1 1/2 story 2nd floor living space

Started by azgreg, August 01, 2017, 02:03:13 PM

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azgreg

I know this has been answered before but I can't find it at the moment. What defines the living space on a loft floor?




MountainDon

That would be called a habitable attic in the IRC

30 PSF load design on floor
Code compliant stairs for normal access (36" wide minimum, 6'8" min headroom, etc...)
Code compliant emergency egress (minimum size listed in Ch. 3 , IIRC)
Habitable rooms are to be a min of 70 sq ft
7 foot minimum ceiling to floor height, Space with less than 7 foor height does not count towards the room size. (sloped ceiling)
There may be more criteria...  The AHJ holds the cards and may or may not play them all. (AHJ = Authority having Jurisdiction)
Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.


azgreg

Thanks Don. I did find this:

http://www.themilfordteam.com/How_to_measure_a_house.pdf

QuoteAttics, Lofts and Low Ceilings
Level ceilings must be at least 7 feet high, and at least 6 feet 4 inches under beams, ducts
and other obstructions. There is no height restriction under stairs. If a room has a sloped
ceiling, at least one-half of the finished floor area must have a ceiling height of at least 7
feet. Otherwise, omit the entire room from the floor area calculations. If a room with a
sloped ceiling meets the one-half-of-floor-area-over-7-feet requirement, then include all
the floor space with a ceiling height over 5 feet.
Lofts and finished attics must be accessible by a conventional stairway or other access to
be counted. If you can only reach the loft by climbing a ladder, it's not part of the
finished floor area regardless of the ceiling height.

SouthernTier

Quote from: azgreg on August 01, 2017, 02:03:13 PM
I know this has been answered before but I can't find it at the moment. What defines the living space on a loft floor?



It may have been one of my posts you saw (such as http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=12801.msg166814#msg166814).  The code states that you have to have a minimum of 70 ft2 of floor space, and of that 70 ft2, all has to be greater than 5' in height and >50% has to be at least 7' in height.  I had to redesign to meet that.

That is pretty much the same thing you just quoted.

azgreg