No window bedroom

Jas

Jas

Hi all,

I was wondering what the collective wisdom thinks about the idea of a bedroom with just a skyight, not a window. There's no walls to put a window in, but potenially I could put a skylight in...

Alternatively, I could rearrange the rooms and swap the laundry into this space. But doing so sky rockets the cost.

Thoughts?
 
stayed 4 nights in a room with no windows when backpacking in Singapore many yrs ago. It had a/c and just fitted a bunk bed, it was probably a storeroom converted.
I didn't care when backpacking but would never rent one. I'm not claustrophobic but you do spin out alittle when you wake up in pitch black and can only feel walls. Still it was very cheap :D
The skylight would be ok during the day but I doubt it would do much at night and you still need to get some fresh air in.
 
you can get skylights that open enough for air, while still keeping the rain out.

I have put one in a bathroom, worked fine...better than ducted air vents
 
I would be curious about whether this can be classed as a "bedroom" anyway, even with a skylight? So when you come to sell it, do you have to treat it as a "store room" or something.

My son's room is similar, no actual window opening to the outside, but big double doors opening to a living room with plenty of windows. I am sure we were told that this room is officially not able to be called a bedroom (Brisbane).

Would be curious to know?
 
Many so-called 1Br and 2BR I have seen in student apartment blocks use an internal window - i.e. a window of fogged glass through to the next room (usually the "lounge"). Can you do something similar?

Cheers,

The Y-man
 
I would also check with your local council before anything, some planning schemes and res. code building regs require habital rooms to have a window (for fire access, MFB, Health dept etc).
 
I have a room like this, they are technically illegal for reasons of ventilation, despite your average joe never actually *opening* those windows. A phenomenal percentage of really old houses have multiple rooms without windows. I've mentioned this before - its a lean-to thing.

My room really does need a window, but we had the baby in there so *not* having a large bright north-facing thing that opens right onto my neighbour's driveway was actually a good thing. Dark and quiet.

I'm leaving it up to the new owners to decide if they want to knock a window through or not, I'm not going to touch it at all. If it doesn't sell and I need to rent it out I'll take the cheaper option of a vented skylight with a remote control to open it or something - that room is 2.7x4.3m and has 12 foot ceilings, ideally it needs a window but I can't justify the expense.
 
I was just remembering hubby's house when we were first going out. It was a typical Brisbane queenslander with a middle bedroom which had a door into the living room and another french door to what would have once been an open verandah. Once these verandah's are enclosed that middle bedroom which was once open to the fresh air is now a middle room with no external window.

There would be thousands of queenslanders in this situation. Curious to know if they are considered "habitable"?
 
By definition, that's not a bedroom. A bedroom has to have a window or some means to let air and light in, apart from an open door. :) You could call it a "study" or "library" if you like. They don't need windows. :)
 
wylie said:
IOnce these verandah's are enclosed that middle bedroom which was once open to the fresh air is now a middle room with no external window.
Click to expand...
In South Australia where you get small cottages with two windows facing the backyard and someone builds an extension (usually a lean-to) onto the back those two windows end up leading to another bedroom and get enclosed. Thousands of those too. If the windows face sideways you don't get the problem but apparently back then there weren't too many forward-thinking house builders :rolleyes:

I'm quite thankful my new PPoR has the sideways windows, since it has two lean-tos! Nice and light and bright.
 
wylie said:
I am sure we were told that this room is officially not able to be called a bedroom (Brisbane).

Would be curious to know?
Click to expand...

In Brissy and Pine Rivers at least Wylie, the building code doesn't allow for bedrooms without a window. I went through this with 2 builders last year when designing a 2 bdrm granny flat.

I went with a design similar to what you are talking about.....large retractable panels opening into the living room. I was building it for occasional use as a bedroom = divorcee with children or friends staying on weekends and hols, young couple.
 
I've been trying to avoid going through ACTPLA's cryptic buildind code. I too, have investigated skylights which open and have blinds (which I admit, i was thinking of, but didn't put in the post).

I had forgotten the queenslander style of house - the idea of frosted glass into another room is intruiging.

The thing about fresh air and light - I guess the question is, would it be satisfed by an openable skylight?

(you should see the layout of this house, it's crazy)

Jas
 
i recently inspected a house in Downer (Canberra) and it had been renovated rather strangely. Basically, they got the ex-govvie house and gutted it and then built a complete new house all around so that it filled the whole block. They ended up with the walls of the house being on the boundary of the property and therefore the walls also became the fences. This was most strange. Basically it was a McMansion house filling up the 480 sq metre block.

Anyway, it had 4 or 5 bedrooms, 3 with ensuites, 2 kitchens, 2 living rooms which all lead out to the enclosed pool. Anyway, only one bedroom, the master, had windows on the side walls. The other bedrooms only had skylights (which didn't open). I immediately questioned the lack of the windows to the agent and he said it was ok. But for me personally, no way could i stay in a room with no windows.

I was once travelling in Taiwan and i was booked into a hotel and i went and checked my room and it had no windows - only an AC. So i changed rooms as i couldn't stay in that room and strangely enough, the guy at the reception said a lot of Westerners request to change from that room but the Asians don't. It may be a cultural thing.

Back to the house in Downer, can you imagine raising children, which become teenagers, and having them living in rooms with no windows - ie no fresh air etc?

I am still puzzled as to how this house plan got approved by ACTPLA. A number of things stick to my mind about this house - it covered at least 80% of the block; the walls of the house were on the boundary line (which i thought was impossible in areas of suburban Canberra); and as already mentioned, just about all the bedrooms had no windows - and finally, it was a renovation that was done way over the top. Someone was trying to build an executive townhouse type of thing in suburban Canberra and they spent a lot of money on it and it was over done...

Anyway, the house got sold for 450k so someone liked it....

BTW - is anyone else like me and spends a lot of Saturdays just checking out open houses?

g
 
gg1965 said:
Back to the house in Downer, can you imagine raising children, which become teenagers, and having them living in rooms with no windows - ie no fresh air etc?
Click to expand...

My 17 year old son plays (or trains) soccer three times a week. His room has two double windows and it still smells like a locker room in there :rolleyes:. Perhaps if he would just put his washing into the laundry instead of leaving it lying around the floor, that would help.

I now choose my battles...... and just close the door.
 
i've lived on the second floor of a commercial building which has few windows but skylights in every room now for 6 years. i've got 7 bedrooms, 3 of which have windows.

i love it. total privacy and i almost never have to draw curtains. ( i have floor to ceiling windows in the living room). for cbd living, skylights are fab.

as to ventilation; i find that if i open the door at the front and the rear, it blows a gale through the place.....


also, i've been looking at a commercial building near here where the previous owner had converted the top floor to units and none of them had windows except the two end ones. each unit had roof opening sklights with blinds. each unit was light and airy and felt great inside.
 
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