Fire seperation door? - InspectionNews

M Kelekci · #1 (**permalink**) 08-16-2007, 12:22 PM

Is fire seperation door needed between garage and utility room in the garage?
Thanks,

Jim Luttrall · #2 (**permalink**) 08-16-2007, 01:33 PM

The only seperation called for in the IRC is between the living area and the garage. Is the storage room part of the living area?

Jerry McCarthy · #3 (**permalink**) 08-16-2007, 03:11 PM

Matt
SECTION R309
GARAGES AND CARPORTS
R309.1 Opening protection. Openings from a private garage directly into a room used for sleeping purposes shall not be permitted Other openings between the garage and residence shall be equipped with solid wood doors not less than 1-3/8 inches (35 mm) in thickness, solid or honeycomb core steel doors not less than 1-3/8 inches (35 mm) thick, or 20-minute fire-rated doors.
The question is, is the Utility Room separated from the home with no openings and contained totally within the garage, yet provided with a required fire wall between the home and the utility room, and if so then its entry door need not be rated.

Jerry McCarthy · #4 (**permalink**) 08-16-2007, 03:23 PM

Mid-Life?
Hell, my entire life since I left grammar school has been one big and endless crisis!

Jerry Peck · #5 (**permalink**) 08-16-2007, 06:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jerry McCarthy

The question is, is the Utility Room separated from the home with no openings and contained totally within the garage, yet provided with a required fire wall between the home and the utility room, and if so then its entry door need not be rated.

West Coast Jerry,

I've highlighted the incorrect part above.

That is not required. It 'is not' a "fire wall", nor even a 'fire rated wall'. It is merely a 'separation wall'.

If the utility room is opened only to the garage, it is 'part of' the garage and does not need anything other than an el cheapo hollow core door.

If the utility room has two doors, one to the garage and one to the living space, then *only* one of those doors is required to be one of those stated types of doors, and it could be either door as you could put that door at the garage and it would serve for separation purposes, or, you could put that door at the living space and it would serve for separation purposes.

Or, being as code is "minimum", you would put one of the specified types of doors at both openings - now that would be a novel idea.

Jerry McCarthy · #6 (**permalink**) 08-16-2007, 06:29 PM

JP, you’re absolutely right in that nowhere in IRC 309 is the term “fire wall” or “fire partition” or “fire protected wall” mentioned so there I am with a another le omelet on my continence.. I guess my glitch was a throw back to the old uniform codes. Thanks for the correct update on a very important issue. Sort of reminds me of the old Charlie Chan movies in the 1940s when Charlie said to number #1 son after relentlessly popping off without thought, “it is better to keep ones mouth closed and be thought a fool than open it and remove all doubt.”

Jerry Peck · #7 (**permalink**) 08-16-2007, 06:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jerry McCarthy

“it is better to keep ones mouth closed and be thought a fool than open it and remove all doubt.”

You never need to worry about anyone thinking of you as a fool.

What caught my attention and made me do a double take at your post was you posted an IRC reference, then made reference to an older code

, (the old South Florida Building Code also had that as a 'fire rated wall assembly', but, alas, that code is no longer with us either, we are now with the 'separation' in the I codes).

M Kelekci · #8 (**permalink**) 08-17-2007, 11:02 AM

Thank you all.