# Pet door installation (help please)



## Mellery (Nov 6, 2014)

My husband installed a pet door through interior wall to garage for our cats. Problem is, the top, bottom and sides are now open to the wall and insulation. So if the cats ever do go through it, they'll be laced with that insulation. Also having spent many hundreds of hours tightening up our home this past summer, I view this as an air leak. Our garage is not heated. He also left out the middle flap that appears to be the main insulation for this product. It was supposed to go in a door, not a wall. I see there are actual units for walls that are much different.

I will somehow have to do this in steps when he isn't watching or leaves the house. I see there are gray strips of a spongy type foam that were supposed to go in the walls before the pet door went in but are in a pile by his work bench

Here's the pet door he installed: 

http://ps.factoryoutletstore.com/cat/35399-59088/Small-Dogs.html?cid=52710&chid=8

Any help is appreciated (oh, pls note he had a head injury hence the repair when he's out)


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## midwestcoast (Nov 6, 2014)

Mellery, sorry to hear of your husband's injury. I sure hope he recovers.

To repair, it's probably easiest to just buy the unit made for wall install. Would save a lot of time versus making, sealing and trimming out a tunnel to span the gap in the wall. Almost the same price IF you can return that one he installed.

My BIG concern here is that this creates a path for gases and/or fire from the garage to the living space. Bad news.  Attached garages should be fully sealed from living spaces with a vapor  and fire proof barrier (usually poly vapor barrier & drywall).
I'm really not sure how you'd satisfy those requirements having a pet door there, sorry, I guess I'm just bringing it up as a concern.


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## Mellery (Nov 6, 2014)

Thank you.Injury was 8 years ago. He wasn't finished and did try to finish it today after I voiced concern about the cats having to lick insulation off themselves. I keep quiet unless it's really really important. Even then, I just let most things go.

But with this new info, I think I will call our GC friend. He'll be here this Sunday anyway and I will ask if he is comfortable letting him know it's not up to code and go from there. The pet door is very visible so he shouldn't mind

Thank you again : )


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## woodgeek (Nov 7, 2014)

I agree with the code discussion, but would point out that most attached garages are not well airsealed to the house living space. I had >4 sq ft of opening connected my garage to my house, presumably since it was built in 1960 (now fixed).  Studies have shown that in houses with attached garages, in many of them >50% of the air in the living space actually came in through the garage during the winter.  Not good from an air quality issue. 

Code compliance is important for fire, but the airsealing issue with the door is not a big deal IMO.   

Have the GC patch up the door to cover the insulation with any material at hand.


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## Mellery (Nov 7, 2014)

Thank you. That changes my thought process on this. My husband is an engineer (well, used to be) but recently read a thread that said arguing with an engineer is like ****ing into the wind. I can definitely confirm that but losing the ability to problem solve, trouble shoot, think correctly with that attitude. Respect and kindness are far more important than being right so as long as something doesn't put us in direct danger

Anyway, I can't even see how well our garage is sealed from the living space since our furnace/ac, sink, cabinets, washer, dryer and work bench all line that biggest wall attached to the house.  

As for air quality, we have a 12" diameter hole in the middle of the garage ceiling. It has a round fan that extends above the roof about a foot or so. I'm pretty sure it was meant to keep moisture off the roof if I remember correctly but it always smells like the outside in our garage so I now like that fan a lot more than I used to. I constantly find myself reminding my elderly friends and neighbors to open their doors and windows for a few minutes for fresh air indoors. 

I think I will buy another smoke detector and place it near the pet door since our GC doesn't want to bring it up. I can also start slowly removing anything flammable in the garage

Thanks again : )


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## woodgeek (Nov 7, 2014)

When I read that garage study I caulked all the visible openings between my garage and house AND installed a 30 cfm exhaust blower in my garage that runs 24/7.


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## semipro (Nov 7, 2014)

Risks from flammable gas/liquid hazards are the primary reason for the code.
Do you actually store anything flammable in the garage or are vehicles or gasoline powered equipment parked there?   
If not, I wouldn't worry about the cat hole too much.


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## Mellery (Nov 8, 2014)

> When I read that garage study I caulked all the visible openings between my garage and house



I can do this ^^ I see a lot of small holes and openings and the room directly behind that big garage wall is the coldest in the house but shouldn't be. 



> Do you actually store anything flammable in the garage or are vehicles or gasoline powered equipment parked there?



Yes, vehicles are in there as well as small propane tanks for a propane cook stove for back up, kerosene lantern and small container of kerosene, lamp oil and lots of half empty paint cans and that's just what I can see without looking too hard. I will start to remove this stuff. Should I be storing paint in a different container, say glass? Or should I just put the cans somewhere else? Where? Under the deck? In the crawl space under the house?


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## semipro (Nov 8, 2014)

Mellery said:


> Yes, vehicles are in there as well as small propane tanks for a propane cook stove for back up, kerosene lantern and small container of kerosene, lamp oil and lots of half empty paint cans and that's just what I can see without looking too hard. I will start to remove this stuff. Should I be storing paint in a different container, say glass? Or should I just put the cans somewhere else? Where? Under the deck? In the crawl space under the house?


Hmm. If you're going to park vehicles in there then you might as well leave the paint and other flammables in there unless you have a detached shed to put them in.  In general its best to store any flammable liquids and gases in a detached area.  Freezing ruins paint so you don't want it under the deck.  Kerosene and propane can be stored where it freezes.

You can also buy a paint locker that can be kept in the garage for flammable storage. http://www.homedepot.com/p/Sandusky...gclid=CNPnvo-K7MECFe_m7AodynkA9A&gclsrc=aw.ds

Still, vehicles can be a source of flammable fumes but you may just have to live with that risk.  Many do.

I hate to ask, but given the contents of the garage, would it just be easier to move the cat door to an outside wall?

I hope we're not blowing this out of proportion here.  Many many people live in houses with attached garages and have vehicle and flammables stored there.  If the cat door is relatively airtight perhaps the risk is not that great.


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## velvetfoot (Nov 9, 2014)

semipro said:


> I hope we're not blowing this out of proportion here.


I think so.  
Last house we had a kitty door in the door to the garage and a kitty door in the garage door.  Not great having a cat that roamed at will, but she was used to it and was a great cat.
I think I'd go along with changing out the kitty door, but then there's the issue of the size of the rough opening.
I put a kitty door in an interior wall at the side of the top of the basement stairs so that the new cat could go downstairs to the litter box.  As I recall I put some kind of pieces of wood to block out the opening.  I mean, it could be cardboard or plastic or something as long as it's lining the hole through the wall.


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## Circus (Nov 9, 2014)

Mellery said:


> I voiced concern about the cats having to lick insulation off themselves.


 You could buy a metal stud, the same thickness as the studs used in your wall, to cap the insulation. Just snip and bend it at the corners and anchor with a couple drywall screws. Invisible after the cat door is reinstalled.


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## woodgeek (Nov 9, 2014)

Or just use heavy aluminum tape to span the gap.


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## Mellery (Nov 10, 2014)

> given the contents of the garage, would it just be easier to move the cat door to an outside wall?]



Too many critters out there: bears, mountain lions, deer, roaming dogs, feral cats etc. We barely let them out in the 8' fenced back yard unless we are out there with them. 

Thank you all for the ideas and for the help! I appreciate your time : )


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## EatenByLimestone (Nov 12, 2014)

I'd bend aluminum flashing to span the gap.  If you have some clamps you can make nice straight bends with pieces of wood.


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## brian89gp (Nov 13, 2014)

Mellery said:


> Thank you. That changes my thought process on this. My husband is an engineer (well, used to be) but recently read a thread that said arguing with an engineer is like ****ing into the wind.




Air sealing between the garage and house is a pretty big thing, especially if you have negative pressure in the house for any reason (bath fan, furnace/boiler that uses inside air for combustion, stove hood, etc).  The negative pressure in the house will get make up air from some place, such as your wide open cat door to the garage...

Garages usually have volatile chemicals that off-gas and are combustable (....explosive) and/or not healthy to breath not to mention the CO2 poisoning potential from car exhaust.


2006 IRC code:



_R309.1 Opening PenetrationOpenings from a private garage directly into a room used for sleeping purposes shall not be permitted. Other openings between the garage and the residence shall be equipped with solid wood doors not less than 1-3/8” (35 mm) in thickness, solid- or honeycomb-core steel doors not less than 1-3/8” (35 mm) thick, or 20-minute fire-rated doors._
​_R309.2 Separation Required
The garage shall be separated from the residence and its attic area by not less than ½-inch (12.7 mm) gypsum board applied to the garage side. Garages beneath habitable rooms shall be separated from all habitable rooms above by not less than 5/8-inch (15.9 mm) Type X gypsum board or equivalent. Where the separation is a floor-ceiling assembly, the structure supporting the separation shall also be protected by not less than ½-inch (12.7 mm) gypsum board or equivalent. Garages located less than 3 feet (914 mm) from a dwelling unit on the same lot shall be protected with not less than 1/2–inch (12.7 mm) gypsum board applied to the interior side of exterior walls that are within this area. Openings in these walls shall be regulated by Section 309.1. This provision does not apply to garage walls that are perpendicular to the adjacent dwelling unit wall._


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## Mellery (Nov 14, 2014)

I much appreciate the information. I'm not real thrilled with the situation but the irony of all this is neither cat likes the door and haven't used it on their own even once (and that's with him coaxing and using treats). I suspect the door will disappear very soon.


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## semipro (Nov 14, 2014)

Ugh cats!  We have one.  
Or rather it has us.


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## BrotherBart (Nov 14, 2014)

If a cat can't see what is on the other side, it ain't going through.


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## velvetfoot (Nov 14, 2014)

Our first cat was older and we had a bit of a time getting her to go through the door, but the tuna finally did the trick.  Did I mention that I once screamed like a little girl when I put my foot into a mukluk because there was a live chipmunk in there.  Apparently, they play dead and the cat lost interest.  Also she liked to eat her mice under the dining room table.


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## Mellery (Nov 14, 2014)

Ahahahhaa so true, darn cats have us. What's that saying .. dogs have owners, cats have slaves. Or something close lol

Hadn't even thought about cats not going through if they can't see what's on the other side! 

oyyy wildlife in the house :/  you are very patient indeed


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## BrotherBart (Nov 14, 2014)

A dog will not leave the owner's body until somebody comes to take it away. The minute a cat figures out that there won't be any more tuna, it is out of there.


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## velvetfoot (Nov 14, 2014)

It's not stupid.


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