'Bedrooms' & Building reg's

[UncleRic]

I'm looking at building a partition wall in my flat to create an extra room. I plan on putting a bed and wardrobe in. The room will have a door that leads onto the lounge.

Am I right in thinking, unless it has a window on an external wall, if I ever sell the property the room can't be described as a bedroom?

This, as an example, is being sold as a '1 bedroom flat' despite the fact the bedroom is off the lounge and has no external window (the thing on the wall is a picture)...

[944fan]

As I understand it (happy to be corrected), any habitable room must a means of escape (e.g. a window) to the outside. Without that it is a cupboard and cannot be described as any type of room in particulars

[UncleRic]

Yeah, that's pretty much what I thought. Thanks.

[Simpo Two]

I wonder what you're supposed to do with the funny space behind the sofa?

[RealSquirrels]

Simpo Two said:

I wonder what you're supposed to do with the funny space behind the sofa?

you can't put anything there because the door behind it opens into bedroom 2...

it looks like an horrifically designed flat to me.

[Hugo a Gogo]

that flat is ridiculous

swap the bedroom and bathroom side to side, maybe, and have no window in the bathroom

pointless having a separate kitchen, living room and bedroom too, combine either kitchen/living or living/bed

[Simpo Two]

RealSquirrels said:

you can't put anything there because the door behind it opens into bedroom 2...

it looks like an horrifically designed flat to me.

That 3'x3' room is a bedroom?

I thought it was a cupboard for the vacuum cleaner.

[Piersman2]

Simpo Two said:

That 3'x3' room is a bedroom?

I thought it was a cupboard for the vacuum cleaner.

It's the door to a Tardis.

Tardis's (sp) are difficult to draw to scale!

[Deva Link]

944fan said:

As I understand it (happy to be corrected), any habitable room must a means of escape (e.g. a window) to the outside. Without that it is a cupboard and cannot be described as any type of room in particulars

What happens with the houses we see from time to time on Grand Designs that are built underground?

[UncleRic]

Simpo Two said:

That 3'x3' room is a bedroom?

I thought it was a cupboard for the vacuum cleaner.

It's the doorway to Narnia (and that's probably the only way to make something that small habitable!).

[944fan]

Deva Link said:

What happens with the houses we see from time to time on Grand Designs that are built underground?

Good point. I know not the answer.

[RevHappy]

944fan said:

Deva Link said:

What happens with the houses we see from time to time on Grand Designs that are built underground?

Good point. I know not the answer.

The key is a safe means of escape; there are lots of ways to do this which don't involve windows.

[Little Lofty]

RevHappy said:

The key is a safe means of escape; there are lots of ways to do this which don't involve windows.

Yes, I'd imagine its the same for a basement as it is for a loft, i.e a protected route from the loft to a ground floor exit, no fire escape windows in lofts nowadays.

[silverthorn2151]

944fan said:

As I understand it (happy to be corrected), any habitable room must a means of escape (e.g. a window) to the outside. Without that it is a cupboard and cannot be described as any type of room in particulars

Sorry but that's not correct. There are no requirements for a room to have daylight, but there are ventilation requirements. Overlay that with the means of escape requirements for the dwelling as a whole and that gives you the framework to design within.

In a flat, stage 1 of means of escape design deals with getting out of the flat, stage 2 themselves gets you the staircase and stage 3 down and out. The detail of that has changed as I am showing my age there.

Internal design of the flat basically deals with you getting to the cost entrance door. It's never ideal entering directly into a lounge. That's why so many flats have a little dark lobby just inside the door. All rooms are off that lobby which is fire protected.