The Windowless Living Room? (with ASCI art!)

Okay, this board automatically resizes characters, which is annoying, but, long story short, can I put up a wall to create new bedroom if it will result in a windowless living room?

Why would you want to??
Re: code--you may need to build a partial wall (not all the way to the top) or a 'moveable' wall to conform.

One bedroom for sleeping, one bedroom for Mrs. nycesquire's lady-space, one bedroom for my man-cave.

Plus, the living room is ~extremely~ long and doesn't get much light from the window we'd use to create the bedroom.

I thought you need a window to be a bedroom. Most layouts I see like that, its labeled a home office. But I'll let others correct me if i'm wrong.

He wants to call the man-cave the living room and the one with a window the bedroom.

yes,, all bedrooms in the resulting layout would have windows, but the livingroom would be windowless. Is this legal?

call it an oversize corridor and you will be fine...

Make your mancave the smaller windowless space, then you can mark it "Home office" when you resell. No living room without windows.

"No living room without windows." - maly

Really? I've been trying to figure out why this might be. Can you cite any sources? I need to get to the bottom of this.

Because nobody wants a windowless living room - duh . Unless you never want to be able to sell it. Agree with Maly - make the windowless room a home office.

Oh wait - BTW - common sense is "the source". LOL

I can't cite you the exact chapterof the building code, but there was a lot of ink spilt when the city cracked down on illegal temporary walls in roommate situations, a couple of years ago. An apartment is required to have a living room to be a legal class-a dwelling, and a room must have at least 2 means of egress, including a window, to be a legal room. You also need at least one room to be 150sf.
The good news is that to put up a wall and rewire the electricity, you'll need an architect and the proper permits, so you'll be able to find out exactly which chapters cover the rules.
Your mancave will probably be filed as a storage closet, and will not count as a separate room as far as the city is concerned, but there is no storage as mancave police (yet.)

So let me see if I have this straight:

1)I will be able to obtain the permits to do it.
2)When I go to resell, the new room (with the windows) can be called a bedroom.
3)The living room will not be called a living room; but a large closet.

Does that sound right?

If you do this and decide to resell down the road, you'll want to tear down the wall. Easy enough if the wall is sheetrock.

Really? I'd think selling it as a three bedroom would increase its value.

No, you forget that a class-a dwelling ( ie. a residential apartment) needs to have a living room, which has to feature both at least one door and one window and be at least 150sf (unless you have another room that size.) That said, you can use your living room as a mancave, and use a large storage space to watch TV. It won't be a 3 bedroom apartment. It will be a 2 bedroom apt with a small living room and a large storage closet.

I've seen quite a few places that have french doors between the windowed bedroom and otherwise windowless living room. I'm not sure if that would be considered "class a" or what the practical meaning of "class a" means as used above.

Regardless of whether there is a wall there or not, having a "third bedroom" would likely not increase value if it comes at the cost of a windowed living room. With all other things being equal, the place will be valued based on size and flexibility to accomodate the living conditions that the buyers are looking for. If you happen to find someone that would want the wall up, then already having it there might bring you a small premium (it saves them having to do it). If most people would prefer just to have a large living room, or some alternative configuration, they are going to have to factor in the cost of taking your wall down. Either way, the true value of the apartment will be in the size of that room and the possible configurations it affords.

"Really? I'd think selling it as a three bedroom would increase its value."

Legal issues aside, a windowless living room is downright depressing IMO, much worse than a windowless bedroom.

If your line of thinking were true, you could increase the value of your apt even more by splitting each of the windowed rooms in two to form a 6 BR.

nycesquire - if you really want to do this, for YOUR living requirements, then DO it.As long as you know that there will be possible downsides if, and when, you want to sell it.

FWIW, did that when we incorporated the maid's room into the kitchen, thereby eliminating the potential bedroom. We use the enlarged kitchen ALL THE TIME, would have used the maid's/3rd bedroom very occasionally. Happy with the decision. Who knows what will happen if, and when we sell (though this is our "forever" apartment, so don't think it will come to that.

Okay, the "heirs" may have to cope with that, but, since it will be "free" money, who cares?

Sorry , since it will be THEIR free money, who cares?

Interesting comments, folks. Thank you very much for the input.