Office within garage

[mathew stouffer]

This office was built within the garage, during some type of remodel. The walls are missing insulation, but the garage appears to be insulated and heated. The drywall is 1/2inch. There are two windows in the office, heat, and power. Is this thing acceptable. Sorry pics don't show much.

[Jim Luttrall]

Too little information to answer but at first glance, No, not allowed. My guess is that the office inside the garage is conditioned, the remainder of the garage is not conditioned and remains a garage which would mean there needs to be insulation in the thermal boundary and gypsum on the garage side of the wall.
The key factors are where is the separation between the garage and the living space, as well as Egress.
If the garage is still a garage and the office space is not conditioned, then maybe.

[mathew stouffer]

Jim,
The office has electric wall heater, and windows, and outlets. The garage is heated. What additional information is needed. The man door into the garage does not access the office directly.

[Jerry Peck]

Mat,

The problems I see in the photo:
- The studs are laid flat-wise, meaning there is only 1-1/2" between drywall-to-drywall ...
- ... okay, drywall-to-drywall IF there was the REQUIRED gypsum board ON THE GARAGE SIDE ...
- ... which means there is no way to properly locate the NM cables in the photo back 1-1/4" from each stud face ... :D
- Then you get to the top of that wall on the garage side and the NM cable is running across the face of the studs.
- Back to the 1-1/2 flat-wise installation of the studs ... there is no way to install the required insulation within that space.

Things I cannot see in that photo:
- Does that garage have egress into the house or directly to the outside?
- Is there a sufficiently sized window to meet the 8% of the floor area for natural light?
- Is there a sufficiently sized window which is operable to to meet the 4% of the floor area for natural ventilation?
- Is there a smoke detector in that room?
- Does that room meet bedroom requirements and do the windows meet EERO requirements?
- Are the electrical wall receptacles spaced properly around the room?
- Does that room 'take up' one of the garage spaces so a car cannot be parked there, and, if so, then that is no longer a (as an example) "2-car garage" but it is now a "1-car garage" with a work area.

Just a few things I see and do not see.

[Jim Luttrall]

Jim,
The office has electric wall heater, and windows, and outlets. The garage is heated. What additional information is needed. The man door into the garage does not access the office directly.
Heated living area would need separation including gypsum on the garage side, approved door, etc., etc. It would be cheaper and easier to removed it an put it back to a garage than to fix everything that is wrong. Add to the list, no building permit.

[Jim Luttrall]

You mention the garage was heated, how so?
Hopefully not with the house heating system.:eek:

[mathew stouffer]

No, it has a a fan/coil, supplied by a boiler. It is very common to have heated garages around heat. So the boiler is inside the house with and supply and return line connected to a ceiling mounted air fan with a coil. Hope that makes sense.