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How Narrow Can a Walk-In Closet/Storage Room be in a Residence?

H

happy

Registered User
Joined
Feb 27, 2021
Messages
13
Location
Colorado
Hi,

Is there a minimum width a walk-in closet/storage area has to be? E.g. if the closet it 8 feet deep and only a narrow 3 feet wide, does this meet code? The door is on the short side and you can walk inwards 8'. If so, what codes are applicable? It is meant to be a storage area. Thanks.
 
Thanks, is there a minimum width for the walk in area for egress R311.1 8' deep into the closet? Say the occupant created 12" shelving for the storage and 24" left for walking in and out an aisle. Is the aisle considered a hallway and need to be at least 36" wide per R311.6? Is there any minimum dimension for this type of closet? Thanks again.
 
Thanks again. So could a storage room be say only 2' wide and 20' deep (or 1' wide and 40' deep)? There literally are no dimensional requirements if something is classified as a storage area?
 
Curious why you keep asking. Are you having a dispute with a builder
over the size of a closet in your home?
 
from a design/drafting standpoint....closet shelves are (typically) drawn 12 inches wide, but a 24 inch space allowance is made for the clothing hanging on the rod...so, a 3 foot wide closet, with clothing on hangers is only going to provide approximately 12 inches of walking space...
 
Hi thanks for all the great info. e hilton Where I live there is a local standard for a storage closet that has more regular/reasonable minimum dimensions. There is something unusual about this home which may have prevented this closet being its standard dimensions. The jurisdiction required the builder to build a long, very narrow closet (much narrower than the standard). I find the oddly shaped closet unusable/hazardous (I haven’t said the exact dimensions here, but say it was 3' wide and 20 feet deep). From a building code standpoint, did the local jurisdiction violate any residential codes (that they also are bound to) with requiring a storage closet with these dimensions? I agree SDS with your logic, but my local jurisdiction doesn't appear to care about practicality, but it seems like ICE and Fatboy are saying there is no residential code that would help me in this circumstance. If I was at the back 20' deep into the storage closet and I had to get out, there are no egress requirements or any other codes that I could reference to say that the local jurisdiction did not act in my best interest?
 
Section R202 Definitions (2018 IRC) defines a habitable space, specifically, closets are NOT considered habitable spaces...
Section R304 Minimum Room Areas ONLY refers to habitable spaces being required to meet minimum area requirements.

Others here much more code proficient may correct me here but the answer is no, your closet does not need to be a certain size, practicality be damned!
 
happy, we have answered your question.

NO REQUIREMENTS! NOTHING!

What I find odd is your perception that the AHJ is requiring this admittedly weird shaped closet.

Ask them for a Code citation, where is it in ordinance? It has to be an amendment, because it is not in ANY building code published.

Where specifically are you located? Let us dig into your local amendments, see where this is coming from.
 
By "local standard" do you mean an HOA regulation, or a modification to the actual building code by the city? There's a big difference.
 
There are a few things to be aware of: Code requirement of ceiling height and light fixtures being to close to the shelving.
 
happy said:
Hi thanks for all the great info. e hilton Where I live there is a local standard for a storage closet that has more regular/reasonable minimum dimensions. There is something unusual about this home which may have prevented this closet being its standard dimensions. The jurisdiction required the builder to build a long, very narrow closet (much narrower than the standard). I find the oddly shaped closet unusable/hazardous (I haven’t said the exact dimensions here, but say it was 3' wide and 20 feet deep). From a building code standpoint, did the local jurisdiction violate any residential codes (that they also are bound to) with requiring a storage closet with these dimensions? I agree SDS with your logic, but my local jurisdiction doesn't appear to care about practicality, but it seems like ICE and Fatboy are saying there is no residential code that would help me in this circumstance. If I was at the back 20' deep into the storage closet and I had to get out, there are no egress requirements or any other codes that I could reference to say that the local jurisdiction did not act in my best interest?
Click to expand...
If the code is silent on an issue, then it is up to the designer/owner. I don't get a say as the building official. I would be exceeding my authority as the building official to force someone to do anything.
 
Hi Everyone, thanks for all the wonderful follow-up questions (and I am very sorry for my delayed response, I wasn't getting email updates)! The AHJ has a Standard for my type of housing that requires a storage closet with minimum dimensions say 6'x4' with the intent of holding specific type of items. The house was built with the closet say 12'x3' in dimensions which in time I found odd, unusable, and unsafe since I could not both walk in the closet and store things in this narrow space (I tried many configurations and none worked). The Standard also says buildings should avoid inefficient uses of space (which this clearly was).

The AHJ is adamant it met the Standard since it was Inspected and approved by an Outsider Inspector before occupancy and my part of my home was built from landmarked exterior so they are both claiming it meets the Standard (which the 3' dimension clearly did not), but also it did not need meet the Standard (but the closet is not historical and the Standard also allowed for a shed, which would have been strongly preferable and practically impossible to do now with my HOA- that's another story). I was told the Outside inspector noted that one of my bedroom closets was almost 2' wider than the minimum requirement so that, along with the oddly shaped closet is sufficient. My home also had non-working plumbing, which the AHJ also claimed to have fully inspected too, though.

There is something suspicious of the plan that I was given, that the dimensions for the closet appear to be listed as 4' wide (which would have met the standard), but its only 3' wide. I have brought this to the AHJ's attention too but have not been given a response yet and I do not know if the outside inspector used this, an updated or different plan with the correct dimension or measured on site.

There was no shelving and a single fixture in the center of the closet which is 7' high at its lowest point.

So what's the big deal, why don't I just demo the odd closet and move on? There are several other restrictions, penalties, etc. I have to hold off for detailing for now since I would like some degree of anonymity while I'm trying to work this out. Thanks again... fascinating, smart, helpful group here.
 
Sorry in my previous post (it doesn't look like there is an edit feature) I wanted to clarify that the AHJ said there was an outside inspector who approved of it since there are challenges for meeting Standards with a structure with some historical walls. Technically the closet could easily have been 4' wide and met their actual standard and I could work in there-- there was nothing historical blocking it on one side.

But, the closet could have been put in the new construction area of the home (which the other unit did) or a shed could have satisfied this (which is an acceptable alternative in this Standard). Or why even saddle the homeowner with a odd shaped closet (that also blocked 2 windows) at all if it doesn't need to meet the standard? Did this outside inspector really think through it would be impossible to make work in practice? Going back to my original post, there doesn't seem to be any Code refute that by shortening the storage area from the Standard 4' to 3' would make it non-functional.

Thanks again.
 
I'm sorry I'm not able to get more specific at this time, but the Standard requires each unit to have a storage closet with a minimum dimensions of 6'x4' in the unit or as a shed. It was built 12'x3' within the unit.
 
happy said:
I'm sorry I'm not able to get more specific at this time, but the Standard requires each unit to have a storage closet with a minimum dimensions of 6'x4' in the unit or as a shed. It was built 12'x3' within the unit.
Click to expand...
Well, if you cannot share the standard, we really shouldn't/can't help you determine if a violation has occurred.

Kinda like asking us if a rule has been broken, but refusing to let us see the rule book.

With that in mind, I am not sure how you'd like folks to help you. As others have said, there is no violation of the building codes. You have replied several times that it is not a violation of the building code you are concerned with, but a violation of a municipal standard... a municipal standard that you are unwilling to share.

So again, I ask... what are you looking for from us if you cant tell us the whole story?
 
Happy ... you’re making us unhappy with your perceived need for secrecy. If it is a municipal code, then its already in the public domain and there is no reason you can’t share it with us.
 
happy said:
I'm sorry I'm not able to get more specific at this time, but the Standard requires each unit to have a storage closet with a minimum dimensions of 6'x4' in the unit or as a shed. It was built 12'x3' within the unit.
Click to expand...
At the end of the day, your issue would be against the jurisdiction for failing to enforce their own standard, whether it is their own inspector, or 3rd party, no matter, it was completed as built.

This is now a civil issue, sue somebody if you think you can get relief, ultimately, you are going to have to reconfigure the space it sounds like.

Tear out the wall separating the "closet" from the adjacent space, buy a free-standing wardrobe.
 
Hi fatboy- I think you hit the nail on the head. The powerful AHJ has been confrontational from the start-- saying it met standards, I asked what the standard was, they provided me with incorrect dimensions, I found the correct municipal standard that did not support their claims, now they say since the building was approved by an inspector who took into account an unrelated historic exterior wall it must have met standards. They now are turning this on me saying how dare I not accept what they have deemed an amenity since they approved it and if I remove the closet it would make it unlivable for the next owner.

The dimension I found in the plan exaggerating the closet size makes me feel its quite possible the developer and AJH are working together.

For a civil issue, is this something I can try in small claims court? Would this be worth going public/to the press with this-- or is this just un-newsworthy since it happens all the time everywhere?

ClassicT and eHilton, sorry I am not fully disclosing the situation-- I live in a town with extremely wealthy and powerful people and I have other ongoing and related issues and fear retaliation. It feels like between these people and the City they are whitewashing any concern I bring up. I had a neighbor without a garage who was denied an external trash/recycle area for 2 years (yuk) who was too fearful to speak up (and if they did I bet they would have handled it in a similar way).
 
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