Bathroom Renovation/Code Violation?
cdee18
6 years ago
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Comments (0)The current bathroom and adjacent powder room are very small in my 1963 house(The powder room was originally 30" wide and had 21" front minimum clearance to a small wall-hung sink). The plan is to shift the bathroom over slightly and enlarge it *slightly, putting the bathtub in the old powder room space, and putting a new 3/4 bath elsewhere. The International Residential Code is a bit vague about switches: one "near the entry", but the IBC says 60" from the edge of the tub. This puts the switch outside the bathroom door, because no other spot is both 60" from the tub and near the entrance. The same condition will apply to the new 3/4 bath, I think, because of the relationship of the entry door to the shower. I will put the lightswitch outside the door, if necessary but I always think about someone controlling the lights from outside the door. One violation I see all the time is bathroom lighting, which is technically closer to the bathtub or shower enclosure than allowed if you follow the letter of the code (96" above the Rim of a bathtub and or 36" distant from edge of tub if lower). So I was wondering if there were often exceptions made for light switches, which could end up closer than 5 feet to the tub or shower in many instances.(like the do for lensed fixtures over bathtubs or in showers) However, in my complex that was renovated in the 1960s, the bath and powder room light switches are outside the doors. (While fan switches are inside for some reason)....See MoreBathroom renovation - is back of Toilet too far from wall
Comments (16)nancy- It sounds like there is a joist in the floor in just the wrong place. Unless this joist was recently installed without someone paying attention to the fact that this is one of those places where location can be critical, I'd say that no one messed up. If you research offset flanges on the internet, you will find that they are not a problem in most cases as long as you pick one that is oblong so that the waste goes through at an angle. Some offset flanges are rather short vertically, and this produces something of a "shelf" where things can hang up. As for issues with cutting the top of the joist, it's best to minimize this, but it's also done all the time, and the building code allows you to do this up to a certain limit. With an older home, you may have a beefier joist system to start with, so it could be less of an issue. Since it sounds like your contractor is a reasonable person, and not giving you some baloney about how this came to be, you can probably trust him to determine whether there would be an issue with notching the joist and, if so, whether it might be possible to reinforce it, particularly if there is access from below. I agree with klem1 that you do not want to notch out joists (at least no more than the code allows), but I have also owned homes where I later discovered that the plumbers did some pretty zealous notching during installation and nothing bad happened. At least you are aware of the issues and can have an informed, productive talk with your contractor. Please feel free to post back after the talk. Here is a short video showing installation of an offset flange with a design that shouldn't be a problem: Offset flange install If you don't have a plastic drain system, you can find these flanges in other materials. Here is an example of the type of offset flange that I would be concerned about using because it has the shelf I described: Flange with "shelf"...See MoreHow to Renovate Tiny San Francisco Bathroom?
Comments (23)I know a bit about EPA and it’s just that I was sceptical that they would have put in place a rule preventing people from refinishing their bathtubs. I looked into this a little more and think I found what you may have been referring to. OSHA has safety requirements to protect people who work with methylene chloride, a hazardous solvent that is used often in bathtub refinishing. There is no prohibition of its use, but there is a requirement that employers protect worker health, and have outside exhaust equipment to bring to a home job site if the tub is being done in place. I suppose some companies may not have wanted to spend money to provide for such protection, so it might be a little harder to find a refinisher, but one can still get this done. In any case, since the chemical does not end up in the new finish, there’s no threat to the consumer who has a bathtub refinished this way....See MoreBathroom Renovation
Comments (1)Hi there. You will want to work with a local Contractor early in the process and consult your local building codes. Below is a very rough, not to scale, conceptual sketch of one approach you could investigate. (All dimensions, plumbing locations and building codes need to be confirmed with local contractor and I cannot confirm that this will meet the dimensions needed). A few basic things to think about are grab bars at the toilet and shower which will need additional in wall support studs to ensure they are stable, a roll in shower with fixed or adjustable shower seat for flexibility and convenience (also requiring in wall supports), tile which is slip resistant (large manufacturers will have this listed on their website or you can ask for appropriate options from your contractor or at local tile store), more than 3' in between vanity and shower if you go with a layout like the one below (in commercial spaces you must have a 5' minimum open space in toilet rooms to allow for a person in a wheelchair to make a complete turn within the space so 5' would be more ideal), and space between toilet and wall / toilet and vanity (16-18" between center line of toilet to wall is a common practice but again, reference local codes). The link below will take you to ICC A117.1 accessible building code for commercial buildings. This will give you some ideas and things to consider, example layouts, etc. https://codes.iccsafe.org/content/icca117-12009/chapter-6-plumbing-elements-and-facilities Good luck with your renovation!...See Morecdee18
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