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Attic Bathroom Egress

1K views 4 replies 3 participants last post by  pankaek 
#1 ·
I'm thinking about adding a 1/2 or a full bathroom to the attic in my house. The staircase to the attic is steep and does not meet code so I know I can't put a
bedroom or any kind of "habitable space" in the attic because of the staircase.
I am not planning on using the attic as a bedroom , just to have an extra bathroom up there.

Am I allowed by building code to add non-habitable space like a bathroom to the attic? Do I need to provide egress to the attic bathroom?

Thanks
 
#3 ·
That's going to be one expensive and little used bathroom.
Got some pictures of that space? Most attics where never built to be made into inhabited space. Undersized floor joist for a floor, undersized rafters for room for the required insulation and venting come to mind.
Going to need permits, which may open up a can of worms with those unsafe stairs.
 
#4 ·
The bathroom would require a dormer on the attic to accommodate the 6 ft 8 in ceiling requirement over the shower. The engineer has also advised me that the floor joists would require reinforcing by running additional lumber next to the existing joists. I'm aware this would indeed make the bathroom expensive but there's literally no space anywhere else in the house for a bathroom other than the basement.

For the stairs issue I'm contacting the county permitting department this week to get an answer on what's required.
 
#5 ·
I contacted the local permitting office and this is what they told me:
If the existing staircase has risers higher than 8.25 inches or treads less than 9 inches then the building permit requires a "code modification". This is a process where the permitting office looks at the permit application on a case by case basis and grants or denies a "code modification". There's no guarantee they will grant you a code modification.
My staircase fails on both riser height and tread depth so I'll probably not go ahead with the attic bathroom given the cost of drawings, engineers work, permit application fees etc.
 
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