Master bedroom is not a bedroom without windows
Q: I nearly closed escrow on the sale of my home, but the deal fell through over a minor problem reported by the buyers' home inspector. The house is old and has an added bedroom and garage. According to the inspector, the master bedroom has no windows to provide fire escape because the additions have covered the original windows. To me, this is a picky detail. If a fire occurred, I would simply exit through the living room or the added bedroom. Why is that a big problem?
A: The big problem is that you might not be able to exit through the living room or added bedroom. Suppose you woke up to find the house ablaze, including the adjoining rooms, with all avenues of escape consumed in flames. At that moment, you would be desperate for an operable window or any means of direct outside access.
Lack of a bedroom window violates three pertinent requirements, each of which would disqualify a room for use as a legal sleeping quarters. Specifically, windows are needed to provide natural light, natural ventilation and, most importantly, emergency escape.
Noncompliance means a purported three-bedroom house has only two legal bedrooms. From a buyer's perspective, this significantly affects the appraisal value of the home, as well as its marketability upon future resale. Furthermore, if a bedroom no longer has an outside wall, the problem is not correctable.
The home inspector in this case had no choice but to disclose this defect to the prospective buyers. A possible solution would be to remove the wall between the master bedroom and the added bedroom, thereby creating an extra-large master bedroom.
Q: Before buying our home, we asked the seller to patch several holes in the bedroom walls. Two days before escrow closed, we did a final walk-through, and the repairs looked perfect. But after we moved in, the wall patches began to crack and shrink, and we noticed the surfaces were soft to the touch. What is the problem with these repairs, and what can we do to make them right?
A: From your description, it sounds as if the seller repaired the drywall holes with a single application of drywall joint compound - commonly known as "mud." This often occurs when handy homeowners, unaware of the specific characteristics of drywall mud, try to do last-minute repairs.
There are several ways to make an effective drywall repair, but thick application of drywall mud is not among them. Mud shrinks when it dries, and thick applications can take many days or even weeks to fully dry.
Thick applications of mud are workable if you add some patching plaster, such as "Fixall," to the mix. The added plaster eliminates shrinkage and quickly hardens the patch.
When patching larger holes, fitted pieces of drywall can be attached, and the seams can then be finished with drywall tape and thin applications of mud. For secure attachment, wood backing should be installed behind the holes, and the drywall can then be fastened to the wood with drywall screws.
• To write to Barry Stone, visit him on the web at www.housedetective.com, or write AMG, 1776 Jami Lee Court, Suite 218, San Luis Obispo, CA 94301.
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