Fire safety codes require a fire rated door. That's usually steel or fiberglass with no large areas of glass. This is definitely an issue where safety trumps aesthetics! Which is what most code issues really come down to: your safety.

Your house only has to meet the code requirements in place when it was built unless you are substantially changing it. So if you are replacing it "in kind" you should match it exactly, but if you change it in any way you should neet the current building code. Of course, it would be wise to use the current code as your guide in any event.

I don't have a copy of the 2006 residential code for New Jersey but I know it is based on the International Residential Code which I do have and the requirement is now a 1 3/8" (min.) solid core wood door with no rated frame, UL hardware, or closer required. (Such a door, if tested in a rated frame and wall, is assumed by the building code to achieve a 20-minute fire rating.)

Alternatively, the code also allows a solid or honeycomb core steel door, or any door that has been tested with a 20-minute fire rating.

So, get a solid core flush door with a suitable veneer for stain or paint or get a wood paneled door assembly with a 20-minute rating. Rated wood paneled doors are expensive and come with a rated frame.

In some states the NFPA 101 Life Safety Code is in effect (sometimes enforced by fire departments) and it usually requires a 1-hour door. This requirement seems pointless since the door is not required to be in a 1-hour rated wall.

Thanks guys. We were hoping a paneled door would work since all the other doors in the house are 6 panel doors. I will do a little more research regarding the items you listed and see where the best place to purchase will be.

Thanks again

You might want to check with Jeld-wen. We're installing a Jeld-wen door that's steel exterior but has real wood on the interior. I'm not sure if it's fire-rated though.

A fire rated door would carry a testing label from a lab like UL and would be sold from a separate part of a company's catalog so it should not be difficult to identify them.

pdog,
Our steel door to the garage has a paneled look just like the rest of the doors in our house.

There are even fire rated doors that are panel on the interior side and flat steel on the garage side.

Just start looking through the door manufacturer catalogs.

One panel solution is to add 3/8 inch wood trim to a 1 3/8 inch solid core birch veneer wood door and put in in a frame for a 1 3/4" door.