To start with, I think swinging a door over a step is a really bad idea. That being said I don't enforce bad ideas (or good ones). The code I am limited to is the 06 IRC and 311 deals only with the means of egress. I don't really see a bathroom as in the means of egress. This is part of a bigger issue I have. I get accused of being too "heavy handed" with the codes. I actually believe the opposite is true. I usually try to find a path of compliance for this type of thing. So when I found this condition today after my initial reaction of "uh-oh" I started thinking about whether it is something I can or should really enforce. I don't want to invent codes just because I havn't seen it before or I think it is a bad idea. I havn't exhausted my code search yet but a quick check of the code, commentary, interpretations and Q&A book and I still can't find anything that would not permit this condition. Maybe the intent is there but its a little vague to force a major renovation at a final inspection.
FYI this same contractor has a bathroom with less than the required headroom over the fixtures ( I bang my head ), a top step 1 1/2" shorter than the rest, backfill/grade higher than his framed walls behind his brick veneer (weep holes buried) and a multitude of other items I consider no-brainers. And before anyone says this could have been caught earlier, I don't think they reasonably could have. First, since this is a jurisdiction that prior to last July had no codes my hands have been tied by a) no official plan review and approval, b) no code adoption other than 06 IRC, (no commercial enforcement) c) no other code officials/chief to defer to and d) no plumbing or mechanical inspection/adoption. I did "review" the chicken scratch that was submitted and pointed out several issues, however the bathroom was not on the plan. It is possible it was in at the framing inspection but I have no recollection of it and I usually do catch that type of thing (caught a similar plumbing clearance issue by this guy a couple of houses ago). This guy is notorious for adding and squeezing things in wherever he finds an extra square inch. The step is something that maybe could have been caught but I always tell them at framing to pay attention to riser heights since I don't know what finish floor material will be installed and since temporary treads are always installed at that point. Anyway, lot of venting here but I'm at a loss with some of these guys and no support from the county commisioners and supervisors who voted in codes without knowing what they were getting in to. Because of that I try my best to only enforce the codes I have written words to back up. Whew!