Bathroom venting

[Tom Rees]

I did a new construction town home earlier this week. The master bathroom had a separate toilet room with door. The bathroom also had a closet at one end with a door that separated it from the bathroom. There is a window in the closet but not in the bathroom and a fart fan in toilet room. I called out that there was no exhaust fan. Since the closet can be shut off from the bathroom and that is the only window and the toilet room fan does not count as an exhaust fan for bathroom wouldn't a fan be required? The builder says that because the city gave them certificate of occupancy they don't need one. I always love this line, I guess if it was on fire it would still be OK because the city OK'd it.

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[Jerry Peck]

Tom,

These are the locations in which the exhaust fan/ventilation are required:
- From the 2012 IRC: (underlining and bold are mine)
- - R303.3 Bathrooms.
- - - Bathrooms, water closet compartments and other similar rooms shall be provided with aggregate glazing area in windows of not less than 3 square feet (0.3 m2), one-half of which must be openable.
- - - - Exception: The glazed areas shall not be required where artificial light and a local exhaust system are provided. The minimum local exhaust rates shall be determined in accordance with Section M1507. Exhaust air from the space shall be exhausted directly to the outdoors.

If the window or exhaust fan is in the bathroom and the toilet is in its own room, then the toilet room (water closet compartment) needs its own windows or exhaust fan.

In your case, there are two door (as I read it), the toilet room door and the closet door - even if the window was in the bathroom area itself and not in the closet, the separate (with a door) toilet room needs its own ventilation.