It’s Aloft – Loft Sleeping areas – Do not bang your head?
As with many things necessity will drive the codes on how to handle them. Enter the loft sleeping area or as the code states “Sleeping Loft”.
With the advent of the “Tiny House” craze the model code bodies are now trying to grapple with the issues of these type of structures and some of the outcomes of it. Housing is getting more and more expensive, especially in certain areas of the country like the coastal cities and larger metropolises. Washington State and my area of Wenatchee have seen sharp increases in housing costs. This has caused people to look at smaller homes and then become creative with the spaces in them.
These constraints have lead to more and more people looking at lofts for sleeping. Yet this creates some challenges on how to make these specific areas safe in an emergency situation such as fire and smoke. Like the cousin the bedroom, those areas where we sleep need to have some extra protection in the situation of fire or other emergencies. We need to maintain that emergency escape and rescue requirements.
I will discuss this based on Washington St in which I live and perform home inspections. Oregon has some similar code but I will use my local information and codes.
Link to a code document from Oregon-
First off we must define what constitutes a “Sleeping Loft”. Luckily here in Washington State we have some guidance now based on a WAC (Washington Administrative Code) amendment of the 2018 IRC (Residential Code).
The code is section R327 Sleeping Lofts.
Section R327 Sleeping Lofts
R327.1 General – Sleeping lofts shall comply with Sections R327 through R327.5.
Another and probably biggest criteria is the size. The code defines this as an area that is 35 Sq. Ft. (Minimum) to less than 70 Sq. Ft. If you are at 70 Sq. Ft. or more then you are back to the normal code sections(Un-amended code). Here is the code reference.
R327.2.1 Area
Sleeping lofts shall have a floor area of not less than 35 square feet (3.25 m2) and less than 70 square feet (6.5 m2).
The code also states that we can not be less than 5 feet horizontally in any direction, so if we use that as a parameter then to meet the minimum size requirement we would have to have a 5 x 7 space to be considered. This space will need to be over 3 feet in height. At a 5 foot width you will need to be less than 14 feet to be meet this requirement.
Note: Areas less than 3 feet in height count towards the 70 Sq. Ft. Maximum.
R327.2.3 Height Effect on Sleeping Loft Area
Portions of a sleeping loft with a sloped ceiling measuring less than 3 feet (914 mm) from the finished floor to the finished ceiling shall not be considered as contributing to the minimum required area for the loft but shall contribute to the maximum allowable area.
Exception: Under gable roofs with a minimum slope of 6 units vertical in 12 units horizontal (50 percent slope), portions of a sleeping loft with a sloped ceiling measuring less than 16 inches (406 mm) from the finished floor to the finished ceiling shall not be considered as contributing to the minimum required area for the sleeping loft but shall contribute to the maximum allowable area.
The only other height require is at the access area which needs toe b 6’2″ from the the tread or landing to allow access to the sleeping area. I am not going to discuss the landing, ladder or stairs for access here but will address one more very important requirement, the “Emergency Escape and Rescue Openings” (EERO).
R327.5 Emergency Escape and Rescue Openings
An egress roof access window shall be installed in each sleeping loft and shall be deemed to meet the requirements of Section R310 where installed such that the bottom of the opening is not more than 44 inches (1118 mm) above the sleeping loft floor, provided the egress roof access window complies with the minimum opening area requirements of Section R310.2.1.
From the definition section this reads-
EGRESS ROOF ACCESS WINDOW. A skylight or roof window designed and installed to satisfy the emergency escape and rescue opening requirements of Section R310.2.
So as I read this code section it states you “SHALL” install a roof access window. This brings a question to me, if we have an end wall that we can install an EERO window that meets the requirement do I still need a roof window? I assume (This will get me in trouble) that if you can that the building official will allow this. I am thinking this may have been an oversight in the code writing and we need to submit an amendment to the amendment.
Here is the link to the code section for reference- https://apps.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=51-51-0327
One last comment in regards to my photo at the top. You also need a proper guard next to the sleeping area, which make sense.
R327.4 Sleeping loft guards.
Sleeping loft guards shall be located along the open side(s) of sleeping lofts. Sleeping loft guards shall be not less than 36 inches (914 mm) in height or one-half of the clear height to the ceiling, whichever is less. Sleeping loft guards shall comply with Section R312.1.3 and Table R301.5 for their components.
If you find any errors or have additional information that would expand on any code, building standards or manufacturer requirements please let me know.
NCW Home Inspections, LLC is a Licensed Washington State Home Inspection service located in Wenatchee Washington serving Chelan County, Douglas County, Kittitas County, Okanogan County and Grant County Washington and the cities of Wenatchee, Leavenworth, Cashmere, Oroville, Cle Elum, East Wenatchee, Quincy and many more…
Your Wenatchee and Chelan Professional Real Estate, Home and Structural Pest Inspection Service
Coordinator & Instructor- Fundamentals of Home Inspection- Bellingham Technical College
Former WA Home Inspector Advisory Licensing Board
www.ncwhomeinspections.com 509-670-9572
You can follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and on my website Blog.
If you find any errors or have additional information that would expand on any code, building standards or manufacturer requirements please let me know.
NCW Home Inspections, LLC is a Licensed Washington State Home Inspection service located in Wenatchee Washington serving Chelan County, Douglas County, Kittitas County, Okanogan County and Grant County Washington and the cities of Wenatchee, Leavenworth, Cashmere, Oroville, Cle Elum, East Wenatchee, Quincy and many more…
Your Wenatchee and Chelan Professional Real Estate, Home and Structural Pest Inspection Service
Coordinator & Instructor- Fundamentals of Home Inspection- Bellingham Technical College
Former WA Home Inspector Advisory Licensing Board
www.ncwhomeinspections.com 509-670-9572
You can follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and on my website Blog.
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