Garage or Carport?

[Michael Chambers]

Photos are of a house I inspected on Saturday. The firewall area of the garage is original fiber-cement siding, with a jalousie windowed door leading in to the kitchen, which I cited of course for not being a fire rated door. The agent is telling me that because of the screen wall at the back of the garage, it's not technically a garage, and the fire rating requirements shouldn't apply. I told her I took it to be a garage, but that I'd check with my excellent sources, and let her know what you all say. What say you, garage or carport?

[Wayne Carlisle]

Carports are open on at least three sides.

[Dylan Whitehead]

garage

[Thom Huggett]

Carports are open on two (2) or more sides; see 2009 International Residential Code Section R309.2. Fire separation requirements are in Section R302.6.

[Billy Stephens]

The Door needs to go. ;)
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http://www.codecheck.com/cc/ccimages/PDFs/CCB3_sample.pdf
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[Scott Patterson]

Tell them that the old "man" door to the house was fine untill they put the garage door on. Once this was done it changed the classification from carport to a garage and the "man" door should have been changed as well.

Tell your clients and agent that it is a safety thing... :)

[Wayne Carlisle]

Sorry... that's our adopted ordinance ...

[Jerry Peck]

Carport or garage?

Doesn't matter.

The separation requirements apply to BOTH.

[Michael Chambers]

Carport or garage?

Doesn't matter.

The separation requirements apply to BOTH.

Now that's interesting! What makes the difference between either a garage or carport with the separation requirements, and an open driveway where a vehicle can be parked right up alongside the house, having a roof?

Hey, thanks to everyone for the quick replies to my inquiry. They pretty much mirror my understanding of it as well, but since the question was raised, I wanted to get some extra confirmation on it. Y'all came through splendidly - as usual! :D

[Garry Sorrells]

This is a chicken or egg question.
It would appear to me that there was a garage first that was altered.
Taking the rear wall out and adding a screen room does not negate the original garage.
Therefore a fire rated door would still be appropriate
I realize the argument could be that when the garage door is up then the area is a carport, but when the door is down it is a garage.

[Ted Menelly]

This is a chicken or egg question.
It would appear to me that there was a garage first that was altered.
Taking the rear wall out and adding a screen room does not negate the original garage.
Therefore a fire rated door would still be appropriate
I realize the argument could be that when the garage door is up then the area is a carport, but when the door is down it is a garage.

If you look at the exterior siding on the inside of the garage it would kind of knock down your idea as a garage first. I would say it was a carport with just an outside wall at best or even all open with the roof over and then closed in.

[Michael Chambers]

If you look at the exterior siding on the inside of the garage it would kind of knock down your idea as a garage first. I would say it was a carport with just an outside wall at best or even all open with the roof over and then closed in.
That was my impression as well. The house was first, then the garage was added later. From the inside of the garage, it was obvious that you're looking at the original exterior end of the house. Whoever did it however, did a good job of it. The house roof structure is truss, and the garage is rafters, but from the roof level, you can't see the transition. Also, so many of these conversions still have the original driveway in place, but this garage floor was a separate garage floor pour. There was no evidence of any original carport roof support structure either. This was a 42 yr. old house by the way.

[John Kogel]

Call for a new door. I don't see what the big deal is over a $200 item.