Replies

1. 
   BossHog | May 22, 2002 05:00pm | #1

   Doesn't really matter what we think - Check on local codes.

   Out of my mind. Back in five minutes

2. 
   MikeCallahan | May 22, 2002 10:35pm | #2

   If the door swings into the garage then you should have a landing at least 3' before you step down. If the door swings into the house, then you may not need a landing.

   Mike

   We may be slow, But we're expensive.
3. 
   slash | May 22, 2002 11:13pm | #3

   Screen doors are exempt from the requirements for landings (some people actually put these in garages). Another thing to consider here is where is that first step out of the door? Is it just below the threshold, even with the finished floor? Or is it 7" below the threshold. Or is it 7" below the finished floor? The greatest riser shall not exceed the smallest by 3/8", except at the bottom step (in garages, walks, patios, & driveways). What does this all mean? Call the inspector to see if he considers the top riser starting at the top of the threshold or the finished floor.

1. 
   UncleDunc | May 22, 2002 11:26pm | #4

   >> ... some people actually put these in garages ...

   Now you're making me feel conspicuous. The screen door was there when I bought the house. Is this widely considered to be tacky? Or pretentious? Or what? What am I supposed to do instead if I need the air flow through the garage? I guess I could build a screen for the garage door ...

1. 
   rjw | May 23, 2002 02:26am | #5

   I'd say a screen door into the garage is a unsafe practice, at least if you accept (assume?) that the garage is a high fire risk area.

1. 
   BossHog | May 23, 2002 03:15pm | #6

   Why would a sreen door in a garage be an unsafe practice?

   Hire teenagers while they still know everything

1. 
   rjw | May 23, 2002 03:41pm | #7

   BH: if the screen door is between the gargae and the rest of the house, people would presumably leave the fire door open from time to time (for ventilation with the overhead doors open, perhaps) and thus lose the firerating of the system.

   Remember, some codes now reguire an automatic closer on the fire rated door between the house and the garage.  I am guessing/deducing that is based on an assumption that the garage area has a higher risk of fires starting and thus needs to be "isolated" from the house.

2. 
   BossHog | May 23, 2002 03:51pm | #8

   Thanks for the info, Bob. Hadn't thought of that.

   Happiness is a belt-fed weapon.

3. 
   bearmon | May 23, 2002 05:32pm | #10

   Here, you can't get a CO without a properly adjusted automatic closer on the fire rated door between the house and the garage.  Bear

4. 
   KenHill3 | May 23, 2002 09:42pm | #11

   I beleive that the code here (Olympia, Wash.) requires the fire rated garage/house door to have sprung hinges.

   Ken Hill

5. 
   UncleDunc | May 23, 2002 04:35pm | #9

   >> ... some codes now reguire an automatic closer on the fire rated door ...

   Truth is stranger than fiction. I composed a message last night that said, among other things, "What are they going to do next, require door closers between the house and the garage?" Then I thought, the last thing we need here is more sarcasm, and decided not to post it.

   So what are they going to do next when somebody props the door open and dies in a fire, ban attached garages? I'm all in favor of codes that guard against shoddy building practices, but it seems excessive when the codes start trying to deal with operator error.

6. 
   JohnSprung | May 23, 2002 09:57pm | #12

   Um, fire issue aside, when you want some ventilation in the house, do you really want to make it smell like what's in the garage?  ;-)

   -- J.S.

7. 
   Mugsy | May 23, 2002 10:38pm | #13

   Well, in most houses that would be the smell of cardboard, Christmas decorations, and the wife's various half-hearted attempts at hobbies.  Not really that bad of an odor.

8. 
   BossHog | May 23, 2002 10:56pm | #14

   You're probably more right than you know. Many people I know can't get a car in their garage anymore................(-:

   A friend recently joked that they needed a 1,200 sq.' house and a 3,000 sq.' garage.

   If you can read this, I forgot to stick anything in here...

9. 
   woodroe | May 24, 2002 01:14am | #15

   The new International Code that many states are adopting does not require self-closing hinges on the door between garage and house. Nor does it require the garage floor to be lower than the house floor. Both are a relaxation of the code in my area.

   Steve