Finished Basement egress (floor, washer, window, heat)

[MadLeec]

I bought a house in the Town of North Hempstead in 1981 with a finished basement. The new codes call for an egress that I do not have. Can they require me to make the upgrades or am I grandfathered in.

[T. Damon]

Does the basement contain a bedroom? Typically only bedrooms are required to have code egress. I have no idea of local code issues- it would be fairly usual that only a new permit being pulled would trigger that requirement.

Life safety issues should not be taken lightly in any home. A 3' x 3' well, 42" above finished floor with a 5.7 square foot clear opening window is well worth the expense if you have people frequently sleeping in that room.

[K'ledgeBldr]

Originally Posted by MadLeec

I bought a house in the Town of North Hempstead in 1981 with a finished basement. The new codes call for an egress that I do not have. Can they require me to make the upgrades or am I grandfathered in.

"Can they require me..?" As a general rule, no. However, if the basement contains (by legal definition) a bedroom, then it's possible. Some states have strict rules for sales of residential property.

But here's a twist, you bought the house in 1981 and the basement was finished. Did you purchase the home new, or was it a resale? If it was a resale do you know if the basement was included in the original build, or was it done at a later time? Do you know if it was permitted for that? All of these things can have bearing on your question- it will make a difference for "grandfathering".

But, there's always the "over-reach" of the government! Meaning, there's no such thing as "grandfathering" when lives could be at risk. A perfect example is the installing of, or additional installation of smoke detectors within a house even when none of the work is being performed in that area of the home.

[MadLeec]

Thanks for the reply. We bought the house from the original owner. The Basement contains a powder room, a laundry room with washer/dryer, sink and storage. The main area has framed and finished walls, recessed ceiling, lights, heat and painted concrete floor. All of this was in the basement when we bought the house. We do have a document from the building dept that shows a finished recreation room, powder room and laundry area.
We are having our kitchen redone and we had to apply for a permit. I am concerned that they will look at the basement and will now require an egress that will cost a great deal of money.
What do you think?

[Ralph_Kirk]

Originally Posted by MadLeec

Thanks for the reply. We bought the house from the original owner. The Basement contains a powder room, a laundry room with washer/dryer, sink and storage. The main area has framed and finished walls, recessed ceiling, lights, heat and painted concrete floor. All of this was in the basement when we bought the house. We do have a document from the building dept that shows a finished recreation room, powder room and laundry area.
We are having our kitchen redone and we had to apply for a permit. I am concerned that they will look at the basement and will now require an egress that will cost a great deal of money.
What do you think?

In most cases, they're not going to inspect anything other than what you got a permit to change.

You say you have a "document from the building department"--is that the same department you got a permit from? Is that actually a permit for that earlier basement work? If so, you're in the clear.

As has been mentioned, in most cases an egress is not required unless there is a bedroom in the basement. Some local codes require an egress for each bedroom, some only one egress if there is any bedroom. Also, the local definition of "bedroom" is important. Often, codes will call a room a "bedroom" if it has a clothes closet. Your local code may indeed require an egress for every finished basement, but it would be unusual for them to make you do a retrofit if you're not doing any other substantive work in the basement.

Now, when you sell...they might make you do that retrofit, or a future buyer may require it.

[K'ledgeBldr]

"What do (I) think?"
Doesn't matter what I think (previous post^^^), it's what the AHJ is going to require.

If it turns out that that would be a stipulation, then you have a few choices to make- drop the remodel, refigure your budget, expand your budget.