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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Erwin, TN
    Posts
    330

    Default 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 ????

    OREP Insurance

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Columbus GA
    Posts
    3,747

    Default Re: No back door for egress

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

    ' correct a wise man and you gain a friend... correct a fool and he'll bloody your nose'.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Maryland
    Posts
    2,809

    Default Re: No back door for egress

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


  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Orlando, FL
    Posts
    1,592

    Default Re: No back door for egress

    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.


  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Spring Hill (Nashville), TN
    Posts
    5,851

    Default Re: No back door for egress

    Quote Originally Posted by Sam Morris View Post
    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?

    Scott Patterson, ACI
    Spring Hill, TN
    www.traceinspections.com

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Fletcher, NC
    Posts
    28,032

    Default Re: No back door for egress

    Quote Originally Posted by Scott Patterson View Post
    I'm curious...... Does the enclosed back porch have a properly sized window?
    What is a "properly sized window" for an enclosed back porch?

    Jerry Peck
    Construction/Litigation/Code Consultant - Retired
    www.AskCodeMan.com

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Spring Hill (Nashville), TN
    Posts
    5,851

    Default Re: No back door for egress

    Quote Originally Posted by Jerry Peck View Post
    What is a "properly sized window" for an enclosed back porch?
    Well, now it's a bedroom.... :-)

    Scott Patterson, ACI
    Spring Hill, TN
    www.traceinspections.com

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Erwin, TN
    Posts
    330

    Default Re: No back door for egress

    Quote Originally Posted by Scott Patterson View Post
    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)

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  9. #9
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Fletcher, NC
    Posts
    28,032

    Default Re: No back door for egress

    Quote Originally Posted by Scott Patterson View Post
    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 ...

    Jerry Peck
    Construction/Litigation/Code Consultant - Retired
    www.AskCodeMan.com

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Maryland
    Posts
    2,809

    Default Re: No back door for egress

    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


  11. #11
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Chicago IL
    Posts
    2,048

    Default Re: No back door for egress

    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.

    www.aic-chicago.com
    773/844-4AIC
    "The Code is not a ceiling to reach but a floor to work up from"

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    NoCal
    Posts
    261

    Default Re: No back door for egress

    Quote Originally Posted by Jerry Peck View Post
    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


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