Building code / septic question

Submitted by thafunkyhomosapien t3_11tr289 in massachusetts

Hoping to get a clear answer on this.

We have a 4 bedroom /2.5 bathroom house. New build in 2016.

We're planning on finishing our basement soon and are adding a half bath and a "bedroom" down there. Bedroom will not have a closet, so upon resale, I believe we won't be able to list as a 5 bedroom, but would probably want to list it as a 2 bath/2 half bath, if we did decide to sell.

My question is, will we have a permit issue regarding our septic? I can't remember if the size of a septic tank is based on # of bedrooms, or # of bathrooms in a house. I feel like I vaguely remember it being based on # of bedrooms, in which case we'd be fine because the new room downstairs doesn't necessarily need to be considered a bedroom, but I am concerned with adding the half bath.

The contractor we're using is legit, and said he takes care of all the permits, but I haven't asked him this question yet and wanted to know if I should even bring it up as a concern.

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KKay62 t1_jckvetp wrote

Septic systems are sized to number of bedrooms. The closet doesn't matter, there are specific requirements for a bedroom (ventilation, exits, minimum size...) . There is bedroom count rule in Mass Title V that says if there are more than 8 rooms in the house, you have to divide the total rooms by 2 to get the bedroom count. So an 8 room house could have 3 bedrooms for septic purposes, but a 9 room house will 4, a 10 room house will have 5... Rather than denying a construction permit because an additional room will push the house over the size of the septic system, a town will often add a deed restriction stating the number of bedrooms and allow the construction.

Your town's health department should be able to help you figure out how it will work in your specific situation.

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thafunkyhomosapien OP t1_jcldftx wrote

Thanks. This is helpful. Excluding bathrooms, we have 8 rooms, 4 of which are bedrooms. Our septic definitely covers 4 bedrooms, but may possibly be big enough for 5. I need to call our septic company and find out. In the end, it doesn't really matter because this extra room we're putting in in the basement doesn't necessarily have to be a bedroom, but for resale, if our septic covers 5 bedrooms, and bedrooms don't necessarily have to have a closet, we'll probably call it a bedroom.

The 4th bedroom we do "officially" have is small as hell. It meets all the requirements to be considered a bedroom, but unless you're only putting a twin bed in there and a super small dresser, it doesn't really work.

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bv8ma t1_jclhye4 wrote

But, like they said, if you go over 8 total rooms you divide by 2 and round down to the lower whole number to get the bedroom count for Title 5 purposes, or you put a 4 bedroom deed restriction on the property. Now, if the town catches the room count is another story, some would and others wouldn't. I'd guess that your system is sized for 4 bedrooms, my experience with new construction is 4 is pretty standard, you only see 5 or more if you are in a wealthy area where the extra bedroom has a bigger return.

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KKay62 t1_jcmk101 wrote

Yeah, at least in my area, a 4 bedroom seems to be more desirable than a 3, but a 5 bedroom doesn't get much more than a 4 and they even seem to linger on the market longer.

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needmorenaps22 t1_jckrtew wrote

Septic is rated based on number of bedrooms.

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Mishmz t1_jcl92ok wrote

Just want to note that a closet isn't necessary for a room to be considered a bedroom in Mass (although they may be required by specific municipal codes).

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thafunkyhomosapien OP t1_jcldqq0 wrote

Thanks. This would only really matter for resale whether our septic covers 4 or 5 bedrooms or not. We would only ever try to call the room in the basement a bedroom we were selling, but obviously if our septic only covers 4 bedrooms, it would just be a "bonus room."

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Mishmz t1_jcm8tlh wrote

Lol you’re the one who mentioned the lack of closet.

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thafunkyhomosapien OP t1_jcm91x9 wrote

Not sure of the downvote but I know I mentioned the closet and was thanking you for that info. No sarcasm.

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sheeplewatcher t1_jcl8dnr wrote

House could have 20 baths and as long as the bedroom count matches the Septic design, that’s what will be the primary concern.

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ManderBlues t1_jcm39q9 wrote

You will need a building permit and a septic approval (varies by town). Most septic systems are not sized for more bedrooms than the initial build due to cost. So, you may need to upgrade/increase your septic system.

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dudeKhed t1_jcm4sh2 wrote

Most are not, however when a home changes hand an inspection is required and in many cases a new system is installed. We requested a larger system from our seller knowing we wanted to convert a bedroom. You never know, always good to check.

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ManderBlues t1_jcmc39p wrote

I can just speak from the builder side. They are not spending money to add septic capacity over what they are building. So, certain lots may pay more to have that, but its not the standard I see.

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rattiestthatuknow t1_jcoicrv wrote

If you are replacing a septic you should ALWAYS design for one extra bedroom. Typically, the additional cost is very minor.

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bugboots t1_jcy43fa wrote

I recently added a fifth bedroom to my septic and my town's regulations have changed in the 10 years since we put it in, so we are able to do it with no issue. It was something like 250 gallons per bedroom, so we had 1000, but now it's 200 per bedroom and 1000 is enough for 5 (this is just an example). Your town's health department can tell you, and they may have it online if you don't want to alert them. Hopefully you have information about the size of your system.

Building code wise, you will need an egress window in a basement bedroom.

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Stoneberger t1_jcmb63n wrote

That bedroom thing is nonsense it changed years ago. It would be the subgrade that would effect the “listing”. Of your septic is not designed for 4 water closets you’re not going to be able to do it.

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PakkyT t1_jczml77 wrote

Source? Because my reading of the current Title 5 law still talks about numbers of bedrooms because that dictates approximately how many people could be living in the house full time. Doesn't matter if those, for example, 4 people are using 2 bathrooms or 8 bathrooms, the amount of water and waste is going to be 4 people's worth.

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