Fire Rated Garage Door Code

Retailers offer wooden slab doors however these show decorative sections cut out.

Fire rated garage door code.

I need to upgrade a door between the garage and basement. The reason the inspector wants to see the tag is because then they know it is a 20 minute fire rated door and meets one of the choices for type of door for garage house fire separation. One could make the argument that given the wording in irc 302 5 1 a fire rated door or its equivalent is required. One example of a problem area is the entry door between the garage and the residence.

The test to determine the 20 minute rating is not required to include the hose stream portion of the test. So for all these reasons the international residential code irc and residential edition of the florida building code fbc r302 5 have safety standards for a door that separates the garage from the house interior. Fire doors are generally fire resistant sealed frame doors made of various materials and installed in fire rated walls. This door assembly is not specifically required to be fire rated.

This standard regulates the installation and maintenance of assemblies and devices used to protect openings in walls floors and ceilings against the spread of fire and smoke within into or out of buildings. Sps 321 08 2 c c doors. The door cannot open directly onto a room used for sleeping purposes bedroom and must be one of the following types. I understand the door must be 1 3 8 thick wood or steel.

If the door is not solid wood or steel honeycomb and at least 1 3 8 thick then it must have a 20 minute fire rating. Door to house this is the only place where any fire rating is specified. By the way cutting a hole in the door to install a pet door flap voids the 20 minute rating. It is not likely that any raised panel 1 3 8 door will ever have such a rating or qualify for proper garage house fire separation.

For instance there are fire rated doors that have a 20 minute several hours rating and they can be selected to meet fire department code requirements for residential spaces check your condo or townhouse local building codes for any requirements of fire rated entry or house to garage doors. Doors to individual hotel or motel units shall operate similarly except that when the bolt and unlatching operation is key operated from corridor or exterior side of the unit door large bow keys 2 inch full bow or 1 1 4 inch half bow shall be provided in lieu of lever type hardware on the corridor side. Fire door requirements are set by the national fire protection association and these requirements have been incorporated into most local building codes in the united states with little to no modification. A 1 1 see annex k for general information about fire doors.

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