Hi,
I'm trying to get a building permit for my basement reno in Ontario. The basement is already finished and has a kitchen and two piece bathroom. The ceiling height in most areas is 6'9" except it's 5'11 under the beam which runs the entire length of the basement and 6'2" under some duct work which runs along half of the beam.
In my plans I've placed two rooms on one side of the beam with a hall in-between with doors opening into the rooms. One room is labelled as bedroom, and the other is labelled as den. The bathroom is currently in the middle of the room and under the duct work. I'd like to move it over against an exterior wall and the bedroom (where it's not under any ducts) and add a shower.
There is OBC 9.5.3.1:
Basement height
2100 mm (6'10.68) over at least 75% of the basement area except that under beams
and ducts the clearance is permitted to be reduced to 1950 mm (6'4.77")
C102 an exemption for older houses:
ln a house,
(a) minimum room height shall not be less than 1 950 mm (6'4.77") over the required floor
area and in any location that would normally be used as a means of egress, or
(b) minimum room height shall not be less than 2 030 mm (6'7.92") over at least 50% of the
required floor area, provided that any part of the floor having a clear height of
less than 1 400 mm (4'7.12") shall not be considered in computing the required floor
area.
The proposed alterations work perfectly for my intended use. The reviewer has told me that because the space is being renovated as a habitable space (although the fact that there's a kitchen and bathroom should already make it habitable space) she can't approve it because the beam and duct work are too low. Is there any way I can get the application for building permit approved?
If I choose not to build the rooms, will I be able to get the bathroom work approved?
Any help is appreciated!
Thanks,
Corey
OK,
I disagree with the reviewers interpretation of 9.5.3.1.
The intent of the code is to require minimum ceiling height over the minimum room area required by the code (or percentage based on the situation), not the whole area you have provided. I did not to your area calculations, but you look like you exceed the minimum areas, so the reduced ceiling areas may not even need to be accounted for.
Additionally, you might want to reference the objective and functional statements from the national code, which mirror the OBC and have the intent fully articulated as follows:
Intent 1:
To limit the probability that an inadequate ceiling height of rooms or spaces [i.e. less than 2.1 m high] will lead to collision with protrusions from ceilings, such as lighting fixtures, ceiling fans and low door heads, which could lead to harm to persons.
Intent 2:
To limit the probability that an inadequate clear height of rooms or spaces [i.e. less than 2.0 m high] will lead to collision with protrusions from ceilings, such as lighting fixtures, ceiling fans and low door heads, in areas used infrequently or for a limited time, or where occupants are unfamiliar with the space, which could lead to harm to persons.
Intent 3:
To limit the probability that an inadequate ceiling height of rooms or spaces [i.e. less than 2.1 m high] will lead to collision with protrusions from ceilings, such as lighting fixtures, ceiling fans and low door heads, in an emergency, which could lead to delays in the evacuation or movement of persons to a safe place, which could lead to harm to persons.
Intent 4:
To limit the probability that an inadequate clear height of rooms or spaces [i.e. less than 2.0 m high] will lead to collision with protrusions from ceilings, such as lighting fixtures, ceiling fans and low door heads, in an emergency, in areas used infrequently or for a limited time, or where occupants are unfamiliar with the space, which could lead to delays in the evacuation or movement of persons to a safe place, which could lead to harm to persons.
Based on this information, you can eliminate the hazardous construction in these reduced ceiling areas and probably provide some piece of mind tot he plan reviewer.