The WORST "2 Bedroom" Condo Floor Plan I Have Ever Seen
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- čas přidán 21. 05. 2024
- Are you getting sick of seeing 1 bedroom condos advertised as 2 bedroom condos? Well... so is Surrey REALTOR® Steve Karrasch of Macdonald Realty.
In today's video, Steve shows yet another one bed and this time, two den condo, being advertised as a two bed. On top of that, there is no dining space and the unit is located on the inside corner of the building.
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Would you buy a "2 Bed" plan when that second bedroom has no window?
No
Nope.
Yes if the bedroom is only meant for sleep. No if it is meant to "live" in.
I dont buy less than 3 bedrooms ever. No joke, to me they are better investments
no
They need to start charging people selling deathtrap layouts as 'bedrooms'
Any agent that advertises this as two bedrooms is flat-out dishonest and you should not deal with them. It's a one bedroom with two windowless dens or offices. We know that in today's housing crisis there may be people sleeping in those dens, but it's not legal and it's not safe. If deadly fumes filled the main living area there is no escape.
It's true.
Agreed!
Not only is safety a concern, a person's mental state is very important to consider as well. If someone is working from home and could only do it from a windowless room, think of how depressing that would be. Or if they were sick and bedridden without natural light, that could very well prolong their healing time.
@@SteveKarrasch - this is obviously in North America but a windowless "bedroom" would certainly not meet code requirements here, nor would it even pass muster by the approvals authority. Also worrying is the (apparent) lack of independent ventilation to the bathrooms. To qualify as a bedroom there must be a minimum window to floor ratio and a further proportion of the window must be openable with a view to the outside. The agent would likely face disciplinary action for false advertising. Some architects and developers have bent the rules somewhat where a bedroom and lounge might be converted into one room and the window requirements have been calculated based on the total area of the two spaces, but this is more prevalent in single bedroom apartments.
@@Josh-yr7gdwindowless offices are very common. In many places only the most senior workers get to sit by a window , everyone else is in interior areas with no windows.
I can’t stand to sleep in a room you can’t open a window in!!
Same here. There are a few more rooms that need windows. I even had to put a window in my bathroom and closet. It is why my daughter's bathroom has two doors. One into her room. The other into the hallway.
In Washington State, this would by law be a one bedroom, as EVERY bedroom must have an outside window that can be used as an escape route. If a room has no window, it is illegal to advertise or otherwise claim it is a bedroom. I know this because I lived two years in what was rented as a studio apartment with a large walk-in closet, never mind that it was big enough to put a full bed. (Apparently, it was built as a one bedroom before the laws changed.)
I would hate having a WIC on the end of the bathroom. My partner spends AGES in the bathroom and that would mean the closet is cut off from me for all that time. Why not just flip those and have the en suite beyond the closet?
Try more veggies?
Fully agree on this one. If someone is using the toilet and I need to grab a jacket cause I’m running late, I have to wait. If I’m in the closet picking out an outfit and some needs to use the toilet then I’m stuck in the closet for that time. And honestly, it’s not just about using the toilet; I like some privacy when I’m showering too. This design makes no functional, practical sense to me.
@@lonkinoble9333 plus, if the bathroom is steamy, the mold and mildew that could set up in an unventilated closet doesn't make it appealing.
@@SteveKarrasch Rude reply
I'm the same, put the closet/dressing area first with the bathroom behind. Better for both rooms' function to be arranged that way.
or, don't put the toilet in a throughway.
On top of everything else, the primary bedroom is tiny and then has a corner cut off. And, what if you need to get into the (tiny) closet while your spouse is sitting on the toilet? Awful plan
That's why it's always better to have a walkthrough closet to the bathroom, rather than the other way around.
@@Josh-yr7gd Agreed they have this backward. Also the noise from the bathroom would disturb the sleeper.
Thanks for the explanation of inside vs outside corner.
I'm not sure about the jurisdiction here but I read the Ontario building code and a bedroom in a multi unit building is not required to have a dedicated window as long as the floor it is on has two exits and it has a direct or indirect view to the outside. So lots of units put glass doors on the "inner" bedrooms to adhere to the code.
Honestly, in this market, maximizing the number of rooms you can rent inside of your space makes sense.
Them marketing it as a bedroom without a window is against code, and kinda shady, but everyone knows that is going to become a 3 bedroom space in practice...
I would knock that wall between the second bedroom and the kitchen out to turn it into a dining room. And I’d add a window from the den to the hallway and I’d treat it as a 1 bedroom. And then I’d pay a one bedroom price for it!!
I wonder if it's load bearing?
Realistically, the "second bedroom" is an office or den, and the "den" is in-suite storage. But people are sleeping their toddlers in their WIC for 2 or 3 years because they can't afford to buy another actual bedroom, so that's how these things are being marketed.
Yeah I see many listings don’t even show floor plans… maybe to hide poor designs like this one here…
Great layout, have a Townhouse very similar, easy to rent. Has a 2 car garage and bonus family room on the lower level. Like living in a real home rather than an apartment or condo in a big building.
My local code permits bedrooms with no windows so long as the building is sprinklered and built from non-combustible construction.
They are trying to cram too much in to that space. All the negatives you pointed out I agree with. I do not like the kitchen island because it is a walkway right where you would sit and looks tight. But both the den and second bedroom are horrible. I need light myself so no windowless rooms for me.
I don't like the kitchen island, either. If it was a movable island (on wheels), then I'd be OK with that, since you can move it if you need more walking space. I also don't like windowless rooms. I've stayed in one (hotel room for 1 night, not booked by me). I felt claustrophobic in that room.
The2nd "bedroom" cannot legally be called a bedroom because it does not have direct access to the outside via a window
Can't believe they can legally get away with listing the apartment as a two bedroom!? Surely that's a lawsuit in the making? Must have proper egress to make it pass code for a bedroom!!
I would have the den as the dining room. Likely rarely used. Most dining rooms do not get a lot of use.
And the other would become the den/ craftroom/ workout room, etc.
. The two closets would be one large coat closet.
As someone who works from home and has for years, I would like this unit better if they just honestly considered the 2nd bedroom a den, and instead of using it all for a dining area, they had made more room to move the closets in, opened up the space a bit from the kitchen to put an expandable table there, but still had a smaller second den. That way my significant other and I would have separate spaces for when he works from home. And we'd be able to have people over on occasion with a table that folds out into a 6 seat table. I'm not a fan of giant islands like this either. Not unless they put utilities into the island - unnecessary use of space.
How about this, you knock down the wall btw 2nd bedroom and kitchen and turn it into dining/living room, and then you put up walls in previous living room and turn that into 2nd bedroom (still leave enough walkway for balcony access from kitchen). This way you can still have 2 bedrooms with proper windows to outside, and you can have living room for entertainment without worrying about too much sun in afternoon.
Yep. Brutal floor plan!
Bedroom safety and overall lack of windows aside, I can't get over all the wasted space with all those weird angles
I’ve seen several of these inner unit bedrooms (no windows) in the Lougheed Burnaby towers. Technically as long as you have a closet it can be called a bedroom. This is what I heard from a family member who was an interior designer. I don’t like these units either.
That floor plan looks like the layout of the apartments in The Big Bang Theory.
Architecturally, there is a simple way of dealing with inside corners, using right angles, not 45º angles. (essentially placing a box in the corner.)
We’re getting closer to retirement and thinking about downsizing to a condo. These videos are very educational. Thank you.
Be sure to do your research. Condos can have massive fees assessed against them. Voice ov experience. Never again.
Back in the 1970s, the rental apartment complex where I lived in Maryland, U.S., had mainly three-level garden buildings (Terrace, 1st floor, and 2nd floor). The buildings were entered on the 1st floor. There were four apartments each on the 1st and 2nd floors. The lowest level had two Terrace apartments in the back plus laundry, storage, and trash rooms in the front, where apartments couldn't go because there would be no windows. But some buildings on a hill had 4 or 5 levels, with the extra levels facing the back below the Terrace level ones (which had balconies instead of terraces). There were two apartments on each extra levels. I was told that they had interior rooms with no windows, and either a state or county law prohibited apartment management from calling them bedrooms because of this. I wouldn't be surprised if these extra rooms were used for sleeping, even if it was just for occasional guests.
Thanks for your description of interior corners. My condo building is a straight line and doesn't have them. However, the two other buildings in our complex are larger and do have them. In my type of two-bedroom, the living room has a sliding glass door to the terrace or balcony. Sometimes, I wish I had a window to open, not a full door. But a different style of two-bedroom here has that sliding glass door in the second bedroom. This is a situation in which a real window would be even more appreciated. Both of these styles also have the sliding glass door instead of a window in the dining room.
Its dipend wherw and whay and what I need, maybe also for how long period. For holldays on Tenerife is that flat SUPER !
As an Architect, how did bedroom 2 get approved thru the building department? Every bedroom must have a window with 5 sq. feet of opening in case of a fire. No window is a life safety issue.
Then the food prep area is in the kitchen's east corner, the corner furthest from the living room, so in order to carry your plate of food the shortest distance, you're going to be eating on that island. Hope there's leg space under it somewhere.
Where I live, you have to have a closet and a window in order for a bedroom to be a bedroom..
I know windows are safe, but they also are about light and ambiance, so important.
not having windows in the master bathroom is a no go, same for no windows in the other bedroom, and closet behind the bathroom.
I own a duplex built in 1900, live upstairs and rent out the downstairs flat.
Every room has at least one window - even the bathrooms, and of course, the kitchens have two.
Each flat is also much larger ... they're both 2 legal bedrooms, one bath, kitchen, dining room, living room and a large fully heated sunroom which could be a legal third bedroom. Each unit is about 1250 square feet.
Unless there's some kind of disaster, I will never live in a newer condo, townhome or apartment.
Most people would consider that den to be the dining room.
I understand what you are saying about escape from windowless “bedroom” in case of fire. On the other hand, if this above the third floor, escape through a window would be dangerous or deadly anyway, right?
I saw an apartment similar to this many years ago when I was looking for my first rental. It wasn't an inside corner but it was long and narrow. The rules here are pretty strict in requiring all bedrooms to require a window, but it wasn't wide enough. So they designed there a narrow alcove on the outside of the building that went down the side of the main bedroom to the second bedroom behind it and a window. That's how I'd basically fix this one, but I'd probably have to sacrifice the ensuite to do it.
What I would change about it is move the kitchen into the den. Then move the den into the second bedroom. That would make it only one bedroom but if you are a retired couple, do you really need a second bedroom. The space that opens up from moving the kitchen into the den would become the dining room. Yes, I can see where this might be a problem if you do a lot of entertaining but not everyone does. I think I would be quite happy in this condo even without the changes but, I live in a 14 X 70 single wide mobile home and I'd hate to see what the creator of this video would have to say about that!
I've seen far too many "reasonably priced" two-bedrooms, but it's NOT a second bedroom! It's a windowless alcove with a sliding door across the opening. The Real Estate Board should sanction agents who use such marketing, which is just DISHONEST.
You could set the living room up as a dining room and use the den as a living room (TV room). That's how I have my place set up. Second bedroom is the TV room. It works great for me. I get what you're saying about needing safe egress from a bedroom, but in reality is egress onto a high rise balcony really going to save your life? If there's a fire escape stair, sure. But i don't remember there being one in any high rise condo I have stayed in.
They could’ve put a window facing the kitchen and have a shades for privacy when needed. You could actually still get some natural light coming from the living room. This seems like an odd solution, but not as odd, as having a bedroom with zero windows.
That primary bedroom is tiny, and with that angled wall, would it even be possible to fit a king in there? Seems like the end of a king bed would run right up into that awful angled wall.
Personally, I’d eliminate the den, shift the kitchen down to that end of the apartment, then have a dining space where the kitchen is currently located. Then call the second bedroom the den, making it legal.
It would be sheer hell for medics to take you out on a stretcher. I've become more aware of the possibility of such happening as I get older.
My question is how to these floor plans get approved in the first place?
Thanks for a very informative video 😊
I have the same question.
The den in the first one could be used as a small dining area
@3:13, walking straight into the kitchen is just horrible. Move the kitchen area to the other end and ditch the island. I've often heard it said that you can't call a room a bedroom if there are no closets. That space has one, so is technically a bedroom. The absence of windows is not the problem here, but the poor use of 869 sq ft.
Absence of window in 2nd "bedroom" is a big problem because it's not legal. All bedrooms by law in the u.s. must have egress to the outside
Only two windows? closet past the bathroom, and no air circulation in it, so any humidity from the bathroom setting up mold and mildew is likely, no window in the second "bedroom"? Wouldn't take it if it was given away with a pound of tea....
I would have thought there was also a need for a bedroom to have access to fresh air which would bar a windowless room from being a bedroom. I thought building codes changed to requrire this (in some cities) decades ago - hence the introduction of light wells.
Floor plans don't show this, but if I was considering an inside corner I'd also want to know what the view was like from the windows. With so little window space you'd want the few windows you have to point towards the sun as much as possible with as little shade as possible from trees and other buildings. Inside corners facing north, low down in a high rise neighbourhood would be particularly grim (south for the southern hemisphere, of course).
If this is illegal then why aren’t there charges being made? They posted the floorplan that proves that it’s illegal and wrong. Is it just that people don’t know or they don’t care? I mean obviously the real estate agent and the property owners don’t care, but you would think the general public would start caring.
Both bedrooms and the den in my home have three windows each facing three different directions. I would feel claustrophobic in that layout
Not sure if their city code would allow no window rooms.
I think it's illegal in New York to call a room a bedroom if it has no window.
I see this unit ok for a single person (if the pricing is according to the fact it’s a inside corner) but then the second bathroom take way to much space when you’re single. I would much prefer a one nice large bathroom then two minuscule one. It’s an awful plan because it do not respond to anyone needs.
It can't be the worst ! There're always floor plans worse than this one and the one after ...... Not just for condos, houses too. Just what's their theory in the process of designing ......
I really like this plan with a few minor issues
I was wondering about incorporating that "second bedroom" into the living space, too. I guess I'm a little claustrophobic, so I was wondering if anyone ever puts an interior window, maybe with frosted glass, to give the den at least a feeling of natural light?
if you are in a mid-price apartment complex near an airport, and the insider corner is near the pool, where young women sunbath, that's a good corner. Of course, in the high-end condo's, most tenants are not young except the few where a divorced man lives with his new girlfriend or young couple with rich generous parents
I thought that a legal bedroom must contain a window? Could the Developer or Agent be liable for criminal charges for this? Imagine if there WAS a fire…. how would they get out? The quick answer is that they wouldn’t. The route to get out is blocked by the kitchen, which is probably where the fire started, or from the dryer, which is right outside the second “bedroom”. No Sir, I would laugh in an Agent’s face and then find a new Agent that cared if I lived or died in my property.
How are they getting away with this?
Deal breakers. No windows in the second bedroom. The bathroom for the primary bedroom in the wrong spot. Too easy for the wic to build up mold from that bathroom.
Also, if a fire was to happen in front of either the wic, small bathroom, second bedroom, or the 'den'. The person in side those rooms would very likely perish. Since there is NO secondary egress from those rooms. This is why some states have the law where all rooms are supposed to have a secondary egress point. To prevent such firetraps from trapping folks like that. This is why also places with two or more stories are supposed to have stairs just in case of a fire.
Isn't it illegal to call sell/advertise a room a bedroom if it has no egress? Can't imagine the architect labeling it as a bedroom. The architect would know good and well a room with no egress can be a bedroom. All kinds of liability if this is marketed as a 2 bedroom
i'm just wondering if the den and the windowless bedroom could be made into a living room / dining are and the living room closed off and converted into a bedroom? hmm that would be um eu... i dunno...
4'1" wide closet? That is not enough room to fart, let alone change clothes.
Why not call it a 5 bedroom? Stick a bed in that walk in closet and call it a bedroom. You don't need a living room, make that a kitchen bedroom. If you're making things up, why not do all the way?
Ill never understand why people want their kitchens inside a corner of their living rooms
That would never appraise as a two bedroom since a bedroom must have a closet and an escapable window. A sealed room opposite a kitchen is not a place to sleep.
I don't know the laws in DC, but this really sounds like fraudulent way to present this condo to my, admittedly non-attorney ears
In th h 80's,it was 1 bd. den(no window) Arvida,and a few others were th better developers,some not so much
Should be illegal to design dungeons for civilian accommodation.
That might be the only design that people can afford.
I’d loose the den and relocate the kitchen down to the den, then you can having a dinning area.
That might be a good solution.
You are right. This is a very dumb undesirable plan.
8 x 8 room is a closet, not a den.
Interesting. I owned a two bedroom (+ loft) condo in Surrey in the 1990s, and it was an inside corner unit on the top floor. The master bedroom window was tiny, and opened only at the bottom. So I'm not sure if (in the event of an emergency) I could have even fit out of that small opening, plus I would have had to deal with a three story drop to concrete as well. So I'm a little puzzled about your "bedroom must have a window for safety in an emergency" position. I've heard of a room being termed a "bedroom" if it has a closet, and called a "den" if it doesn't, but I've never heard whether it has a window being a determinant. That condo's floorplan isn't terrible, IMO,(I've seen a lot worse) and I agree with you that the second "bedroom" should be open to the kitchen, and be the dining room.
Having a window allows for some ventillation from smoke in another room. Even if the window is designed to stay closed, in the case of a fire, it can always be broken to allow air in.
Fire codes don't ask you to be able to climb down, they need windows large enough for FF to break into to get you should the structure be engulfed. I live on the fifth floor of a building, and can't use the stairs, I spoke with Ontario Fire Marshall about being on ground floor etc. He knew the building and explained in a fire get to the balcony and wait. OK. keybhexsaid is that a highrise have fire suppression and sprinklers systems.
Is this really that big of a problem? Fire's aren't nearly as common as they were in the past. Imagine how much more housing we could build if we didn't require a window in every single bedroom!
People could also sleep in self storage lockers I guess.
@@SteveKarrasch They could throw those resin sheds up in the parks to house the homeless. Give them locks, slap #'s on the front, and give them a way to receive mail... would also be easier for social workers. "Looking for Greg in Walker Park #68"...
If they added and maintained proper toilet and garbage facilities, it'd be better than the dirty tent cities that we've got now.
@@SteveKarrasch Naww that might dilute the market and hurt your eqwity! Let them have windows!
This is considered a 4 bedroom from where most of the buyers come
That's probably how it will be used.
Sad
"WORST Condo Floor Plan I Have Ever Seen" .... almost makes me think you haven't seen that many floor plans before!
I feel like you haven't seen many CZcams videos before.
The modern condo is nothing more but a overpriced shoe box. You have no idea how many times I've been in a real expensive buildings where most of their units are average at best. From materials used to the layout and of course the pricing its just madness.