Suicide vents not installed in horizon homes in texas
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| Posted in Building Code Questions on
I was cleaning my garage in the evening with the garage doors close… I realized there were no suicide vents installed… is there a code against installing one? It helps ventilate the garage in the summer and cools it in the winter…
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Replies
No, but there are laws against suicide.
What the H*!%LL is a suicide vent?
According to a quick web search, in some locations they used to require louvred vents at the bottom of garage walls. Think of them as passive air inlets that are always open. Uncontrolled ventilation probably wouldn't hurt anything in Texas, but I wouldn't want uncontrolled ventilation even in that climate. In any case, I doubt they would vent enough CO to prevent accidental or intentional asphyxiation.
They wouldn't vent CO, since its specific gravity is almost identical to that of air. Most combustible gases (except natural gas), however, would be heavier than air and might vent out at floor level.
Taslim,
Apparently the UBC used to require them, but their use was very regional or local - sometimes required in parts of Texas and Florida.