Fire separation - Garage to Attic

[Davethescot]

I recently inspected a new home pending closing, with a walled but open stairwell at the rear of the garage leading to the common (non-separated) attic above the entire house. The gas fired split system heat pump is located in the attic. I advised my client that this stairwell would need a compliant doorset installed to preserve fire separation. The prospective owner discussed my report with the builder for rectification who advised her that the city inspector had issued a certificate of occupancy for the house therefore disregard my comments. The city uses 2003 versions of all codes and there is no local deviation documented from this code for the AHJ. Although we as home inspectors are not inspecting to code, we research and are aware of the respective code requirements for each property that we inspect such that we can make informed comment/ recommendations to our clients. My opinion on this is that the city inspector was incorrect in accepting the construction as presented and as defined in the code below. Your comments would be appreciated.

From IRC 2003

R309.2 Separation required. The garage shall be separated from the residence and its attic area by not less than 1/2 " gypsum board applied to the garage side.Garages beneath habitable rooms shall be separated from all habitable rooms above by not less than 5/8 " Type X gypsum board or equivalent.Where the separation is a floor to ceiling assembly , the structure supporting the separation shall also be protected by not less than 1/2" gypsum board or equivalent. (not Type X per se)

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[Jerry Peck - Codeman]

[Davethescot]

Thank you for that comprehensive breakdown. FYI, there was no door at the top of the stairs into the attic either, so essentially, as I implied, the open stairwell is directly linking the garage to the attic space.

Dave

[Jerry Peck - Codeman]

[Jerry Peck - Codeman]

[Davethescot]

Jerry,

Thanks for the ICC response however, this building is supposed to align with the 2003 codes; will there be a difference from the 2015 code quoted by the ICC. Also, the drywall encased stairwell is fully open to the attic above with no doors or separation and the attic is common to the entire house i.e you could walk anywhere above the living area after walking up the open stairs to the rear of the garage. None of the attic area is habitable. I am trying to ensure that I have the correct take on the separation requirements personally; the fact that the AHJ may not have interpreted them correctly is another matter however, I need to be sure I am calling these out in the correct manner in my reporting. If my client, the homeowner, chooses to disregard these recommendations and the the builder and the AHJ disregard/misinterpret code requirements there is really nothing I can do about it although I do like the idea of talking to the inspector, as you indicated, to make it a "learning" experience.

Regards,

Dave

[Jerry Peck - Codeman]

Dave,

The 2003 IRC requirements would be the same.

I was kind of thinking that the ICC answer might be that a "door" (meeting door requirements) would be required ... thinking they may clarify that a higher protection was the intent ... but they did not.

The 2003 IRC requirements of 1/2" drywall separation needs to cover that "open" hole in the separation.

They could make a plywood 'door' and cover it with 1/2" drywall ... they could try to make a 'door' of 1/2" drywall ... but I suspect the drywall will just break if they try that.