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Occupied Space

TimNY

TimNY

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Jan 13, 2010
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Charleston, SC
Where do you draw the line for an "occupied space in a building"?

Office?

Bathroom?

Storage closet?

Mechanical room?

What do you use to determine "occupied space"?
 
Can't remember what code cycle NY follows. Try section 1004(2009,2006, and 2003) Short section with a table included. It should give you the info you need. The table gives a breakdown of occupant load per space. I have always assumed that if the space is not listed in the table that it is not an occupied space.

docgj
 
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.

COMMENTARY; These spaces are normally considered inhabited in the course of residential living and provide the four basic characteristics associated with it: living, sleeping, eating and cooking. All habitable spaces are considered occupiable spaces, though other occupiable spaces, such as halls or utility rooms, are not considered habitable (see the definition of “Occupiable space” in this chapter).

OCCUPIABLE SPACE. A room or enclosed space designed for human occupancy in which individuals congregate for amusement, educational or similar purposes or in which occupants are engaged at labor, and which is equipped with means of egress and light and ventilation facilities meeting the requirements of this code.

COMMENTARY; Occupiable spaces are those areas designed for human occupancy. Based on the nature of the occupancy, various code sections apply. All habitable spaces are also considered occupiable (see the definition of “Habitable space”); however, all occupiable spaces are not habitable. Additionally, some spaces are neither habitable nor occupiable, such as closets, toilet rooms and mechanical equipment rooms.

All spaces are occupiable. The ones you listed have occupant load requirements in Chapter 10. Are you trying to get an occupant load or calculated areas?
 
There is a difference between "occupied" and "not normally occupied". A mechanical room or rest room is occupied and must be provided with means of egress in accordance with the code. However, it is not a space that is normally occupied so it may not open into a stair enclosure or an exit passageway.
 
docgj: commercial

Coug Dad: according to the commentary (I know, it's not code), closets, toilet rooms and mechanical rooms are not occupiable.

All: Can a space that is not occupiable be occupied?
 
I have had this discussion often in assembly buildings such as stadia or convention centers. Is it wise, allowed, or intended that a large toilet room with an occupant load of 50 or more be allowed a single exit?
 
CD,

Been belly up with >50 at the trough at various stadia over the years. How come the woman's bathrooms never have a line? Went "in" through the "out" door many times too :)
 
Coug Dad said:
There is a difference between "occupied" and "not normally occupied". A mechanical room or rest room is occupied and must be provided with means of egress in accordance with the code. However, it is not a space that is normally occupied so it may not open into a stair enclosure or an exit passageway.
Click to expand...
That's the way I understand it
 
TimNY, what are you trying to do with determining the space or spaces in question? If you are looking at calculating an occupant load we need to know the Occupancy use Group of the building. If it is a business the entire occupant load is based on 100-sf of the total building's gross area. Gross would includ all spaces such as mechanical, storage, restrooms etc. Assuming that the Business use group does not have an assembly condition and the accessory or mixed occupancy goups are under certain limits.
 
A small closet or cabinet is not requried to have a means of egress per code. For example, in an office building I could have a 2' deep x 3' wide x 8' high coat closet with a 24" wide door. No one would ask me for an occupant load, and no one would require my door to be min. 36" wide for accessibility.

So, what is the tipping point for requiring means of egress? Is it a certain number of square feet?

What if I had a storage closet that was 8'x10', but only had 6'-11" of headroom - - does that disqualify it as an "occupiable space" (1208.2) and thus take away my need to provide an accessible means of egress?

I have a client who wants to put some storage closet about this size underneath a large stairwell in a parking garage. The plan checker wants an acessible means of egress, but it is physically impossible to provide a 3' wide path - -I only have 2 feet, unless the nearby car pulls out of the parking stall.

So the solution is to (a) provide no storage, or (b) somehow disqualify it as an occupiable space (such as by lowering the headroom to 6'-11"), but still have it be useable for an unoccupied storage closet.

The storage would be for brooms, traffic cones, and perhaps a file cabinet. The practical reality is that no one will ever use the adjacent parking stall, so really will have plenty of egress, I just can[t prove it on paper. This garage will be only about 25% full due to the kind of clientele it serves.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Bumping this question back up, hoping for a response to my post above - what is the tipping point at which a storage space (closet) is assumed to have an occupant for the purposes of means of egress compliance (doors, exit access width, etc.)?
 
I would assume that the storage room would not have an occupant load when it is less than 10-sf since that is the Code referenced area when a 32-inch clear width egress door is not required. 1008.1.1 Exception #3
 
TimNY said:
docgj: commercial

Coug Dad: according to the commentary (I know, it's not code), closets, toilet rooms and mechanical rooms are not occupiable.

All: Can a space that is not occupiable be occupied?
Click to expand...
The question is not whether they are occupiable, but whether they are "normally occupied"
I agree that the commentary is not the code, but it also says that those are not the only spaces ("including, but not limited to...")
Storage rooms have occupant loads according to IBC Table 1004.1.2 (1004.5 in newer editions), but that does not mean they are normally occupied. The occupant load is intended to estimate the most people that would occupy the space at once. It can be overly conservative, but it can also be less conservative than reality.
 
An equipment platform is defined as being unoccupied, but it still needs a ladder or other means of access because someone will need to go up there on occasion for maintenance. Such a space should not open directly to a stair or exit passageway
 
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