boiler in my garage

[solarguy]

>If the walls are built to fire-code, and a proper fire-rated door is used, it shouldn’t be an issue >even if the room opened into the garage.

Sorry, I believe that's wrong.
Under the building code, which refers back to NFPA 54, "any room" that is accesable only thru a garage also needs to have the source of ignition 18" above the floor.
So if NFPA 211 will not allow a solid fuel boiler in a garage, building a room with a door that opened directly into the garage IMHO wouldn't fly. The issue being the possibility of igniting gas fumes & vapors.

 

[BrownianHeatingTech]

>If the walls are built to fire-code, and a proper fire-rated door is used, it shouldn’t be an issue >even if the room opened into the garage.

Sorry, I believe that's wrong.
Under the building code, which refers back to NFPA 54, "any room" that is accesable only thru a garage also needs to have the source of ignition 18" above the floor.
So if NFPA 211 will not allow a solid fuel boiler in a garage, building a room with a door that opened directly into the garage IMHO wouldn't fly. The issue being the possibility of igniting gas fumes & vapors.

Sorry, I wasn't clear. I meant that it could also open into the garage, not that it should only open into the garage. If it opens to the outside as well as to the garage, it's no different from the rest of the house.

I'm dealing with this right now with a building in Grafton county at the moment. Large garage (36x72) with a partial second floor 14-feet wide running along one of the 72-foot walls. Rest of it is open up through, although there will be a freestanding second floor added to much of it for storage, later on. The second floor area being put in right now will be a residence. And the owner wants to heat with wood, in addition to oil, and store several thousand gallons of fuel on-site since the road isn't accessible to large trucks for a good portion of the winter. And have a commercial-grade kitchen, which means we have all sorts of issues with ventilation to keep fumes from the garage from infiltrating the residential sections. Much fun was had by all!

Joe

 

[Jersey Bill]

So you are potentially going to build a room in the garage, with access to the outside ? Then you will have to go outside to fire and load it? That will really be less than optimum.
You said that you don't use it (the garage) for your car anyway. It would be easier to remove the garage door
and replace it with a piece of wall and a man-door. Then you have weight for the claim that its not a garage. problem solved

the whole room should be big enough concerning combustion air (average construction), but if you have to put it in a little room it has to be done right. If you need to size intake air vents, i can look it up for you in the mechanical code. Either way there is a specific calculation to figure it out. The input needed is the size of the garage and the btu rating on the boiler, 1 opening or 2. I think thats it.

 

[ssupercoolss]

theres a few different senerios that are going on here, i have not called the building inspector back yet. i am still mulling things over before i call him. i really want to be able to keep my garage door for 2 reasons. (1) it opens up, i have a vehicle backed up to my garage door, and having a mandoor would be somewhat of a hassle. (2) the houses were built with garages - some people have converted the garage into a den. i really dont like the look of the covered up garage door. i.e. brick doesnt match, siding is gay.....i would honestly prefer to leave the garage door, nail it shut, paint the windows black, and fram a wall behind it. then i would have to move the mandoor around the corner, which would be more work to put in.

 

[Eric Johnson]

I like the idea of a concrete barrier or steel pipe set in concrete making it impossible to get a vehicle into the garage. To me, that gets the desired job done and is relatively easily removed later (like, right after the inspector leaves........). But I'm not an inspector.

 

[ssupercoolss]

eric - that is my favorite option too.

 

[BrownianHeatingTech]

Yeah, if it is inaccessible to cars, it is not a garage. It's just a storage room with an overhead door.

You may want to sketch out a blueprint of the proposed installation, and actually label the room "storage and mechanical room" or something. If you call it a garage, they certainly will. And label the door "overhead door," not "garage door." If you make it clear that it is something other than a garage, it should make your life easier.

Joe

 

[ssupercoolss]

thats some real good vergage right there too. with a boiler in my garage, with the size of the boiler, proper clearences etc, there will probably only be 6' of usable space left. can hardly be considered a garage then.

 

[solarguy]

The verdict is in. According to the State Fire Marshalls office, you could build a mechanical room inside a garage & have it contain a wood fired boiler per the code. Access to the room would need to be from outside, not inside the garage.
If you have no where else to install a boiler or are unable to rig it into a basement
this is a pretty decent alternative in lieu of building a shed.

So Future Boiler, call your inspector & get him onboard