Are egress windows required for offices and other workspaces in a basement?

Question

We are looking at buying a newly constructed home that the floor plans allow for 2 bedrooms in the basement but each room has the egress to get out which in my opinion (not counting the event of fire) are ugly and concern me about safety with people being able to break in. The basement has an exit to the outside that is inside the basement i.e., door etc...

My question is if you put an office/room that is used for working do you require the egress? While I understand (in some some small way why the egress) I think they are unsafe due to theft break in. However, if I put an office in basement am I required to put an egress for the office?

Answer 1

As noted in comments, specific rules vary by jurisdiction and interpretation of those rules will vary even more.

In general, the rules are for bedrooms, because when people wake up suddenly due to a smoke alarm/etc., they (a) need to get out very quickly and (b) if the only exit is through the rest of the house, it may not be usable at that time due to the fire.

Logic says that rooms not designed for sleeping don't have that concern. However, the reality is that (a) rooms that look like bedrooms get used as bedrooms, so building the exact same room but calling it an "office" or "study" or "work area" doesn't magically mean that someone (you or the next owner) won't end up using it as a bedroom and (b) often people will turn what was truly never intended as a bedroom into a bedroom as either the family expands naturally or in order to rent out rooms to others (which raises a lot of other code and zoning issues, separate topic).

My general advice if you honestly don't intend to use the rooms as bedrooms is:

• If there is a full bathroom as part of the "basement upgrade", replace it with a half bathroom. A full bathroom is something always desirable with bedrooms but almost always not needed without bedrooms. There are exceptions - e.g., you might want a shower next to a serious "exercise room", but in a typical single-family home that just isn't necessary.
• You can leave the space unfinished (or finished but as one giant room) and build an office inside it later. That later build may or may not require any permits, depending on jurisdiction. But if it doesn't involve plumbing, it really isn't a big deal - 2x4s for framing, drywall, some electrical.
• You can just leave the space unfinished and use it as an office anyway. I considered building out part of my basement to be a real office years ago. I probably should have, but never did. I did get some (professional) electrical upgrades but that's about it. And except that my office junk piles tend to merge with my house junk piles, it works just as well. I wouldn't recommend it if you actually need to meet with people in your office on a regular basis.

Just keep in mind that, for very good reason, any official inspection of "not bedrooms" under construction could come to a determination that they truly are bedrooms and adding egress after construction has begun may be more expensive and disruptive.

As far as security, an outside entrance does not have to be a major liability. It can be a plus if you have an office where you actually want to have business visitors and not have them walk through the main part of your house to get to your office. If you have a door with a deadbolt and no windows, it can be very secure. The real problem is if the egress is "big window" instead of a door, as that is more susceptible to break-in and doesn't provide any additional functionality.

Answer 2

There are probably ways of dealing with the egress windows to address "ugly". Speak to your builder about options for window types, window well options (a stepped stone retaining wall may be less "ugly" than a corrugated steel wall, but probably more expensive, etc.). If you consider them all ugly, there's nothing much you can do - building code requires egress.

If it's security that's your primary concern, talk to your builder about that, too. There are ways of addressing security, including steel-framed windows, bars (oops, those are ugly), security systems, etc. These, of course, will likely increase the cost, but if they will alleviate your concerns, it's probably worth it to you.

Another option is to forego the basement entirely.

Of course, any amount of ugly or break-in potential is worth it if a child or house guest is able to get out of the building through the window egress in a fire, instead of being trapped and dying. That's just my opinion, though (oh, and the opinion of those who write the building codes).

Answer 3

It seems to me that your basement is open to the surrounding environment (garden level), so by code, you need at least two egresses that are connected by an unrestricted passageway, and to which, each room shall have direct access through an opening/door.

An exit door in an enclosed room is considered an egress for that room only, thus, in your case, if you eliminated one exit door in one of the bedrooms, you will need another exit door for the entire basement, as the remaining one in another bedroom is not considered "an egress" for the basement, but for itself.

Depending on the jurisdiction, this situation might constitute a code violation. Please check with the local building department (fire marshall), or consult with an architect, if you are interested in buying.

Note, IRC accepts windows as a means of egress. if you have a window in the room (20" wide x 24" heigh), then you might pass the local scrutiny if the local has adopted the IRC code.