When it comes to building or outfitting a home, it can be difficult to know what needs to be done and what sort of regulations you need to follow. This is especially difficult when it comes to things like fire rated doors and the requirements that surround them. For the garage in your home, it can also be hard to tell what needs to be fire rated and what does not. Keep reading to find out more.
Do Garage Doors Need to Be Fire Rated?
This is a loaded question of sorts. Not all garage doors need to be fire rated, but some do. The best rule of thumb to follow is that any door that leads from a connected garage into a residential area does need to be fire rated. This means if you have a connected garage with a door that leads to your home’s kitchen, the door between your garage and your home needs to be fire rated. The reason for this is that a garage is an area where there is a likelihood of fire; you need to have a fire rated door there to help contain the fire if there is one and to keep it from getting into the rest of the home.
If you are talking about an exterior door that leads to the outside, it does not need to be fire rated. These are any normal doors on the outside wall of the garage and that lead outdoors as well as the roll-up garage doors themselves. Since they do not connect to a residence, these doors do not need to be fire rated to pass inspection and to be up to code.
Buying Fire Rated Garage Doors
You can of course use fire rated doors on your garage if you want to, even those doors that do not need to be fire rated. This gives you an added sense of security and of knowing that the doors will not necessarily allow a fire to spread beyond them if one does break out.
When it comes to buying fire rated doors, you should always opt for a door that is going to fit and work for your space and one that is going to actually help prevent the spread of fire. It is also important that you ensure the doors are installed properly so that they do their intended job.