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What is the effective date for fire retardant materials between a built-in garage and a finished basement, including the passage door, for the main level living space for single family residence? A Code reference number would be appreciated.

First, just letting you know these are not "Private Questions" (which are set up to be password protected and not accessible to others - and only so for very specific reasons).

I will move this to the appropriate forum for the answer, okay?

insight wrote:What is the effective date for fire retardant materials between a built-in garage and a finished basement, including the passage door, for the main level living space for single family residence?

What code(s) has been adopted by your area?

First, though, I really dis-like using the term "fire retardant materials" as that is not correct.

Years ago many Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) had adopted various means for "separating" the garage from the dwelling unit.

Usually this was, at best, classified as a 'non fire-rated assembly' as it was never a fire rated assembly, additionally, a "fire-rated assembly" would be an assembly rated for resistance to fire from both sides, and only the garage side was 'protected' in these assemblies.

The more common and modern term is "separation" between the garage and the dwelling unit, and the materials are not really classified as "fire retardant materials", and they are only applied to the garage side, thus, "separation" is the term used.

All the above said, though, and that requirement goes back many decades in areas which adopted building codes.

Without knowing which code or codes, or if you are referring to 'newer' construction, I cannot provide a code section for "What is the effective date ... " as the effective date may have been last year with the adoption of a code for areas which previously had no code to "decades ago" for areas which had codes back then.

The area in question is North Carolina.

North Carolina is under the ICC codes, for dwelling units (1 and - 2 family dwellings and townhouses) that would be the IRC.

Previously, as with most of the southeastern US, North Carolina was using the Standard Codes from SBCCI (the predecessor to the ICC).

The 1988 Standard Building Code required a 1-3/4" solid wood between the house and the garage, and it was to be self-closing and self-latching (under certain conditions), however, actually separation was not required between the garage and the dwelling.

I will go through some of my other codes and try to find when separation was required. I do know that many AHJ which used the Standard Building Code required separation using at least 1/2" gypsum board on the garage side. Back then discussions about what to call that wall were on-going as that wall was not a "fire-rated" wall, which gets back the the 'non-fire rated assembly' I referred to in my previous post.

Any other updates?

The 1994 Standard Building Code states:
- B411.2.6 Automobile parking garages shall be separated from other occupancies in accordance with B704.
- - EXCEPTION: Separation is not required between a Group R3 building and an attached garage.

- R3: Residential occupancies including the following:
- - Child care facilities which accommodate five or less children of any age for any time period.
- - One and two family dwellings where the occupants are primarily permanent in nature and not classified as R1, R2, or I.

The 1997 puts a new twist in that section by changing the wording, and thus confusing the situation:
- B504 BUILDINGS LOCATED ON THE SAME LOT
- - Where the exterior walls of two or more buildings located on the same lot face one another, and one of the walls is not constructed as required for a fire wall, a property line shall be assumed between them. The fire resistance requirements for such facing walls and for the protection of openings therein shall be the same as required by this code for walls and openings facing an assumed property line, as provided in Table B600.
- - - EXCEPTION: Fire resistance separation shall not be required between a dwelling and its detached private garage.

That has since become simply "separation" IS required in the newer codes, and the reference to "fire resistance" has been dropped as "separation" and "fire resistance" rated assemblies are two different things.

The code following the 1997 Standard Building Code was the 2000 IRC, which the change to "separation" became official and is required to be the same as is today.

Thanks for the info