basement egress.

[ROBERT V. YOUNG]

Basement condo.
Front entrance descends down 5 stairs.
In front of the main door is a recessed area. 36" wide 40 inches long ( facing ) 5 inches deep and acts as the drainage for the basement patio.
It has the 4" plumbing with screened top and leads to the garage catch basin. Normal.
You have to step down to go in your home and step up to go out.
It is all part of the slab, monolithic pour.
Then above is a normal basement patio.. No photo's yet. Will be doing the inspection within 4 days.
Is this OK.
My thoughts are safety hazard.
#1 would it be considered an egress? but it is only 5 inches high.
Remember the door opens into the 5 inch depression.
#2 if not an egress then would it be described as a lower landing. 36" wide 40" long and 5 " deep. Also acts as the drainage.
All the land slopes away from the building by more that 3" per 10 feet.
5 year old build.
Thanks.
Thoughts please.

[Mark S. Tyson]

Robert,
Much would depend on the occupancy class. On my side of the border if this were a 1 and 2 family dwelling the conditions you describe would be compliant. If it were a multi-family condo then it would have too comply with the American Disability Act for Accessibility. Meaning that the door could not rise above the landing by more than 0.375 of an inch (9.5250mm), the landings would be required to be 60" (1.524006 meters) in direction of travel and could not slope more than 2%

[ROBERT V. YOUNG]

Thank you Mr.Tyson.
As you see I am just learning the fundamentals of report writing and want to be most accurate.
I will look under occupancy class for multi-family condo.
Thank you.

[ROBERT V. YOUNG]

Mark,
the doors threshold is bellow the landing slabs grade and within a basin.
In an area of recess or a Detention basin within the egress.
40" inches by 40" inches to make it more visual and used for drainage..
The landing should be gently " sloped to the drain " but it is not.
It is a basin.
Leaving or entering the front door to exit the unit there is a basin you walk into or onto. ( depending if you are coming or going.)

# 1: Leaving the unit one walks onto drainage systems basin. 40" wide 40" long.

" a Detention basin " an artificial flow control structure that is used to contain flood water for a limited period of a time " built within the slab,)

#2: then one steps up 5" inches onto the main landing slab which is the patio landing. All below the ground.
# 3: Then you walk up 5 steps to gain access onto street level..

The egress or means of exit or entry to the unit.
That is why I used the term egress and Detention basin.

I will bring photos today. I have never seen this and question it is code'
Yes we are not code inspectors.
It looks like a safety concern for one..

DIV.Ov {width:550px} e·gress (grs) n. 1. The act of coming or going out; emergence.( its not an emergency egress )
2. The right to leave or go out: denied the refugees egress.
3. A path or opening for going out; an exit.
4. Astronomy The emergence of a celestial body from eclipse or occultation.

[ROBERT V. YOUNG]

Attachment 45663

Attachment 45664

Here are the photos to the egress that is the main entrance.
I though the landing was bigger.
Its the one next door.

HD photos if any one is interested in keeping them on file.

[Robert J. OConnor]

Originally Posted by ryoung7

I have never seen this and question it is 'code'
Yes we are not code inspectors.
It looks like a safety concern for one.

Many inspectors use the IRC as a guide even though that may not be the legal local code requirement. It appears that the depressed area would be the "landing" for the entry door, which should be at least the width of the door and 3' long in the direction of travel. Section R311 covers egress, which includes requirements for the "landing" at the door ...

IRC R311.4.3 Landings at Doors
There shall be a floor or landing on each side of each exterior door.

Exception: Where a stairway of two or fewer risers is located on the exterior side of a door, other than the required exit door, a landing is not required for the exterior side of the door he floor or landing at the exit door required by Section R311.4.1 shall not be more than 1.5 inches (38 mm) lower than the top of the threshold. The floor or landing at exterior doors other than the exit door required by Section R311.4.1 shall not be required to comply with this requirement but shall have a rise no greater than that permitted in Section R311.5.3.

Exception: The landing at an exterior doorway shall not be more than 7 3/4 inches (196 mm) below the top of the threshold, provided the door, other than an exterior storm or screen door does not swing over the landing.

The width of each landing shall not be less than the door served. Every landing shall have a minimum dimension of 36 inches (914 mm) measured in the direction of travel.

So it looks like that depressed area could be considered the "landing" for the door if long enough, which is allowed to be about 8" lower than the door as long as the entry door swings in. Then there is a step up to the basement patio area.

They may have done that because the drainage for exterior basement entrances are problematic. When (not if) the drain clogs at least it wont start flowing into the unit right away. As a minimum I would provide notes in the report about maintaining the drainage to avoid water entering the unit.

JMO & 2-Nickels ...

[ROBERT V. YOUNG]

Thank you Robert.
Looking for Quebec code book this weekend.
PS: More than 2 nickels sir, and great opinion.