Pet Door In The Fire Door

Home » Interior » Doors » Pet Door In The Fire Door

Last Updated: June 24, 2021

The door between the garage and the living area of a home is generally required to be a proper fire-rated door. Since many fires start in the garage area, having a pet door in the door to the house may allow a fire in the garage to spread more rapidly.

Fire Door

Inspectors will often refer to one-hour fire-rated doors. Most building departments consider a solid core wood door (not a hollow core wooden door) 1 and 3/8 inch thick, or a 1 and 3/8 inch thick honeycomb metal door, or a 20-minute fire-rated door as sufficient to meet this requirement. Once a doggy door or a glass window is put into the door, it loses its fire rating, unless the doggy door or glass is fire rated for this use. Most are not.

Fire-rated doors will sometimes have a metal plate on the hinge edge, indicating the door is fire rated. However, many doors that conform to the fire rating requirements do not have a plate or tag on the edge of the door. Another requirement of a fire door is that it be a self-closing door.

Leave or Replace

Many buyers are content with leaving the existing door, especially if they have a pet that would use the door. This is risky because many fires start in the garage. The safest thing to do is to replace a non-conforming door with a properly rated fire door.

The problem for many people is that they lose the pet door doing this. Should a buyer decide not to correct the problem, then at a minimum they should make sure that the garage has a heat detector and properly installed smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in the house.

Who to consult? Door hangers, finish carpenters, and qualified handymen.

DIY homeowners may install a fire door on their own. Door hangers finish carpenters and qualified handymen are the most proficient at installing and working on doors.

Additional Resources




Subscribe
Notify of
guest

1 Comment
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Anonymous

Can i repair a doggie door in a fire rated door? Or has the door been compromised and no longer considered fire rated because of the pet door.

In some of our articles we provide links to products that may be beneficial given the subject matter of the content. We receive a small commission if you choose to purchase a product or service after following one of our affiliate links but the price is the same for you.
1
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x