ᐅ Two doors leading to the hallway touch each other.

Hello everyone,

We are buyers of a semi-detached house (turnkey from the developer). A few days ago, we visited the house for the first time and noticed that two doors leading to the hallway (from the living area and the storage room) touch each other when opened at the same time. To help illustrate this, I have attached a screenshot from the property brochure.

We have reported this issue to the developer, but we have no idea whether this is acceptable or common practice. Is there a relevant standard or building regulation? After all, this also concerns an emergency escape route. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any information about this online.

Thank you very much for your help.
Leonbra

You cannot use the argument of an "escape route" here, as I must be able to evacuate "without obstruction." Besides, it does not comply with recognized building standards and is considered a defect that must be corrected free of charge, for example by making the door to the utility room smaller.

Vicky Pedia schrieb:

by making the door to the utility room smaller.

And if the heating system needs to be replaced, they make it bigger again.
I can tell you what the developer does: they install it exactly like in the bathroom, with the door opening inward.

Thank you for your initial assessment. We agree with you. We do not want a smaller door to the storage room. Otherwise, it would probably be difficult with a stroller, I think.

Let's see what creative solution will be offered to us.

Exactly, ask the developer for a solution and then decide whether to agree or not. A stroller is a valid concern, heating in 15 years is not.

@Vicky Pedia: The heating system is in the basement, so that’s not an issue in this case.

However, due to the stroller and the necessary space for a closet, we don’t want the door to open inward into the storage room.

The only option we can still think of:
Is it allowed for the door to open into the living area? Or is that prohibited for safety reasons (too close to the stairs leading to the basement and/or opening into the room)?
To be honest, we don’t really like this solution either, because the door would open so far that it would hit our dining table... =/

Ideally, it would be a) to move the door frame, or b) to replace the door with a sliding door (but which one and how?).