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Habitable Attic ruling on plan inspection

T

ts123

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Aug 13, 2024
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Location
Florida
Hello,

I am building a residential home and have submitted the plans for permitting. During the review, the inspector declared my attic storage space, above my garage, as a habitable space because it meets the Minimum area, dimension and height requirements. I have declared it attic space on the plans and have no intention of finishing the space as it will all just be storage space(no floor joists as it was designed as attic storage only). I did include permanent stairs to the attic area for safety reasons, as I dont like the pull down stairs for access. The issue is by declaring this a habitable attic it demands that I put in another egress point, which I do not want to do. I can change the height in the room to dip below the 7' min, but would prefer not to have the trusses redrawn. The question I have is can the inspector declare a space marked as storage to be habitable even though the house plans have that space defined and designed otherwise.

Thanks
 
Table R301.5 of the IRC has a line item for "habitable attics and attics served with fixed stairs" shall have a uniform live load of 30 psf minimum. If during plan review the attic is designated as storage and has a permanent set of stairs for access I would comment that the floor of the "attic" must have a live load design of 30 psf minimum per T-R301.5
 
ts123 said:
The issue is by declaring this a habitable attic it demands that I put in another egress point,
Click to expand...
What do you mean another egress point? Do the attic stairs exit through the garage?

Section R303 list the requirements for habitable space.
No Heat, No electrical outlets, No ventilation, No fire separation between the garage and attic above. Not Habitable space.

[RB] HABITABLE SPACE. A space in a building for living, sleeping, eating or cooking. Bathrooms, toilet rooms, closets, halls, storage or utility spaces and similar areas are not considered habitable spaces.

[RB] ATTIC. The unfinished space between the ceiling assembly and the roof assembly.

[RB] ATTIC, HABITABLE. A finished or unfinished habitable space within an attic.

R303.10 Required heating.
Where the winter design temperature in Table R301.2(1) is below 60°F (16°C), every dwelling unit shall be provided with heating facilities capable of maintaining a room temperature of not less than 68°F (20°C) at a point 3 feet (914 mm) above the floor and 2 feet (610 mm) from exterior walls in habitable rooms at the design temperature. The installation of one or more portable space heaters shall not be used to achieve compliance with this section.
 
Yes, the stairs enter/exit thru the garage. That was what triggered the need for a secondary egress point. But your reference to R303 is an interesting point. This space was designed so I did not have to dodge truss supports when storing things in the attic. But, since it has the right minimum dimensions, the inspector is classifying it as a habitable space, which I think is overstepping. I really appreciate the replies, they are very helpful!
 
Today's "attic storage space" is tomorrow's habitable attic. To me, this is the same thing as house plans that show a room with all the attributes of a bedroom -- including a closet -- but it doesn't have a compliant escape and rescue window, and the septic system is only designed for the three bedrooms labeled as 'Bedroom." And it's labeled as "Den" or "Study." Sorry -- it looks too much like a bedroom to me. The building code regulates construction based on the use of the space, not by what someone wrote on a piece of paper.
 
Yep. If it's got the height and area, and has stairs, it's habitable space. I do the same.

Up here, I've seen a fair share of plans with habitable space accessible by a ladder (lofts.) Nyet. If it's got the height and area, it's habitable and now you need stairs.

That's me, crusher of dreams.
 
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