Exterior door to garage should go IN or OUT?

Help here. Have an exterior door to outside world that opens INTO the house. ok. Then there's a garage access door that opens OUT to the garage. Is there any rule associated with an exterior door? Or preference based upon some kind of logic?

I want to add a door to the garage through a bedroom wall where we turned that bedroom into a storage/box room. However, if the door is the same as the other door, it will open out and hit the bumper of one of the cars. Well, at least try to hit the bumper. It's a big Mercedes so eats up a lot of length in the garage and NO, it will be parked there.

Therefore, just like the 4 by 8 foot 'entrance' door that opens IN, why can't I make this door open IN also. There's clearance in the box room for it to swing into the house.

Anybody share the logic of selecting an IN vs OUT swinging exterior door?

Reply to
RobertMacy
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Whichever way you decide, it must be fire rated at 2 hrs.

Reply to
Mark

All my house and garage doors open inward. It helps protect the doors from being exposed on the inner surface to rain, etc. So you should be fine. I don't know if there are any building codes mandating the direction.

Reply to
hrhofmann

Every one I'm familiar with opens into the house. Exterior doors open IN so they cannot be blocked by stuff on the outside either intentional or nature, like snow.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

But in a public setting, they open OUT, so the massive, panicked hoard behind you will not prevent the door from opening.

Reply to
Pico Rico

They usually make exterior doors open "in" to accommodate screen/storm doors. Some places in wind hazard areas want them to open out because they can handle higher wind loads. The decision on the garage door is arbitrary. You can go either way. It does need to be a solid core door, some places say, with a metal frame (20 minute rated per fire code) and if they even suspect that is a bedroom, you can't have a door there at all. Lose the closet, then it is a den.

ICC residential code R302.5.1 Opening protection. Openings from a private garage directly into a room used for sleeping purposes shall not be permitted. Other openings between the garage and residence shall be equipped with solid wood doors not less than 13/8 inches (35 mm) in thickness, solid or honeycomb core steel doors not less than 13/8 inches (35 mm) thick, or 20-minute fire-rated doors.

Reply to
gfretwell

The OP needs to do a population and domicile survey (P&DS) and find out if it's more likely they'll be fleeing a fire by going from the garage to the house or by going from the house to the garage. That determines which way the door must open. If you google you can find the form, and it's downloadable.

Reply to
micky

Hi, Our garage has 2 doors opening inward going outsie(make sense, don't door exposed to elements) 1 door is accesss to the house which we push open from garage(fire rated steel door), pull in from inside the house. We climb up 5 steps of stair so it'd be awkward if we pull to open.

Reply to
Tony Hwang

If there are more than 2 risers, you need a landing big enough to provide for the door swing, minimum 36"

Reply to
gfretwell

not to mention that it also keeps a burglar from pulling the pins out of the hinge and taking the door off

Reply to
ChairMan

Swing out exterior doors are not that rare here.

They do sell a hinge with extruding pins that go in holes on the other plate so it is locked even when you pull the pins.

The home version is to drill matching holes on both plates, run a screw in one, into the jam and cut the head off so it sticks out 3/8" or so. Drill into the door to clear the stub.

Reply to
gfretwell

Doors at theatres, for example, open out. If there is a fire and crowd, the crush of bodies could block the in swing door.

Residential, often open in, so the storm or screen door can open out.

One day about twenty years ago, I got a call from some friends. They had one working exterior door. I told them that was unsafe. The back door they used was at the cellar stairs, and would be blocked if the furnace caught fire. A tree branch had fallen and blocked the out swing storm door to the one door that worked. I went there with chain saw and cut up the branch for them.

"my hero"

. Christopher A. Young Learn about Jesus

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Reply to
Stormin Mormon

Yep, look for "Chicago Iroquois theatre fire".

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

Good point. I never thought about it that way. I have a garage door to the outside and it too opens inward, toward the garage. In his case, following what you say, his door between the house and garage should probably open into the house. More likely in an emergency you'd be on the house side, trying to get to the garage, than the other way around.

Reply to
trader_4

wow! got a lot of great answers, but this one is the best so far!

Reply to
RobertMacy

Got it, just like the door on a SAFE. dead bolts all the way around. interesting concept.

Reply to
RobertMacy

I saw a door in Italy like that - it had REAL metal shafts all around it like a safe. But the door was a normal looking door.

Reply to
Pico Rico

You must not have heard of such a common thing as a "security hinge" that has a pin preventing removal of the closed door even with the pins removed.

You can even make one yourself in several simple ways.

Harry K

Reply to
Harry K

Too bad it is wrong as I and others pointed out.

Harry K

Reply to
Harry K

There is one _very_ good reason for an out-swing. It is amazing how much s pace it frees up inside the room.

There is another _good_ reason. It makes it almost impossible for a crimin al (or law enforcement) for that matter to 'kick in' the door. Takes some serious equipment to forcebly open it from the outside as you basically hav e to remove both the door and frame to force it.

Drawback is the 'room outside to open that way' Someone mentioned that it needs 36" standing room.

Doors opening out are mostly mandated in codes for commercial buildings.

Harry K

Reply to
Harry K

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