Bedroom with clerestory windows

[Fernando]

Bedrooms should have windows.
If bedroom only have small clerestory windows instead of normal larger window, do you consider it inferior as a bedroom?

 

[TMG]

Like they always say; "a clerestory window is better than none".

 

[glenn walker]

No these where fairly some older tracts

 

[ramrcdk]

FIRE !!!! Can you crawl out of "small clerestory windows"?

Perhaps not case-specific to the Post more than ...just asking for the bedroom sleeper, be it a child ?
Besides, HUD-FHA are there other guides to consider???

 

[glenn walker]

Agree they ar

FIRE !!!! Can you crawl out of "small clerestory windows"?

Perhaps not case-specific to the Post more than ...just asking for the bedroom sleeper, be it a child ?
Besides, HUD-FHA are there other guides to consider???

Agree not safe in a fire and do not meet any of today's building codes BUT do we make the report Subject to the owner installed new windows ? In West Covina and Covina Areas in LA County I know of a few tracts where there are hundreds of homes with bedroom windows near the top of the walls and only about 2 feet high .

 

[sputnam]

Bedrooms don't have to have windows. What they HAVE to have is a secondary means of egress. In most cases, that means windows... and if it's a window, it has to be operable, large enough for someone to escape through, and low enough to the floor so they can actually climb through it.

 

[Mark K]

What they HAVE to have is a secondary means of egress. In most cases, that means windows... and if it's a window, it has to be operable, large enough for someone to escape through, and low enough to the floor so they can actually climb through it.

So are you saying that if the room does not have windows that meet current building/safety codes then the room cannot be considered a bedroom?

 

[Ariba]

In most jurisdictions, if the “bedroom” does not have a window, it cannot be considered a bedroom. However, every market is different and common sense comes in.

 

[jay trotta]

So are you saying that if the room does not have windows that meet current building/safety codes then the room cannot be considered a bedroom?

Egress​

"Egress" means to exit. In case of emergency, the bedroom's occupant must have two possible ways of getting out. One of those, obviously, is the door. As exits, you can have two doors, as long as one leads directly outside. (Remember the previous point about not having access to a bedroom by passing through another?) Or you can have one door and one window. The IRC has certain minimum requirements for windows:

• 24 inches tall
• 20 inches wide
• The window opening must have an area of 5.7 square feet
• A window can't be installed more than 44 inches above the floor, to allow climbing out; it should also be no lower than 24 inches from the floor, to help prevent kids from falling out.
• Windows must be easy to open from the inside without keys, tools, or specialized knowledge.

Fire codes vary by location, however, so check your local government to make sure you meet them.

Found this for your review, but there is also a "municipal" requirement for each under Health & Safety issue's which may differ per your area. As always check Your local Bildg., PZC & Health office requirements, they change on a 2-5 year interval in most area's.
Good Luck

 

[J Grant]

The 4 requirements for a room to be considered a bedroom

Is it a bedroom or not? Let’s talk about what makes a bedroom a bedroom. I had someone ask me this question a few weeks ago after I wrote about whether a bedroom needs a window or not. I hope…

sacramentoappraisalblog.com

Regardless of whether "the market " sees it as a bedroom, or a RE agent calls it a bedroom, a bedroom to comply with codes must have the above. Fixed narrow clerestory windows, while pretty, do not meet the above, Therefore I would call it a flexible use room that is furnished for owner use as a bedroom however it is not counted as a bedroom in appraisal because ( the above req second egress)
The flex use room or den (label) might have in market an equivalent value as a bedroom does,...that would be each assignment a local specific .

We don't tell occupants how to furnish their house nor which rooms to sleep in. Nor do we dictate what value the market might return for a bedroom vs another use room , We do have to report what is a bedroom as meeting min standard safety/security in the appraisal ,