Thread: No back door for egress

I have never came across this before, but I'm not surprised. This has to be a code violation ?? The homeowners had enclosed the back porch and made it into a new bedroom. The problem is there was NO backdoor. NO egress is case of a fire to the back portion of house. Shouldn't they have added a sliding glass door and set of steps ????

Unless your area requires it, a "Back Door" (2nd egress door) is not required.

Deja vu, all over again......

Agreed, all things being present that are required, a back or rear egress isn't one of them.

Recently hashed out in this thread:

http://www.inspectionnews.net/home_inspection/building-interior-home-inspection-commercial-inspection/40678-no-back-door.html



Dom.

Originally Posted by Sam Morris

I have never came across this before, but I'm not surprised. This has to be a code violation ?? The homeowners had enclosed the back porch and made it into a new bedroom. The problem is there was NO backdoor. NO egress is case of a fire to the back portion of house. Shouldn't they have added a sliding glass door and set of steps ????

I'm curious...... Does the enclosed back porch have a properly sized window?

Originally Posted by Scott Patterson

I'm curious...... Does the enclosed back porch have a properly sized window?

What is a "properly sized window" for an enclosed back porch?

Originally Posted by Jerry Peck

What is a "properly sized window" for an enclosed back porch?

Well, now it's a bedroom.... :-)

Originally Posted by Scott Patterson

I'm curious...... Does the enclosed back porch have a properly sized window?

Two casement windows side by side 36 x 48 with 8ft drop outside the bedroom window, no landing. SEE PICTURE, the other small window is the master bathroom (too small anyway)

Originally Posted by Scott Patterson

Well, now it's a bedroom.... :-)

So it is not an enclosed back porch anymore ... right?

Need to think of it in terms of what it is - and it is a "bedroom", so ... it also has smoke detectors inside and outside the bedroom, the proper sized EERO (which is what you were alluding to), and properly spaced electrical receptacle outlets, proper insulation in the walls, proper - well, proper "everything" now that it is a bedroom.

Also, the open back porch may have been used as an EERO path from other bedrooms, and now that the back porch is no longer a back porch, those other bedrooms may no longer have proper EERO ... meaning that once a back porch is enclosed (from being open), regardless of what its current use is, enclosing the back porch may have created other problems too.

Of course there may also be other issues, but no need to go there ...

Sam,
Was it listed as a bedroom or just being used as a bedroom?
You can put a mattress in a closet but that does not make it a bedroom.

Sorry, not an answer to your OP. ---- Answer: no

Happy to see an inspector catching and thinking about this sort of thing. From the pic this looks like a normal house. As others have mentioned second egress is unlikely to apply. Second egress is a concern for McMansions or multi-story.
As Jerry eluded to there are other issues now that it is a bedroom. Always try to check joist sizes since those are usually not changed and undersized. If you can't see the joists or stick a tape in a hole somewhere try the jump test. Just jump up a bit and see how much the floor bounces.
Always fun when the joists are really undersized or the midspan wall has been removed below and the whole floor waffles. I love seeing the client turn white when the floor waffling echoes in their ear. I know I'm sick, gotta have some small pleasures.
On a related note a Seller is freaking out because I wrote up their basement bedroom as a walk-in closet. Insufficient natural light, no natural ventilation at all. My guess is they bought it as a 3 bedroom and now could be looking at selling a 2 bedroom. Chances are this deal with die, next buyer will hire a lousy inspector and it will go through as a 3 bedroom; new construction only about 7 years old.

Originally Posted by Jerry Peck

so ... it also has smoke detectors inside and outside the bedroom, the proper sized EERO (which is what you were alluding to), and properly spaced electrical receptacle outlets, proper insulation in the walls, proper - well, proper "everything" now that it is a bedroom.

...and heating too. Don't forget the heat