If you have instagram, go to Sitga Montgomery Interiors - she does a whole blog on her pantry where she put a Costco Door from her garage to pantry. Its beautiful!

What's funny is I was looking for one of these... and our steel door company had a bunch of mini sample doors that were identical to the full size. So now I have a 22x38" fire rated steel door lol

Are you just looking for a fire proof door?

Is this a new build or remodel and you're looking for a pantry / mud room plan?

Is this about having groceries delivered when you're not home -- including refrigerated items -- and you want to retrieve them from within the home and without going into the garage?

Logically, any "pass thru: in a door large enough to put groceries through it could enable people to go through it ... and, potentially, fire.

If you're wanting a "pass thu" in any door, through which you could pass grocery bags, a half/half door with separate locks for both the top and bottom half might work to enable groceries to be passed from garage to room and yet keep children and pets in/out.

If you're remodeling or building and looking for pantry ideas, you might consider creating a mudroom with floor to ceiling cabinets for walls (in lieu of a closet w/shelves as a pantry) and make the door from the mudroom to the garage your fire rated door and/or make your door from the mud room to the kitchen your fire rated door and make either or both a half&half door.

Something like this pix

If you want a doggie door, you could literally get a large lockable, emphasis on lockable, doggie door.

A better idea might be a pass thru window w/either wood shingles or metal gate that can be closed and locked. or, even better,

Consider adding a cabinet in your garage into which you can set the groceries and then latch/lock the cabinet door. Then retrieve the groceries from the cabinet thru whatever sized/shaped opening you create in your wall and the back of a cabinet.

Since flat screened digital tvs have replaced analog, there are a lot of large cabinets in used furniture stores -- and not just consignment stores and antique and more stores -- they're also in Habitat for Humanity Restore Stores, GoodWill, Salvation Army Family Stores, charity sponsored thrift stores for a bargain -- that might be repurposed as a closet setting in or hanging on your garage wall.

If you are literally wanting a small door to put in a wall, put it high enough both so critters are less likely to crawl in if it is accidentally left open and so you can have a shelf or table on the inside to catch the groceries.

Edit: may not meet your fire safety issues unless the door between the cabinet and your home does.

To maintain the firewall, a cabinet won't do.

A door shop can cut down a fire door to the size you need and set in a frame.

"A door shop can cut down a fire door to the size you need"

But then you lose the fire rating on the door as well if I am not mistaken.

Who wants to have to bend down and shove their groceries through a low door? Why not just have a regular fireproof door from the garage directly into the panty and carry in the groceries that are going in the pantry this way. I often bag my own groceries at the store as I have a downstairs (basement) refrigerator and want to have items that are going in that refrigerator separate from those going upstairs to the kitchen. It's very easy to do this and it gets things where one wants them.

A pantry accessible from a garage, a mudroom accessible from the garage and exterior, a laundry room accessible to the mud room, a friend’s entrance, a powder room accessible to all, and pretty soon there’s no room to have the 4 acre Kitchen that’s now the showpiece of the home instead of the formal living room.

And this is why so many people start calling 4000 sf “small”.

So why wasn’t the pantry designed to be directly accessible from the garage entrance rather than be a 10 mile hike?

Random thoughts:

- I enjoyed the Sitga Montgomery Interiors blog referenced above. The pantry she designed for her own home is absolutely lovely -- I especially like the tile backsplash. However, I think she's lying to herself when she says she designed that pantry for function and not looks.

- The "Costco door" in the above blog is pretty cool. The idea is that she has a small door between the garage and the pantry.

Since we're building for our retirement years, and this concept was already on my mind ... but our design is mudroom - pantry - kitchen, so the garage and pantry aren't adjacent. I've been kicking around the idea of a shorty door (which she calls a Costco door), which would open in to the garage ... and a sturdy rolling laundry cart that would be stored just inside the door. The idea being, we could open the small door, roll the cart into the garage, load it up, and bring groceries into the mudroom in one trip. And a cart would mean the groceries would be at a comfortable height -- no bending.

Is it worthwhile? Probably not -- with our youngest off to college, we're already buying fewer groceries, and by the time I really can't carry in the 12-packs of soda, realistically I'll have someone to help me do the heavy lifting.

Against my will, my wedding cake business seems to be growing, so I occasionally bring in big loads of groceries, but by the time carrying groceries is actually a problem, I doubt I'll still be whipping up 5-tier cakes.

Also, it would take space ... and we already have a BUNCH of other items in the mudroom, things that are probably more important than a shorty door. I mean, we'll already have a regular door.

And if we do a cart, we'd have to make sure we had no "step up", or -- obviously -- the rolling cart wouldn't be an asset.

- I totally don't get why cutting down a regular-sized door would negate its fireproofing. Assuming it's a solid door (and any door that opens to the outside should be a solid door), isn't every square inch of that door fireproof? And you're going to have it installed by the same people who are putting in your "real door" ... you wouldn't stand for it being installed to a lesser standard, would you? I mean, a shorty door would have to be weatherproofed and have a secure lock -- otherwise, critters or burglars could use it. No, I don't believe cutting a door in half removes its fireproof-ness.

- You can't have a doggie door leading into the garage. Well, let me say that differently: You can't have a legal /passes inspection doggie door between your house and your garage. 'Cause fire safety is a thing.

- If I had a shorty door, I'd let my kids use it as a play door. Totally. Why would I have something so cool and deny the kids?

"A door shop can cut down a fire door to the size you need"

"But then you lose the fire rating on the door as well if I am not mistaken."

This is not true - fire rating comes from the door leaf, frame, and how the frame is anchored to the wall. More of a function of multiple things... Some circumstances require a closer or sprung hinges so the door auto-closes... Either way it's going to get inspected so just ask your GC

The entire assembly is rated a whole product. If it is altered, it does lose the UL rating. Half a door didn’t undergo the testing to achieve the rating.

Our city code requires a fireproof door with closer between garage and house. Seems to me that where you go from there is up to you! My *everything closet* is in the back hall, next to that fireproof door. Kitchen is the next room 'in'.

Thats what I thought as well Sophie. I remember in the shop at the lumber yard I worked at we were not allowed to alter the door. It came bored and routed with the Warnock Hersey tag and the door could not be altered. We had 2x6 fire rated wood jambs as well, this was back in the 80's. and 90's.

Does code require UL listed products on everything? (I honestly don't know)

Here you go:

Insulated Fire-Rated Access Door

The Insulated Access Door provides access through openings in fire-rated walls and ceilings.

Features

• Fire Rating
• Self-Closing
• Easy Operation
• Custom Sizing

well slap me silly. i've never seen one of these access door things for groceries. so instead of just walking in the house with them, you walk into the garage (i'm guessing you don't park your car on that side?) bend down and load them all through the hole. then you walk into your house, into the pantry and pick them up off the floor and either, put them away there, or walk them into your kitchen ? hmm. I guess I'm just old school.

can you do bigger?

"A door shop can cut down a fire door to the size you need"

But then you lose the fire rating on the door as well if I am not mistaken.

This concept fails in the court of common sense.

well slap me silly. i've never seen one of these access door things for groceries. so instead of just walking in the house with them, you walk into the garage (i'm guessing you don't park your car on that side?) bend down and load them all through the hole. then you walk into your house, into the pantry and pick them up off the floor and either, put them away there, or walk them into your kitchen ? hmm. I guess I'm just old school.

Depending upon your layout, it could be a step-saver. It could mean getting everything into the pantry at once rather than making multiple trips to and from the car.

A life-changer? No way, but also not worthless.

Incidentally, the first time I saw one of these pass-through doors was in one of Susan Sarakah's books, she who is highly revered on this board. In that particular houseplan, the pass-through door was between a mudroom and a pantry ... and without it, the homeowner would have to walk through the foyer and around another wall. Definitely a nice feature in that house.

For once I agree with Sophie, it's the entire assembly that's fire rated and altering it would likely void the rating. Of course, if the rating tag is at the top of the door and you rip off the bottom...is anyone going to do that much investigation?

I have to say that I'm just flabbergasted that I hadn't learned of such an idea before! The hours, maybe days, of my life that could have been saved by loading groceries directly into the pantry instead of walking extra 30 feet.

Mrs Pete,,,never said it was worthless. from OP's picture, it looks like it's just as much work, either way. I guess it all depends on how much time and effort you're really saving. My garage door is right off my kitchen, so to me, it would be double effort to do both.

Here, I'll do what you did since you think it better makes your point.

It could mean getting everything into the pantry at once rather than making multiple trips to and from the car.

Well, unless you get additional arms or a valet to go w/your access door, you still have to make multiple trips to the car, regardless. either you walk them to the access door, or you walk in the back door to the kitchen. Now, walking the items from your kitchen counter to the pantry, well, I guess it would save you the effort. you got me there! I don't have a pantry I can sleep in or a kitchen that is a 1/4 mile from my driveway or garage. But if I did, then I guess the access door would be perfect!

and Mike, the extra weight you could have saved ;)

We unload our groceries from our car trunk into a wheeled cart. One trip with the cart to the kitchen...we have some steps....cart wheels make it easy. Not sure a small door would be handier.

Hi Angie. You can call us at Canadian Doormaster 604.421.3603 for this particular requirement.

Hi Angie, I appreciate your idea. Don’t mind that some of these people are bent on trashing your idea but really have no idea what your situation or your house plan looks like. Just remember haters gonna hate. Let them pack in a couple of 40 count cases of water once they have arthritis and they will soon be big fans of eliminating steps. I have about a 50 foot horseshoe run from the garage to the pantry and as I get older this concept gets more and more appealing. I do appreciate all of those that have offered constructive solutions to our questions, and even pointed out potential concerns, instead of just mocking the idea.

Old thread. Start a new one and you’ll be better off. Did allow us Sophie folks to see this typical Sophie response that gave me a chuckle. Miss her wit and sarcasm.

“A pantry accessible from a garage, a mudroom accessible from the garage and exterior, a laundry room accessible to the mud room, a friend’s entrance, a powder room accessible to all, and pretty soon there’s no room to have the 4 acre Kitchen that’s now the showpiece of the home instead of the formal living room.

And this is why so many people start calling 4000 sf “small”.”