Minimum ceiling height

[mmarcley]

What is the minimum ceiling height for a bedroom in Wilmington, NC? It is a finished room above a garage and the current finished height is 7"2", but it has no closet and the plans call it "storage." I am going to dormer the room, but cannot easily get more than the 7'2" for half the room.

[Jerry Peck - Codeman]

Hi Mark,

The minimum ceiling height in the North Carolina Residential Code, which is based on the International Residential Code, is: (underlining and bold are mine)
- SECTION R305 CEILING HEIGHT
- - R305.1 Minimum height.
- - - Habitable rooms, hallways, corridors, bathrooms, toilet rooms, laundry rooms and basements shall have a ceiling height of not less than 7 feet (2134 mm). The required height shall be measured from the finish floor to the lowest projection from the ceiling.
- - - - Exceptions:
- - - - - 1. Beams and girders spaced not less than 4 feet (1219 mm) on center may project not more than 6 inches (152 mm) below the required ceiling height.
- - - - - 2. Ceilings in basements without habitable spaces may project to within 6 feet, 8 inches (2032 mm) of the finish floor; and beams, girders, ducts or other obstructions may project to within 6 feet, 4 inches (1931 mm) of the finished floor.
- - - - - 3. Not more than 50 percent of the required floor area of a room or space is permitted to have a sloped ceiling less than 7 feet (2134 mm) in height with no portion of the required floor area less than 5 feet (1524 mm) in height.

Your description of having 7 feet 2 inches available sounds like you will not have any problems in meeting the minimum ceiling height, but you will not have a lot of room to spare either.

A large room will feel cramped with only a 7 foot ceiling.