Breezeway code

am I correct in that a connected breezeway to the garage is treated like a house to a garage. The first door connecting the garage to the breezeway must be fire rated, and drywall on the garage wall. and what about the second door connecting the breezeway to the house, does this door need to be fire rated as well. Also the first door is not sealed correctly at the bottom of the door, there is a gap under the door. How would I write this up ?

First thing- don’t start getting into “code”
A home inspection is NOT a code inspection.

Secondly- you need to complete your profile so we have some idea where you are located. It would certainly help us help you.

As for your question- I would guess that the door to the garage “should” be fire rated and equipped with a self closer.
The door to the home, not so much.

There does not appear to be a common wall between the house and the garage so gas proofing ( drywall on the garage inside wall) would not be required

Hope this helps

Cheers

Quit trying to rebuild an old house that was properly built at the time of construction.

No one needs to upgrade anything in order to sell the property, and you have no jurisdiction to demand it.

Thanks Douglas, The key words that you said that hit me like a rock were, common wall between house and garage. As far a codes is concerned, I have learned to say Common Practice rather than code to identify issues that would be considered Safety Issues. I am a licensed Builder for the state of Michigan so ignoring the word code will never happen, I just need to learn not to use that word in this business. After all the home inspection business training has been every thing about code’s that the crazy thing. The guys in the video’s point out all of these defects that are code related defects and say they will make there clients a where of it but we are not to report the same things that we are being taught gets really confusing sometimes. I will learn! Thanks again.

Here’s an example of the problem with citing Code (or a lack thereof)…

Home built in 1929 and has had no significant upgrades since built. Just normal replacement of the WH and such…

What, if anything, do you say about the lack of GFCI’s anywhere in the home?

Is the electrical system safe because Code did not dictate that GFCI needed to be installed back in 1929?

Or how about that incredible staircase in the same home that doesn’t even come close to todays standards?

What to do, what to do?

Delmas:

I am going to repeat something I read on another board. It was written by someone who is a “code” inspector.

He wrote that inspecting for “code” was determining if something was installed (almost) correctly.

The purpose of a home inspection is to determine if a component “works”
as it was designed to do and letting the client know if not.

I may not have quoted exactly, but I hope you get the drift.

Hope this helps

Cheers

We could take Jeff’s situation a bit further:

That 1929 home was likely wired with knob and tube so there would not be any grounded receptacles.

Now what?

Cheers

Hi Doug…
I almost threw that in there, but thought we could take it one step at a time.
Hope you’re enjoying retirement!

As someone relatively new to the business, in 3rd year I will offer my perspective.

It’s not my objective to demand that anyone does anything that I write up. Honestly it’s none of my business what they do or don’t do with the recommendations that I make.

I do believe that my responsibility as an inspector exceeds the limitations of telling clients wether or not things work. I think I have a duty to inform them of safety issue as well.

I do not conduct a code inspection but current codes encompass the most current standards for safety and best practices. So while not citing code as the basis for many of my observations they are based on current codes.

When encounter items such as i.e. no fire separation for attached garage in an older home I will write up a comment in my report something along the lines of; while the current methods of construction for the attached garage were common place at the original time of construction the standards have over time changed. For safety reasons curren standard practices call for a limited fire Seperation between the garage and living space. If flammable items are to be stored in the garage it is recommended that the client further investigate the current standards and make upgrades as needed to comply with current stabdards.

I’ve inspected many homes with garages under the living space with nothing more than wood framing members exposed. In good faith I can’t say nothing a kite condition when the family of four is planning on parking 2 cars in there.

Why do you believe the garage entrance door should be fire rated and self closing, but the wall that the door is installed at Not be required to have a fire separation?

https://www.nachi.org/forum/attachments/f13/171481d1483985511-breezeway-code-breezeway-005.jpg

that’s not a breezeway
all deficiencies in the garage separation requirements from the non-habitable space should be reported

op pix are not a breezeway
safety, attached garage needs to meet all separation requirements
if meeting proper dimensions & unless heated the adjacent space would be considered non-habitable room or hallway

It appears from the photos that the garage was likely built as a detached garage. Someone added a hallway afterwards.
In answer to your question:

Simply because the garage wall is not common to the house wall. I suspect the wall is adjacent to open air except near the door.

It appears the only possibility of fire or gas issues would be through that door, not the wall.

Chip:

I always mentioned something that I considered to be a safety issue .

The garage issues you mentioned would definitely be brought to a client’s attention as serious safety issues.

Cheers

Living the dream my friend.

Cheers