Forum
« Neighbor's Consent? Insurance Renewal »
April 19, 2009
4 Family to 2 Family Hallway
Hello All- I want to convert my 4 family building to a 2 family building. 3 units on the 2nd and 3rd floors will be combined to form one apartment, and the parlor and garden floors will constitute another unit. Is it legal to use the shared stairway to access the different rooms of the upper level apartment? The parlor/garden apartment has access via the garden level exterior entrance and on the parlor floor via the shared stairway/hallway foyer.
Comments
Without more details, this sounds like a standard conversion where you enter parlor floor and use stairs to go to the upper duplex or door in hallway to enter lower duplex?
So what's the issue?
Posted by: cmu at April 20, 2009 9:39 AM
If I understand you correctly, you're saying you'd have to use the egress hall to move from room to room of some of the rooms, rather than handle that circulation internally in the apartment.
This would not be legal.
Posted by: jcarch at April 20, 2009 10:45 AM
Not sure I understand but this is what I'd do based on what I think you are trying to do...
...Put at door at the top of the steps and a wall along the railing of the hallway. In essence making the "common" hall of the upper floors an "internal" hall for that upper duplex.
Posted by: christopher at April 20, 2009 10:58 AM
Depending upon how much room you have at the bottom of the stairs, you might be able to use the foyer as a vestibule, putting both entry doors there, making the stairs accessible only to the residents of the upper apartment.
Jim Hill, RA, LEED AP
Urban Pioneering Architecture
Posted by: JimHill at April 20, 2009 11:28 AM
thanks for your comments. jcarch got it on the head i.e. you would have to use the egress hall to go room to room within what is considered one apartment
however, as the parlor/garden apartment has egress from the street would fire-rocking over their hallway doors provide the solution? i'm trying to avoid putting a wall and door at the second floor landing as christopher suggested. unless i'm missing some other solution do i have no choice to keep internal stairs and hall in the apartment?
thanks again
Posted by: Fjukio at April 20, 2009 8:52 PM
Why wouldn't you put a wall and door at the 2nd floor landing? That's the solution I have always seen. It really shouldn't be all that expensive. I have no idea whether it's "legal", but I definitely wouldn't want to rent an apartment with an open hallway like that. You'd have to price it way below market because given a choice, who wouldn't want an apartment that's private?
I've also lived in a building where there was no access to the common stairway from parlor floor. The parlor floor doors had long been painted over and nailed shut. But in that case, the hallway was still common space. Again, it's just not that desirable of a set-up for a tenant, in my opinion.
Posted by: CGfan at April 21, 2009 9:32 AM
Post a comment
Please be patient while your comment is published. It may take a moment.