[jrref]

Since I've been living in the Villages and visiting neighbors and friends who live here, I've noticed that some have no attic stairs but just a thin piece of plywood over the access to their attic over the garage. Also, If they do have attic stairs, none or very few are of the fire rated type.

That said, is there a building code here in the the Villages for fire the rating of the garage. For example, the ceiling should be at least 5/8 inch sheetrock, there should be a fire rated garage access door, etc, to delay the spread of fire for I believe 1 hr, in case of a fire in your garage.

Also, the Garage attic is not separated from the living space attic. And I also see some people who have a vent in their garage door and a fan in the garage ceiling that will turn on when the temperature reaches a certain point. This device would probably acceletate the spread of fire and smoke in a fire in the garage I would think.

In doing some research, It appears that there is no building code for this.

Any thoughts or additional information on the matter?

In some ways when I look at the build of a typical home in the Villages, I'm relatively impressed with the engineering that went into many parts of the design but Fire safety, I'm not sure what to think. Yes in a Block Home, the only way for the fire to spread from the garage would be through the ceilint and the hole for the attic stairs may not be significant unless the whole garage were on fire and at that point the fire rating of the garage stairs may be moot.

[BigDawgInLakeDenham]

Originally Posted by jrref

Since I've been living in the Villages and visiting neighbors and friends who live here, I've noticed that some have no attic stairs but just a thin piece of plywood over the access to their attic over the garage. Also, If they do have attic stairs, none or very few are of the fire rated type.

That said, is there a building code here in the the Villages for fire the rating of the garage. For example, the ceiling should be at least 5/8 inch sheetrock, there should be a fire rated garage access door, etc, to delay the spread of fire for I believe 1 hr, in case of a fire in your garage.

Also, the Garage attic is not separated from the living space attic. And I also see some people who have a vent in their garage door and a fan in the garage ceiling that will turn on when the temperature reaches a certain point. This device would probably acceletate the spread of fire and smoke in a fire in the garage I would think.

In doing some research, It appears that there is no building code for this.

Any thoughts or additional information on the matter?

In some ways when I look at the build of a typical home in the Villages, I'm relatively impressed with the engineering that went into many parts of the design but Fire safety, I'm not sure what to think. Yes in a Block Home, the only way for the fire to spread from the garage would be through the ceilint and the hole for the attic stairs may not be significant unless the whole garage were on fire and at that point the fire rating of the garage stairs may be moot.

I wonder what Fire Marshall Bill would say before he started a fire

[retiredguy123]

Yes, there is a building code for separation of the garage and the living area. I think it is a one-hour fire rating, and the plywood at the ceiling probably complies with the code. However a non-fire damper ceiling fan that exhausts air into the attic is definitely a code violation. Most of these exhaust fans deliver the air through the roof, not into attic.

[vintageogauge]

If it's a violation I would guess at least half of the homes here would be in violation of the code.

[Altavia]

Pull down ladder in a fire ceiling | Honest Home Inspections

Our garage has a drop-down ladder in the ceiling, providing access to a storage area in the attic. When we bought the house, our home inspector informed us that this was a violation of the firewall between the garage and the house. Is there a reasonable way to correct this problem and still retain storage access from the garage? —Gene


Dear Gene,
Wall surfaces that separate a garage from a dwelling are required to comply with one-hour fire-rated construction standards. This requirement is intended to slow the spread of a garage fire into the residential areas of the building. When this firewall does not extend into the attic, that is, when the garage attic is not separated from the house attic, then the garage ceiling becomes part of the required garage firewall. Homeowners, typically unaware of such requirements, often violate this fire separation by installing a folding ladder as an attic access. Such fire safety violations are commonly disclosed by home inspectors. Fortunately, there are three practical solutions to the problem:

1) You can eliminate the access by covering the opening with 5/8-inch fire-rated drywall. Unfortunately, this also eliminates the valuable storage space in the garage attic.

2) You can construct a firewall in the attic, separating the garage attic from the house attic. In most cases, the framing for this wall is already partially or completely in place. Once the framing is complete, just apply 5/8inch fire-rated drywall then mud and tape the joints.

3) The manufacturers of some folding ladders make kits for retrofitting their ladders to comply with fire separation requirements. Just check the label on the ladder and contact the manufacturer to see if a fire door upgrade kit is available. Or installing a new pull down that is fire rated may be the best way to go.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by Altavia

Pull down ladder in a fire ceiling | Honest Home Inspections

Our garage has a drop-down ladder in the ceiling, providing access to a storage area in the attic. When we bought the house, our home inspector informed us that this was a violation of the firewall between the garage and the house. Is there a reasonable way to correct this problem and still retain storage access from the garage? —Gene


Dear Gene,
Wall surfaces that separate a garage from a dwelling are required to comply with one-hour fire-rated construction standards. This requirement is intended to slow the spread of a garage fire into the residential areas of the building. When this firewall does not extend into the attic, that is, when the garage attic is not separated from the house attic, then the garage ceiling becomes part of the required garage firewall. Homeowners, typically unaware of such requirements, often violate this fire separation by installing a folding ladder as an attic access. Such fire safety violations are commonly disclosed by home inspectors. Fortunately, there are three practical solutions to the problem:

1) You can eliminate the access by covering the opening with 5/8-inch fire-rated drywall. Unfortunately, this also eliminates the valuable storage space in the garage attic.

2) You can construct a firewall in the attic, separating the garage attic from the house attic. In most cases, the framing for this wall is already partially or completely in place. Once the framing is complete, just apply 5/8inch fire-rated drywall then mud and tape the joints.

3) The manufacturers of some folding ladders make kits for retrofitting their ladders to comply with fire separation requirements. Just check the label on the ladder and contact the manufacturer to see if a fire door upgrade kit is available. Or installing a new pull down that is fire rated may be the best way to go.

I find it difficult to believe that any commercially available folding attic stair assembly would not comply with the building code. Retrofitting the attic space between the garage attic and the living space attic to create a firewall would be very difficult and expensive mostly because of the lack of access to the attic. Also, you would most likely end up with gaps that would defeat the purpose.

[Altavia]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

I find it difficult to believe that any commercially available folding attic stair assembly would not comply with the building code. Retrofitting the attic space between the garage attic and the living space attic to create a firewall would be very difficult and expensive mostly because of the lack of access to the attic. Also, you would most likely end up with gaps that would defeat the purpose.

Look for certification/label it meets minimum 3/8-inch (9.53 mm) (nominal) fire-retardant-treated structural panel is deemed to meet the 20-minute thermal barrier test based on ASTM E 119, Test Methods for Fire Tests of Building Construction and Materials, or deemed to have the fire resistance of or equivalent to ½-inch (12.7 mm) gypsum wall board.

[metoo21]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

I find it difficult to believe that any commercially available folding attic stair assembly would not comply with the building code. Retrofitting the attic space between the garage attic and the living space attic to create a firewall would be very difficult and expensive mostly because of the lack of access to the attic. Also, you would most likely end up with gaps that would defeat the purpose.

That "plywood" the OP posted about probably is the sheetrock panel that was removed when the opening was created unless someone damaged it and replaced with a sheet of plywood.

The less expensive commercially available folding attic stairs do meet code when used inside a building - but not in the garage. The garage is a different matter due to the storage of cars, lawnmowers and potentially gas cans.

From what I found when I was looking to put stairs in my garage, the ones that meet code for a garage start in the $450 + range. They will have this label.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by Altavia

Look for certification/label it meets minimum 3/8-inch (9.53 mm) (nominal) fire-retardant-treated structural panel is deemed to meet the 20-minute thermal barrier test based on ASTM E 119, Test Methods for Fire Tests of Building Construction and Materials, or deemed to have the fire resistance of or equivalent to ½-inch (12.7 mm) gypsum wall board.

Interesting. My attic opening, installed by the builder is drywall, not plywood. But, it looks like you can buy a fire-rated or and a non-fire rated folding attic stair. If you are installing it in the garage, you would need to use a stair assembly that provides a one-hour fire rating to comply with the building code for the garage ceiling. But, if you are installing the stair inside the living space, the ceiling does not need to be fire rated, so, I assume you could use a non-fire rated stair assembly. Good to know if you plan to add an attic stair in your garage.

[metoo21]

Originally Posted by jrref

Yes in a Block Home, the only way for the fire to spread from the garage would be through the ceilint and the hole for the attic stairs may not be significant unless the whole garage were on fire and at that point the fire rating of the garage stairs may be moot.

This isn't exactly correct. The blocks are the outside perimeter - not in the wall between the garage and interior of the home. That is a standard stud (could be metal or wood) wall with sheetrock. Still a fire barrier but not block. Nothing is necessarily fire proof but there is a rating such that fire shouldn't penetrate for X amount of time. Hopefully enough time for the fire department to arrive and put out the fire before it spreads to the rest of the home.

In my research about stairs for the garage, I did read some reports of insurance companies not paying claims because the fire spread into the home through the attic stairway and the attic stairs were not properly fire rated.

[AZ SLIM]

Our house was built in 2022 in the Village of Deluna. There is no fire wall in the attic between the garage and the rest of the house, the attic access hole was covered with a piece of drywall, not plywood.

We installed a drop-down ladder from a local company that installs gutters and ladders. There is no fire code sticker on it. The seam around it is as tight or tighter than the original cover. I didn't think to ask about compliance with fire code, maybe I should have. I don't plan to buy an EV (yes, I know gas cars can catch fire too).

The man door between the garage and house is solid wood, but not metal as required by the four other states we lived in. It did not have self-closing hinges like is required in other places. I did change one of the hinges to a self-closing type. That's handy for convenience as well.

The building department in the county building in Wildwood on Powell road (same building as the library) is easy to access and was helpful with another issue we had. You can just walk in and ask if you have questions. They are nice.

[Normal]

Originally Posted by Altavia

Pull down ladder in a fire ceiling | Honest Home Inspections

Our garage has a drop-down ladder in the ceiling, providing access to a storage area in the attic. When we bought the house, our home inspector informed us that this was a violation of the firewall between the garage and the house. Is there a reasonable way to correct this problem and still retain storage access from the garage? —Gene


Dear Gene,
Wall surfaces that separate a garage from a dwelling are required to comply with one-hour fire-rated construction standards. This requirement is intended to slow the spread of a garage fire into the residential areas of the building. When this firewall does not extend into the attic, that is, when the garage attic is not separated from the house attic, then the garage ceiling becomes part of the required garage firewall. Homeowners, typically unaware of such requirements, often violate this fire separation by installing a folding ladder as an attic access.

There is an attic ladder pull down on our new construction home purchased straight from The Villages. So are you saying they are breaking the law each and every time they do this? It would be a huge problem for the homeowners and the Developer. The ladder is mounted on thick painted plywood.

[REDCART]

We had an exhaust fan installed in our garage ceiling by the Solar Guys. The fan had fire protection included via a metal band that would melt and turn the fan off in the event of a fire.

[Altavia]

Originally Posted by Normal

There is an attic ladder pull down on our new construction home purchased straight from The Villages. So are you saying they are breaking the law each and every time they do this? It would be a huge problem for the homeowners and the Developer. The ladder is mounted on thick painted plywood.

They are probably fire rated stairs as mentioned in other posts...

[jrref]

Thanks for all the replies.

So, they do make fire rated attic stairs. One I saw in Home Depot is around $800 just for the ladder and the ladder is wood. If you want a metal ladder from the same company then it's $1080. All the rest of the attic stairs they sell are not fire rated. I'll bet most people have the non-fire rated ladder installed in their garage. The fire rated ladder has a thicker wood cover with some insulation and a better gasket to seal out smoke.

What surprises me is I purchased my home 2 years ago and I had it inspected. My neighbor sold his house and the new people had it inspected. In both cases the non-fire rated attic stairs never came up as a violation. Also, a popular attic stair company, Majic stairs, has no information about fire ratings on their stairs and they are installing all over the Villages.

So now the question is who installs fire rated attic stairs? If I'm going to spend the money, I want it done right.