What Makes A Room A Bedroom
The international association of certified home inspectors internachi has one idea your local building department might have another set of regulations and a lender certainly has it s own requirements as well.
What makes a room a bedroom. A great bedroom is a well lit bedroom whether that light comes from natural sources or from properly balanced artificial lighting. This all depends on who you talk to. Feet a minimum opening height of 24 inches and a minimum opening width of 20 inches. They are usually asking because they have a room in their home which may have the potential to be a bedroom.
The second thing any room must have to be considered a bedroom is a minimum area size. While what defines a bedroom may seem obvious in most circumstances when it comes to selling a home the concept is not quite as clear. Technically a bedroom must have two means of egress so a second door will suffice but it must open to the outside which makes the exterior door a less practical solution. The definition of a bedroom working as a real estate agent many people ask me what the legal requirement for a bedroom is.
It must have a minimum opening area of 5 7 sq. You can get away with shorter ceilings in part of the room as long as half of the bedroom ceiling is seven feet tall or more. What makes a bedroom a bedroom. There are in fact a number of details that make a room a bedroom and both home buyers and sellers had best know them to avoid misunderstandings related to size and square footage.
Having a conforming bedroom has to do with safety. However labeling rooms as bedrooms which are actually formal dining rooms closets or other non bedroom rooms can have many negative effects including damage to the listing agent s credibility as well as the seller s. While this is a universally accepted standard good luck finding any type of authority that will back this up. Focusing on the room itself if the buyer can see it as a bedroom then it might work as a bedroom for that buyer.
At a minimum you need a light fixture at your bedside and one on a diagonal across the room. What makes a room a conforming bedroom. Technically this falls under the dimensions requirement but a bedroom ceiling has to be at least seven feet tall. Room to stand.
This allows for loft areas to become bedrooms. Not any window will do. Technically a bedroom must have two means of egress so a second door will suffice but it must open to the outside which makes the exterior door a less practical solution. Even better have a third source of light on the ceiling or in another section of the room if your bedroom is large.
Per the international residential code irc as well as ansi another measuring standard most appraisers follow habitable rooms must have a floor area square footage of no less than 70 square feet.