Attached garage

[russellroberts]

Attached garage

I've asked a similar question before,but this one is a bit different.

An existing garage with no physical connection to the house, is fed from the house main panel with a 4wire feeder to a 100a panel.2 ground rods driven and tied to the egc in the 100a panel.

Now,we pour a walkway that goes from house footing to garage footing,are we attached?

We then build a roof over the walkway and create a breezeway with the roofs being tied together.My question is,do either or both mean we do away with the ground rods?

Is it now 1 building or 2?

Russell

 

[hurk27]

Re: Attached garage

Re: Attached garage

This would be a definition in building codes as I would think it would require the foundation to be part of each other to be "as one"

 

[hbiss]

Re: Attached garage

Re: Attached garage

The NEC doesn't make a distinction as to what's a "separate building". It could be 6 inches or 600 feet away or attached via a covered breezeway. If you were wiring this garage today there could be a question as to whether this is considered a separate building or not and the AHJ would make that call. If those ground rods are not in the way I wouldn't bother to remove them or disconnect them. Electrically, what does the concrete walk and roof do? Nothing.

 

[russellroberts]

Re: Attached garage

Re: Attached garage

hbiss,that is my theory,that a breezeway or walkway or both would make no electrical difference, and the ground rods won't hurt a thing.I'm just fishing for opinions,or maybe accomplices.

Russell

 

[earlydean]

Re: Attached garage

Re: Attached garage

With the breezeway, the building code treats them as one building unless there are fire walls between them. But, before you built the breezeway, if the separation was at least 3 feet, no fire rating on the exterior walls would be required for residential occupancies using wood framing.
2003 IBC Table 602, note b.
The garage is called an "accessory" structure.

The 2003 IRC calls for a garage to be separated from the house using 1/2 inch gypsum wallboard. (R309.2) If you tie the house into the garage with a breezway, now it becomes all "one" building, and where the breezway attaches to the garage there needs to be that 1/2 inch gypsum wallboard all the way up the attic space.

Although I cannot find a specific reference, I would require any detached garage closer than 3 feet from the house to have this 1/2 inch gypsum wallboard separation.

Earl

 

[charlie]

Re: Attached garage

Re: Attached garage

Your question is not valid in this case because you ran a four wire feeder. The way the installation is done, it could be in the same building as a distribution panelboard. Also,you are permitted to install additional grounding electrodes anywhere to connect to grounding conductors.

 

[russellroberts]

Re: Attached garage

Re: Attached garage

Looks like I outsmarted myself with this one Charlie.