Home Construction Help

[sphelps]

Originally Posted by howdy20012002

as far as I am concerned
the city inspectors screwed the pooch on this.
during the foundation inspection, they should have picked up on the fact that the house was in the wrong place.
interesting...i would definitely talk to a lawyer

They should have but it doesn't appear that any blame can be put on anyone else. It's possible the foundation shifted 5cm in their minds. If anyone could be held responsible it would be the builders but they are no longer in business and no longer responsible for the house.

[sphelps]

Some possible good news is that if the windows do have to be removed legal bedrooms in those locations may still be possible. According to the alberta building code 9.7.1.2 (1) Windows are not required for bedrooms if:

a)Room has electrical lighting
b)Proper ventilation
c)Has a means of egress (exit like an outside door) or has automatic sprinklers

Since the rooms will already have sprinkler systems meeting the other requirements will be easy.

[jorjef]

Just my fears, but if this was to be a childs room down the road I don't think I could sleep easy. Smoke inhalation kills many before flames are ever an issue. Quick escape via a window would be a must for me.

[sphelps]

Originally Posted by jorjef

Just my fears, but if this was to be a childs room down the road I don't think I could sleep easy. Smoke inhalation kills many before flames are ever an issue. Quick escape via a window would be a must for me.

Yeap very true but the house does have a finished bedroom already upstairs which could be used for smaller children. Also most of us didn't grow up with these kinds of safety regulations. I know the type of houses I grew up in had security bars that couldn't be removed so there was no way you could get out the window. And most older homes have small windows in the basement which are still used as bedroom windows despite being "illegal". Also I currently live on the top floor of a condo building, you could fit out the windows but they are the furthest thing from a safe exit, better to take you chances with the fire.

When it comes down to it with all the safety equipment these days a window is really a last resort. Smoke detectors should provide adequate time to escape out of a room to an exit less than 10 feet away (walkout basement) and worst case stay low until the sprinklers activate which they would before the house would fill with smoke to the point it couldn't be avoided.

I'm not the type of person who would be the "overly cautions" type of parent. I mean really some of the stuff considered unsafe is some what laughable these days.

[jorjef]

All good points, and you hit the nail directly on the head.. the world has become an uber safety nightmare. I had a chuckle when you mentioned the older house basement windows, that unless you are "Elasto" man no one would ever fit through. If your wife is anything like mine best to get her "stamp" of approval as a future bedroom for Jr. lol

[sphelps]

Originally Posted by jorjef

All good points, and you hit the nail directly on the head.. the world has become an uber safety nightmare. I had a chuckle when you mentioned the older house basement windows, that unless you are "Elasto" man no one would ever fit through. If your wife is anything like mine best to get her "stamp" of approval as a future bedroom for Jr. lol

Oh yeah I can't do anything without that stamp

[toxic111]

I am working at home today, so I can't check my code regarding the sprinklers in single family homes & egress. I do use that clause to have no opening windows in apartment buildings.

An option may be to remove the windows & install glass block to bring in natural light, but still meet the protected opening clause in the code.

Another option I did mention in a previous post is to use a sprinkler protected window, that you would have to check with the sprinkler designer.

On another note it is possible to buy 5cm of land from your neighbor, it does happen, more times than not. It would be a process & expensive as well, plus talking your neighbor into losing 5cm (2in) of land, plus survey costs, as well as all the legal costs with the city.

There may be another couple options as well. Do you know who the permit agency was that provided the building permit? was it the county itself? or a seperate permit agency? Some permit agencys are good to deal with, others, well we won't talk about those.

[sphelps]

Originally Posted by toxic111

I am working at home today, so I can't check my code regarding the sprinklers in single family homes & egress. I do use that clause to have no opening windows in apartment buildings.

An option may be to remove the windows & install glass block to bring in natural light, but still meet the protected opening clause in the code.

Another option I did mention in a previous post is to use a sprinkler protected window, that you would have to check with the sprinkler designer.

On another note it is possible to buy 5cm of land from your neighbor, it does happen, more times than not. It would be a process & expensive as well, plus talking your neighbor into losing 5cm (2in) of land, plus survey costs, as well as all the legal costs with the city.

There may be another couple options as well. Do you know who the permit agency was that provided the building permit? was it the county itself? or a seperate permit agency? Some permit agencys are good to deal with, others, well we won't talk about those.

How does a sprinkler protected window work? The sprinkler system does need to be redone so adding such an option is definitely a possibility.

Buying the extra land would be ideal I think. Even with the added costs it probably wouldn't cost much more than removing the windows and possibly installing new ones. The house next door is actually still owned by Douglas Homes which my Realtor just happens to work for so it might be pretty easy to get permission.

The permit agency is permit pro. What other options would I have? Permit Pro didn't mention anything other than removing the windows.

[toxic111]

This link would give you an idea of how the sprinklered protected glazing works. http://www.municipalaffairs.gov.ab.c...r/06BCV010.pdf

You may want to talk to Permit Pro to see if that would be accepted as an option, it might be as simple as adding 1 or 2 heads per window. If there is enough water pressure etc.

We usually like dealing with Superior when can, though permit pro is another we work with frequently. But since it is permit pro, there are no options that way. Getting talking with permit pro about other options may be the best way.

Shoot me a pm tomorrow when I am at the office to remind me to look in the code to see if I can find some things out. Is it a walk-out basement as well?? if it is that may help with having bedrooms with no windows.

[sphelps]

Originally Posted by toxic111

This link would give you an idea of how the sprinklered protected glazing works. http://www.municipalaffairs.gov.ab.c...r/06BCV010.pdf

You may want to talk to Permit Pro to see if that would be accepted as an option, it might be as simple as adding 1 or 2 heads per window. If there is enough water pressure etc.

We usually like dealing with Superior when can, though permit pro is another we work with frequently. But since it is permit pro, there are no options that way. Getting talking with permit pro about other options may be the best way.

Shoot me a pm tomorrow when I am at the office to remind me to look in the code to see if I can find some things out. Is it a walk-out basement as well?? if it is that may help with having bedrooms with no windows.

Yes it is a walkout.
Thanks for the info I will contact permit pro and ask for other options.