Temporary Walls In A Rental House

[Rick Potter]

If this basement room does not already have proper egress windows or door, there is no way any sane owner would let you do that. Any problem, and he could lose his house, along with your chance of losing a family.

Please, coming from a landlord and retired fireman.....safety first.

[Frank Pratt]

If this basement room does not already have proper egress windows or door, there is no way any sane owner would let you do that. Any problem, and he could lose his house, along with your chance of losing a family.

Please, coming from a landlord and retired fireman.....safety first.

There have been a couple of cases in recent years here where landlords faced charges relating to basement development. One was where there were no functioning smoke alarms and the other where the basement window was too small for egress. Both involved house fires with fatalities.

So, no landlord or father should have sleeping quarters where there are not at least 2 means of egress.

[Dan Baginski]

I think the idea of office cubicle walls is a good temporary solution. You should be able to find used ones cheap. The proper height will be the hard part. Lots of times when offices remodel or move they get rid of them for free.

[Carl Beckett]

Interesting thread about multiple exit options. My current house doesnt have this (it has windows, but they dont open sufficiently). At least two other places I have lived did not have this either. Had never thought about it. Wonder how common it is to not have secondary escape routes.

[Jim Becker]

Carl, the egress requirements are a "more recent" change to code and homes built prior wouldn't have the feature. Where it comes into play with existing is during a major renovation in an area that requires permits for such work. Building codes will require the retrofit. That's "technically"...since many projects like this are done under the radar, but nonetheless does create a situation. I think that folks are correct that there is great risk in a rental property for something like this, whether the change is formal or ad-hock, and would want owner approval (in writing) before proceeding. I had forgot about the egress thing when I made my original post that only dealt with the functional question of attaching the wall.

[John Lanciani]

Interesting thread about multiple exit options. My current house doesnt have this (it has windows, but they dont open sufficiently). At least two other places I have lived did not have this either. Had never thought about it. Wonder how common it is to not have secondary escape routes.

Don’t think of it in terms of how far the windows open normally, think of the opening when you remove the sashes by force, either from the inside or the outside. The current code requirement allows for a fire fighter wearing SCBA to get in through the opening to effect a rescue. I’ve never seen any (normal) house ever built that had above grade bedroom windows so small that a person couldn’t get out if their life depended on it.

[Bill Dufour]

For decades science classrooms have had to have two doors. Since the 1950's or older in progressive cities.
Bill D.

[Martin Wasner]

Wonder how common it is to not have secondary escape routes.

Probably most I would think.


How do apartments work?

[Rick Potter]

It's been a while, but if I remember correctly ground floor units have windows with a certain square inches of clear area, and 2nd thru 4th(? hazy here) have slightly more square inches of clear area, accessible by ladders,etc.

[Mike Kees]

This is a interesting thread. Canadian National building code has required two means of egress from every room at least all the way back to the 1986 code. When I apprenticed the 1990 code book was out but not yet being enforced. Our window requirement for egress is not less than 16'' high clear opening and a minimum of 3.2 square feet clear opening. No window hardware can be in this opening. Most basement bedrooms use slider windows to accomplish making code.We used to be able to make code with a 24"x48" slider,however now we have to go to 30" height. There are still lots of older houses that would not meet code here as well.