Garage door rules & licensing in Virginia

Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR), Board for Contractors — official site

"No person shall engage in, or offer to engage in, contracting work in the Commonwealth unless he has been licensed." There is no garage-door-specific licence. The Board's regulations expressly list "Doors" among activities or items which "may fall under the CIC, HIC and FIC specialty services, or they may fall under the CBC or RBC classifications." Every licence carries both a class (A, B or C, which sets the dollar value of work allowed) and a classification/specialty (which sets the type of work allowed).

The lowest licence class, Class C, begins at a single contract or project "over $1,000 but less than $30,000"; $30,000 moves the job to Class B and $150,000 to Class A. Annual-volume triggers apply in parallel: $250,000 in any 12 months for Class B and $1 million for Class A.

Under the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code, Section 108.2, work exempt from a permit as ordinary repairs includes "Replacement of windows and doors with windows and doors of similar operation and opening dimensions that do not require changes to the existing framed opening and that are not required to be fire rated in Group R-2 where serving a single dwelling unit and in Groups R-3, R-4, and R-5." A permit is required where the framed opening changes or the assembly must be fire rated.

The Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code sets basic design wind speed by elevation in special wind regions. 13VAC5-63-270 changes IBC Section 1609.3 to read: "The basic design wind speed, V, in miles per hour (mph), for the determination of the wind loads shall be determined by Figures 1609.3(1), 1609.3(2), 1609.3(3), and 1609.3(4). ... The basic design wind speeds for localities in special wind regions, near mountainous terrains, and near gorges shall be based on elevation. Areas at 4,000 feet in elevation or higher shall use 142 V mph (62.3 m/s) and areas lower than 4,000 feet in elevation shall use 116 V mph (52 m/s). Gorge areas shall be based on the highest recorded speed per locality or in accordance with local jurisdiction requirements determined in accordance with Section 26.5.1 of ASCE 7." Virginia also adds tornado design: amended Section 1609.5 provides that "the design and construction of Risk Category III and IV buildings and other structures located in the tornado-prone region as shown in Figure 1609.5 shall be in accordance with Chapter 32 of ASCE 7," a Figure 1609.5 Tornado-Prone Region is added, and "V T = Tornado speed, miles per hour (mph) (m/s) determined from Chapter 32 of ASCE 7" is added to the Section 1602.1 notations. Amended Section 1603.1.4 requires the construction documents to show the basic wind speed, tornado speed, wind exposure and "design wind pressures and their applicable zones with dimensions to be used for exterior component and cladding materials" - the figure a garage door’s design pressure rating is checked against. These are the Virginia Construction Code (IBC) amendments; the corresponding Virginia Residential Code amendments were NOT independently verified in this session.