By Barry Stone
Dear Barry,
The home I just purchased has a hollow-core front entry door and no other doors to the exterior. I thought that front doors are supposed to be solid-core and that a back door is required. Our home inspector mentioned nothing about this. Do these conditions sound like building code violations?
--Brad
Dear Brad,
A single-family dwelling is required to have one exterior door only, as long as this door has a minimum width of 36 inches. Additional doors are only needed if the home is designed for occupancy by ten or more people. If your home is intended for normal occupancy, then no back door is stipulated.
There is also no requirement that the door be solid-core. The use of solid doors has become typical for most homes to provide added security, but this is not a mandatory building code.
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