Residential Finished Basement Requirements

The purpose of the code requirements in a finished basement are to set the minimum life safety standards for the interior environmental condition of the space. To do this, the useable area and floor to ceiling height, the light and ventilation standards are all set to address and define the minimum acceptable standards to which the occupant may be exposed to. Additionally, the life safety by means of fire protection standards are required to contain and control a situation.

The following is a list of necessary information you need to show on your plans in order to obtain approval and Code compliance.

Show the entire basement on the plan. Indicate what is to be re-constructed into habitable space** and what is to remain as occupiable space**. Indicate door and window sizes and locations. Show where you propose to construct new walls or partitions including what materials you intend to use with stud spacing, type of insulation and what finish material you propose. The code in Section 2311.4.2 Framing, states in part "All wood framing members,¡Kwhich rest on exterior foundation walls or masonry floors¡Kshall be of approved naturally durable or preservative-treated wood." This requires that all the wood you intend to place on the floor or wall is treated lumber or as an alternate, you may use metal studs in the wall. If you construct a wall offset from the masonry wall, you will not be required to use treated material in the wall system, but still must use it on the floor as the bottom plate. Firestopping is required at ALL horizontal to vertical connections. This can be accomplished with the 2 x 4 upper plate or sheetrock installed tight to the wall before the upper plate is installed to the basement ceiling when the wall is constructed. All interior doors (other than to closets less than 10 sq. ft.) must be at least 29 ?quot; clear width. This is measured from the face of the door at 90 degrees to the opposite stop, a 2'8" wide door will meet this requirement. Finished basements that are intended to become sleeping or recreation rooms or other habitable space, in the context of the Code, are required to be provided with proper heating and ventilation, headroom and at least one egress window in conformance with the BOCA 1010.4 Emergency Escape and Rescue requirements of the Code.

Indicate what interior finish shall be installed on the walls and ceiling. The minimum requirement is a Class III material. In the case of paneling, it is identified on the back of the panel and in the case of ceiling tile, it is indicated on the packaging. Sheetrock is the one material that will not have a stamp showing it meets the Class III requirements. All walls that abut the outside walls of the basement require insulation. Foam plastic insulation may not be used unless it is covered with an approved thermal barrier or ?inch sheetrock at ALL exposed surfaces. The Code in BOCA Section 804.3 maintains the minimum thickness of the Class II or III material to be "not less than" ?inch with the stud spacing to be "not less than" 24 inches center-to-center. We recommend a sheetrock backer to the ?quot; paneling to provide a more solid assembly. Indicate at your stairway whether it will be closed on both sides by walls or will it be closed on one side. The requirement for a handrail is one side only with ballisters 4" on center and the handrail to be graspable. BOCA Sections 1021.0 & 1022.0.

Provide the locations of your furnace, hot water heater, and chimney. Indicate the type of furnace, hot water heater, and chimney type as well as the service side of the furnace. Code requires a minimum of twenty-four (24") of clear space leading to and in front of the furnace for service. A door installed directly in front of the service side will be acceptable. Clearance from combustibles must be maintained. You must maintain a minimum of six inches (6") from the chimney and the vent connector (for gas fired furnaces) and a minimum one inch (1") from supply ducts within three feet (3') of the heater plenum. Refer to the manufacturer's specifications for exact guidelines, these dimensions shall be required at the time of submission for the permit. General requirements are two inch (2") clearance to wood framing from masonry chimneys and the air space must be firestopped with metal. You must show the heating and cooling ducts and the additional CFM demand on your furnace. Each occupant requires 15 CFM worth of air flow from the heating and ventilation ducts in the space. Finish basement ventilation - any habitable space including finish basements require adequate ventilation. This can be accomplished several ways:

a. Natural Ventilation: The floor area to be occupied to have a minimum of 4% of the openable area windows to the outdoors via doors and windows. Credit can also be given for the entry door to the basement stairs.

b. Mechanical Ventilation: A minimum of 5 CFM per occupant can be supplied from the first story to the basement area if there are not enough doors and windows to comply with the natural ventilation requirements. A simple bathroom fan vented to the exterior which is rated at 30 CFM and hooked up to the light switch would provide adequate mechanical ventilation. Basements that have operable forced air heat during the winter months and central air conditioning during the summer months are presumed to satisfy this requirement.

Combustion air is required to keep your furnace and hot water heater burning properly. In order for us to check the size of vents that are required, we need to know the input ratings of your furnace and hot water heater. Both heaters have data plates attached to them by the manufacturer and tell you the input rating. Manufacturer's installation instructions sometimes specify different clearances and when they are more restrictive, they must be followed, A minimum of 2 combustion vents are required in small confined furnace rooms, one high and one low.

BOCA Mechanical Code M-1001.3 Circulation of air: Every room containing fuel-burning equipment shall be designed for the free circulation of air.

BOCA Mechanical Code M-1003.1 Amount of Air: Inside air shall be available for each fuel- burning appliance at a rate of 40 cubic feet of room air volume per 1,000 British thermo units per hour (Btuh) (3.86m 3/kw)input rating. In buildings of tight construction where the air exchange rate is less than 0.5 air changes per hour, additional air shall be provided in accordance with Section M-1004.0 or M-1006.0.

BOCA M-1003.2 Openings: Where the room in which the appliance is located does not meet the criterion specified in Section M-1003.1, openings to adjacent spaces shall be provided so that the combined volume of all the spaces meets the criterion. Two openings shall be provided, one near the top and one near the bottom.

BOCA M-1003.2.1 Size of opening: Each opening shall have an unobstructed area equal to a minimum of 1 square inch per 1,000 Btuh (2201 mm2/kw) input rating of all appliances installed in the space, but not less than 100 square inches (64516 mm2).

BOCA M-1004.1 Connections to outdoors: Where the space in which fuel-burning appliances are located does not meet the criterion for indoor air as specified in M-1003.1 the room shall have two openings to the outdoors. One opening shall be located near the top of the room and one near the bottom.

Indicate existing ceiling heights and projections and proposed finished ceiling heights. BOCA Section 1204.1 states: "Habitable (spaces) rooms, hallways, corridors, bathrooms, toilet rooms, laundry rooms and habitable basements shall have a ceiling height of not less than seven (7) feet (2134 mm) measured to the lowest projection from the ceiling". An exception to the Code allows a six (6) inch projection for girders or beams as long as they are no closer to each other than four (4) feet center to center.

Indicate on your plan the new electrical installation. For new switches indicate on your plan an "S" for switch, for new outlets (receptacles) indicate on your plan on "O" for outlet, for new lights indicate on your plan an "L" for lights and also tell us the type of light fixture. A single smoke detector is required to be installed in the basement. It must be located within three (3) feet of the bottom of the stairs on your finished ceiling and it must be wired electrically, not battery operated. If you are constructing a sleeping room, an additional smoke detector is required in the room.

Bathrooms or toilet rooms require exhaust fans vented to the outside or an operable window.

**HABITABLE SPACE: Space for living, sleeping, eating or cooking. Bathrooms, toilet compartments, closets, halls, storage or utility spaces and similar areas are not considered habitable.

**OCCUPIABLE SPACE: Room or enclosed space designed for human occupancy in which individuals congregate for amusement, educational or similar purposes.

REFERENCE 1996 BOCA BUILDING