Missing Fire-Rated Door Between the Garage and House: What It Means on Your Home Inspection Report

Your inspector checked the door between your attached garage and the living space and found a problem with it. It may be a hollow-core interior door, a door with no fire rating, or one without a closer that swings it shut on its own (or a closer that doesn't latch it). There may also be a pet door cut into it.

The wall and door between an attached garage and the house are meant to work as a barrier: to slow a garage fire and to keep car exhaust and fumes out of your rooms. What your door has to be depends on local code and when the house was built, so the finding isn't always a violation, but the hazard it describes is real.

Why It Matters

Fire. The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) says garage fires tend to spread farther and cause more injuries and dollar loss than fires that start anywhere else in the home. The USFA also advises storing gasoline, oil, paint, propane, and varnish in a shed away from the house. Its safety-through-construction list starts with a 20-minute fire-rated door from the garage into the house that is self-closing and self-latching.

Carbon monoxide and fumes. The Department of Energy's Building America Solution Center calls isolating an attached garage from the living space critical to keeping carbon monoxide and other contaminants out. In an airtight house without enough makeup air, running exhaust fans, a range hood, a clothes dryer, or a fuel-burning appliance can depressurize the house, making it more likely that garage air is drawn in through leaks. Building America's advice for the door: solid core or insulated metal, fire-rated, weatherstripped, with a tight sweep and a self-closing hinge. It adds that a door more than 15 years old may be hollow.

Pet doors. InterNACHI tells its inspectors that pet doors shouldn't be installed in fire-rated doors, because they break the fire barrier.

What's typically required. The City of Boise's building code handout quotes the International Residential Code rule the city enforces. No door may open from the garage directly into a bedroom. Any other opening needs one of three doors: solid wood at least 1⅜ inches thick, solid or honeycomb-core steel at least 1⅜ inches thick, or a 20-minute fire-rated door. Whichever it is, it needs a self-closing or automatic-closing device. That's one city's adopted code. Your jurisdiction may amend it, and older houses were built to older editions: InterNACHI notes the self-closer wasn't in the 2006 code. Your local building department can tell you what applies.

What to Do Before Closing

• Ask the inspector what exactly failed: the door's construction, the closer, the latch, a pet door, gaps or missing weatherstripping, or a door into a bedroom.
• Get a contractor's evaluation and quote for a compliant door, and ask whether your jurisdiction needs a permit for it.
• Talk to your agent about asking the seller to repair it or offer a credit within your inspection contingency.

For other items on your report, see more findings in our inspection report decoder.

What to Do After You Move In

The fix is usually a door that meets your local requirement, hung with a self-closing hinge or closer that pulls it shut and latches it. Building America adds weatherstripping and a tight sweep. If there's a pet door, ask the contractor and the building department what will restore the separation.

In the meantime and after:

• Keep the door shut. Never prop it open.
• Never run a car or truck in an attached garage, even with the garage door open, the CDC says.
• Put carbon monoxide alarms on every level and outside sleeping areas, battery-operated or with battery backup, per the CPSC. See our smoke and CO alarm guide, and what to do if a CO alarm goes off.
• Add a heat alarm in the garage, not a smoke alarm, as the USFA recommends; it sounds when the temperature rises too high.
• Move fuels out. Store gasoline, propane, and paint in a shed away from the house, per the USFA. For an extinguisher you can reach from the garage, see our fire extinguisher guide.

Can You Fix It Yourself?

Not the door. It's part of a code-required fire separation, so the door, its frame, and its closer belong to a contractor, who can confirm the rating and handle any permit. You can keep the door closed, keep fuel out of the garage, test your CO and smoke alarms, and add weatherstripping to the existing door while you wait. While you're in the garage, look at the attic hatch if it has one. The USFA lists a hatch cover among the garage's fire-safety features, so tell the contractor if it's missing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the door between the garage and house have to be fire-rated?

Not necessarily. The code text Boise quotes accepts solid wood or steel doors at least 1⅜ inches thick as well as 20-minute fire-rated doors, all with a self-closing or automatic-closing device. Local codes vary, so check with your building department.

Does it have to be self-closing?

Under the code Boise enforces, yes. Older editions didn't always require it, so an older house may have been built without one. The USFA recommends a self-closing, self-latching door either way.

Can I have a pet door in it?

InterNACHI says pet doors shouldn't go in fire-rated doors because they compromise the barrier. Ask your building department before installing anything that cuts through this door.

The Bottom Line

The door from the garage into the house is there to slow a garage fire and keep exhaust out. If it's hollow, unrated, missing its closer, or has a pet door, get a contractor to quote a compliant self-closing door and ask your agent about a repair or credit. Meanwhile, keep it shut, never run a vehicle in the garage, and keep CO alarms on every level and outside sleeping areas.

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