I'm aware that downlighters in a downstairs ceiling require fire and noise stops to separate them from the room upstairs. Do the same requirements exist when the space above is the uninhabited loft rather than a room?
Cheers,
Pete
Is there nothing in your loft that could catch fire?
Obviously the timber structure of the roof could catch fire, but I won't be up there to be endangered by it. If the fire in the habitable floor is big enough that it has ignited the roof timbers via a few small holes in the ceiling, and has been burning long enough that the fire in the loft has spread to other areas, then I'm already in trouble regardless of the loft. In any case I consider the chances of my fully-tiled bathroom catching on fire to be remote. I'm merely seeking to comply with regulations.
This is a very different situation to a bedroom situated above a kitchen, where a fire is both likely to start and, having reached through the ceiling holes, will be burning away the floor of a room in which someone is sleeping. I've already ordered the fire-rated downlighters for this room.
Pete
If not, you just introduced a trail of warm damp air into a probably cold loft where moisture will condense out on roof timbers below the dew point and cause damage.
2 - Is the loft insulated with fire retardant material?Most probably yes, althought more of an issue is what happens to the insulated light fittings below. If you remove the insulation you get cold bridging. If you leave the insulation in the light fittings may well overheat or suffer diminished bulb life expectancy.
3 - Do you have a smoke alarm in the loft?Some fire officers want them because fires in the loft do go unnoticed until they are quite extensive. Structural integrity can be compromised, smoke & gases may be forced downwards. By the time the fire is detected the repair costs can be huge - basically rebuilding costs re fire damage to roof, water damage bringing down ceilings, entire upstairs furniture, wallpaper, carpets destroyed, downstairs likewise. Roof fires take a lot of water, firemen have a habit of pull it down and spray it. Bitumen roofing felt, batons, rafters, purlins, wallplates, joists etc are exposed and dry remember.
Some lights have fire seals integrated (probably intum' disc?).
YES
NO.
Well, not quite as categorical as that. From a regulatory point of view, they are definitely not needed if the building is a dwelling house not a flat, and if it has no more than one storey above the ground. If it's a flat, or if it's taller, the ceiling may have been (or should have been) a fire resisting ceiling to prevent fire spreading from a room into a protected escape route.
This is a normal two-storey dwelling house. I had a feeling that what you say was the case.
I will make sure that whatever I use prevents vapour getting into the loft; this might also bring fire/noise sealing for free.
Pete
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