/ Hub · IMC 404 · Parking garages
Garage ventilation is IMC 404, not an office outdoor-air table.
Enclosed parking garages are an exhaust-and-control problem. Copying occupancy-table outdoor air onto a garage is how sets pick up comments and how occupied floors pick up vehicle exhaust.
What the drawings should identify
- Whether the garage is enclosed, open, or a hybrid under the building code definition actually adopted
- Exhaust rate basis (IMC 404) and whether mechanical ventilation is continuous or contaminant-controlled
- CO (and where required, NO₂) detection, setpoints, and what happens on sensor failure
- Outlet locations versus intakes, operable openings, and adjacent occupancies
- Makeup / relief path so the garage does not pull from stairs, corridors, or dwelling units
- Fire-alarm and smoke-control interfaces when the garage sits under a residential or mixed-use podium
Open-garage assumptions on a Miami podium
Louvers and “plenty of air” do not make an enclosed garage open. The building-code definition, not the marketing rendering, controls.
Related: IMC 404 Daily Code Talk · Ventilation hub · Existing-building MEP
Send the garage plans
Section, openings, and whether this is new, a conversion, or a CO-system replacement. Masterbuild will say which code path actually applies.
Send Project Background+1 (786) 398-6940 · osmany.portal@masterbuildconsulting.com
Masterbuild provides engineering services under a written scope. Nothing on this page is project-specific engineering advice, a code interpretation for your project, or a representation about permit approval.