer - check with the AHJ. Everyone defines it differently.


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## joetheinspector (Mar 5, 2013)

Glenn well said.

The New Mexico State Building Code defines "sleeping room" means a room designated as a sleeping room or bedroom on the plans.

As an inspector I am not to inspect for what it might be used for in the future but for the proposed use.


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