Fire regulations

[Mark Hewitt]

This doesn't concern me personally, it's just something I wondered about after watching Property Ladder last night where they were forced to reintroduce a dividing wall between the kitchen and staircase because of 'fire regulations'

I've also seen mention on this programme along the lines of you must be able to get out of the bedrooms to the main door without passing through other habitable rooms.

Anyone have any ideas what the general jist of the building regs are in this area? As I say I'm not particularly interested in the full details as I'm not doing a development myself, just watching others on TV :-p

[Christian McArdle]

They depend greatly on the number of storeys, with a 3 storey or more house requiring a protected stairwell that doesn't open onto other rooms unless there are two independent escape paths. However, you can read them in all their gory detail on the web site of the office of the deputy prime minister. They are under the building regulations, under approved documents. The legislation itself is pretty scanty. The approved docs is where the action is at.

No idea if this link will work. If it does, you're looking for Part B.

[Kalico]

As far as I know, it would not be a problem getting out through other rooms, but a kitchen is seen as an area of increased risk and a place where, quite rightly, a fire is likely to start.

My understanding is that the Fire Regs and their implementation have become much sensible in recent years, taking into account likely risk and things like what the room is used for etc.

[Tim S]

I asked exactly this question to the BCO of my Dad's LBA when we were considering dividing his dormer conversion (bungalow) into two rooms where the exit to stairs would be off one of the rooms and the exit from the second room would be via the first.

He said that it was fine as long as the windows were such that they constituted an escape route from the second room - he quoted required dimensions of the window openings when open.

Obviously, check such matters with your own BCO if doing such work, it's them that need convincing.

Tim

[Christian McArdle]

Also, the situation in a dormer conversion of a bungalow is very different from that of a dormer conversion in a previously 2 storey house. Each additional storey adds additional restrictions, at least until you have 4 storeys.

Christian.

[Hugo Nebula]

On Wed, 7 Dec 2005 10:55:24 -0000, a particular chimpanzee named "Mark Hewitt" randomly hit the keyboard and produced:

Was this in a house with a loft conversion? If so, the stairs should be enclosed (ie, not open to any room) from the door of the loft to the front door (or to two separate escape routes on the ground floor), and the doors fitted with self-closing devices, and all new doors must be fire doors. There should also be an escape window or rooflight in the new loft.

Property Ladder and other makeover shows are fairly inconsistent when it comes to complying with the Building Regulations. There was one a few weeks ago where they carried out a loft conversion that broke all the rules (and looked like it might have buggered up the roof structure), and nothing was mentioned.

Correct, but if the rooms are on the first floor you can have an open-plan layout provided that the first floor habitable rooms have suitably-sized windows as an alternative escape.