Basement finishing with a low beam

[cda]

I

My bad...….to much of my friend Uncle Jack over the holidays.....

Them Uncles

 

[Mr. Inspector]

My Kindergarten math is bad

How do you fit a 6’8” door in a 6’2” beam

Who is talking about a 6’8” door?

 

[mtlogcabin]

Your math is fine it is the IRC that requires only the egress door to be 78" no other opening is required to be that height

The clear height of the door opening shall be not less than 78 inches (1981 mm) in height measured from the top of the threshold to the bottom of the stop. Other doors shall not be required to comply with these minimum dimensions.

 

[ADAguy]

This isn't Oz with Munchkins!

 

[ameliasolis]

I recently purchased a new home with a 929 sq ft. unfinished basement. The basement is essentially one open room. My plan was to finish this basement to be used as a rec room with a utility room framed out for my boiler, washer/dryer, circuit breaker, etc. and maybe a separate room for a half bath.


The problem I have run into after looking up some of the New York State code is the requirement for beams to project within 6’ 4” of the finished floor. The main support beam that runs the length of the entire basement projects to 6’ 2” from the floor. The ceiling is 7’ in the rest of the basement space.


Is there a way I can work around this? Would it fit code to finish the basement only on one side of the beam, and leave the other unfinished? I read another post on this forum https://www.thebuildingcodeforum.com/forum/threads/habitable-basement-ceiling-height.4944/ with a similar issue, where the question was raised if both sides of the basement could be finished, leaving the area under the beam an uninhabitable zone that therefore would not need to adhere to the code. Could a wall be built underneath the beam?


The basement is relatively large, clean, open and begging to be finished. It would be a shame if a beam that is 2” too low disqualifies the entire basement from being finished. What are my options?


Thank you in advance for your help and expertise.

basement renovation Edmonton

I have two possibilities:
1. Replace the beam with a lower beam (it looks like 2 x 10's--replace them with 2 x 8's) and provide columns that are closer together; or
2. Jackhammer out the floor, dig some soil out, and re-pour the floor. Unfortunately, you may have to rebuild the stairs.