[jackwashere]

I am trying to rent a house out. It is a new 1 bedroom house. I noticed my competition for the same price and size house has 2 or 3 bedrooms. Their bedrooms are often tiny 8x10 or 10x10 at most. I am kicking around the idea of dividing up the huge living room and installing a second bedroom with 2x3's and closet sliding type door. Instead of drywall I would use 1/4" thick hardwood plywood: actual 0.141 in. My ceiling is 8 feet 1.5 inches. So the walls would not reach to the ceiling.

My question is: how legal is that? Would that be considered a "room divider" like they sell at Home Depot?

 

[Mingledtrash]

You are going to need a permit for this and no 1/4 ply would not be legal for a bedroom wall. Also, you need to have proper egress and quite a few things for it to be a legal bedroom. Because you are renting out this house it will be in your best interest to get all proper approvals, permits, and inspections. If you do not get permits and inspections you are opening yourself up for all kinds of liability issues.

 

[jackwashere]

Also, you need to have proper egress and quite a few things for it to be a legal bedroom.

There would be a 4'x4' window in the fake room. I am wondering what the definition of a bedroom is according to the code nazis. If I do not attach the 2x3's to the floor or the ceiling or any of the walls is that a bedroom?

As for safety the code enforcers don't give a rat's behind about that. The inspectors I have had all worried about their jobs and pensions. There would be nothing unsafe about the plan I have. It would use a closet door. You can smash and push through that if there is any kind of a fire or catastrophe.

I'm thinking about an L shaped frame with a sliding closet door. Not attached to the floor or ceiling and 1/2" away from a wall.

The only drawback I can think of compared to a kosher county or city approved wall is the lack of an outlet on 2 of the 4 walls in the bedroom. So two walls will not have an outlet, so what?

 

[ZZZZZ]

In most locations a bedroom must have a closet. (Not just a closet door.)

 

[Mingledtrash]

You can smash and push through that if there is any kind of a fire or catastrophe.

I am sure an adult can but what about a say 6 year old.

Its not whether or not the "code nazi's" do there job. Codes are there for a reason they are not just some random rule somebody pulled out of there ass. A big reason why you want to do this is because in the event of a accident some liability is shifted to the city if you get a licensed contractor liability would be shifted to them as well. for example if someone is renting from you, and they have renters insurance and they file a claim because their sh!t got burned up or they got hurt. then their insurance company will send an investigator to find out why when they find a problem in your house and you did not get a permit or inspection which i am sure is a violation of your state/local statutes. then you are in trouble. But honestly its more about negligently causing someones death cause you didnt know you needed two egress points and what size they need to be.

I am not concerned whether or not the room is legal defined as a bedroom the concern is you are intending to rent it out as a sleeping area and it needs to be safe which i think you even said in your reply.

There would be nothing unsafe about the plan I have. It would use a closet door. You can smash and push through that if there is any kind of a fire or catastrophe.

And herein lies the problem you say there is nothing unsafe about your plan but you are not qualified to make that determination. If you were you would not be here.


Sorry i am being so condescending but you cant add a Sleeping unit to compete with your competition and then not call it a Sleeping unit.

Things i can think of off the top of my head

• A sleeping unit is something that is not a full dwelling unit. It can be just a sleeping area, such as a dorm room with access to gang bathrooms and no cooking facilities. A sleeping unit can include either sanitation or cooking, but not both (i.e., the unit is a space to live and sleep, but shares a bathroom outside the unit and/or does not include a full kitchen). This group covers all types of congregate living arrangements and most transient lodging. Examples are: guestrooms in hotels and motels; bedrooms in dormitories, boarding houses, sorority houses, fraternity houses, halfway houses, group homes, monasteries, convents, assisted living facilities and nursing homes; and sleeping cells in jails.
• Emergency escape and rescue opening to public way yard or court that opens to public way
• Emergency escape must be operable from inside without the use of keys, tools, or special knowledge
• Emergency escape Minimum opening area - 5.7 square feet Minimum opening width - 20 inches Minimum opening height - 24 inches
• Emergency escape maximum sill height-44 inches
• When four or more dwelling or sleeping units are provided in a single structure, those units must meet Type B criteria (note the use of the term "structure" instead of "building"). Since Group R-3 structures can be a series of one or two dwellings per building separated by fire walls (see Section 310.1), the provisions for Type B units would apply to groups of R-3 units. Transient congregate residences with 10 or fewer occupants and nontransient congregate residences with 20 or fewer occupants are permitted to comply with Group R-3 construction requirements (see Section 310.1). Small bed-and-breakfast-type hotels are exempted from accessibility under Section 1103.2.11. These congregate residences may be covered by ADAAG, so a designer/owner may want to consider providing Accessible units (see Sections 1107.6.1.1 and 1107.6.2.2.1) in facilities such as hotels, dormitories, sororities and fraternities. The criteria is applicable if four dwelling units are built together, regardless of fire walls. The exception is a general reference to Section 1107.7, which addresses situations where it is logical to back off on the requirements for Type B units within a structure.
• 706.3.9 Single-occupancy fire areas. The fire barrier or horizontal assembly, or both, separating a single occupancy into different fire areas shall have a fire-resistance rating of not less than that indicated in Table 706.3.9
• table 706.3.9 says 2 hour fire resistance rating.
• 706.7 Openings. Openings in a fire barrier wall shall be protected in accordance with Section 715. Openings shall be limited to a maximum aggregate width of 25 percent of the length of the wall, and the maximum area of any single opening shall not exceed 156 square feet (15 m2). Openings in exit enclosures and exit passageways shall also comply with Sections 1020.1.1 and 1021.4, respectively.
• 706.9 Joints. Joints made in or between fire barriers shall comply with Section 713.
• 706.10 Ducts and air transfer openings. Penetrations in a fire barrier by ducts and air transfer openings shall comply with Section 716.

This is not even close to everything i think you need gfci's smoke detectors inside and outside.