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exterior stair code.

Rick,
I’m not that mean.
The stairway in the case in point is the only way out. An interior stairway to a garage shall not be the only way out.

I’ve encountered many garages where I could open the door but not get in.

wait a minute .... I just read the thread again and nowhere does it say that the garage is detached or that the stairway is the only egress path. If this stairway is just another exit from the second floor, who am I to say that you can’t step in front of a moving car.
 
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Why does it need a landing at the bottom??

Aren't there plenty of stairs out there where you step off the last step on to a sidewalk or similar???


And as far as ending at the garage door, does not seem to violate code, and you are not talking about a NASCAR course where cars are zooming by all the time.




stair 1.jpg
 
ICE said:
But to bet on the future is not how the building department operates.
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Are you not betting on the future by assuming a car will be parked in the driveway nearly touching the door and that the government needs to protect a homeowner from their own car. This is why people don't get permits and don't trust building inspectors.
 
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cda said:
Why does it need a landing at the bottom??

Aren't there plenty of stairs out there where you step off the last step on to a sidewalk or similar???


And as far as ending at the garage door, does not seem to violate code, and you are not talking about a NASCAR course where cars are zooming by all the time.




View attachment 6549
Click to expand...
I don't know CDA, that photo looks dangerous. The owner could put their patio table right at the base of the stairs. We need to protect them... We cannot allow a patio to also serve as a landing.
 
mark handler said:
"...minimum tread depth shall be 10 inches..."
You need an unobstructed level landing at the top and bottom. A car is an obstruction. I would not allow it.
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I very much disagree. A car is a car. Maybe they don't have a car. Maybe they park in the garage. Maybe they park in the street. Maybe they will not pull their car up all the way to the door if they have a hard time using their stairs. All of those are more probable than the "what if" that they will park a car right there and then hurt themselves using their stairs. I think people would know the car was in their way and move it if needed. As for the "future ADU", that has no part in this discussion. That makes no difference.

They would need to limit the slope of their driveway to meet landing provisions and that may be less slope than they would like for a driveway.
 
Glenn said:
Are you not betting on the future by assuming a car will be parked in the driveway nearly touching the door and that the government needs to protect a homeowner from their own car. This is why people don't get permits and don't trust building inspectors.
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It's a safe bet that a driveway will have a car parked on it.

This kind of stuff is way down on the list of reasons why people don't get permits.

I understand not trusting building inspectors. That comes from knowing many of them so then Glenn, I’m with you on that one.
 
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New code section:

IRC XXX.XX A guard shall be installed around all stairway landings with a gate to prevent vehicles, furniture or any other obstruction to be moved into the landing area.
 
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