smokes building inspector

[eganelectrical]

Just rewiring a house which has been gutted and had a new extension on back and side. Smokes are wired in hall down, hall up, attic top floor and a heat in kitchen all interlinked. The building inspector just came and said we need a smoke in every room in the house apart from bathrooms and en suits or other option is to get fire doors!! Is this right??

 

[trev]

Is it going to be an HMO? If so they often want smokes in every room as well as fire doors.

 

[telectrix]

ditto..

 

[tazz]

Presume same thread so answered

 

[eganelectrical]

Is it going to be an HMO? If so they often want smokes in every room as well as fire doors.

No it's just a detached house renovated with side and rear extensions!! Oh and attic room conversion!

 

[trev]

Ask to see a building control guy who knows what he's on about. Failing that ask him to show you the requirement for this overkill in any recognised publication

 

[snowhead]

No it's just a detached house renovated with side and rear extensions!! Oh and attic room conversion!

3 habitable floors that's probably why.

 

[trev]

How many times have you done a three floor house with one alarm on each floor? I've done a few.

 

[tazz]

As soon as the is a loft conversion or extention which now makes a room onto a room which the leads to the old circulation area or escape route, Then Building regs request that precautions are made to incease fire/smoke saftey. If this was a normal new build then just circulation areas would be protected. (so the circulation areas upstairs and downstairs have change) Hope this makes sense

 

[baldyspark]

Sadly this is happening more and more. Definitely ask him to show you any proof to back up his ideas.

 

[Tuttle]

I may be wrong but I think that it you add a third storey to a house then you need either a protected stairway, i.e. fire doors, or an alternative exit from the third storey. Could it be that he is allowing you to get away with not having fire doors if you fit smoke alarms in every room instead?

 

[sythai]

Yep just doing same here....

It's adding the loft conversion that is causing the issue.

3 bed semi, loft conversion just finished. Now 3 habital floors.

Originally put in 3 smokes interlinked hall, landing FF, landing 2F.

But customer has gone and brought their own doors now which are not fire rated (good for me ££.)

So I'm back friday.... to add the following:

smoke in loft room (office)/2F,
smokes in 3 x beds/FF
smoke lounge/GF
heat kitchen/GF

This was specified by the building inspector (builder forwarded me a copy of the email from building control.)

Cheers

Sy

 

[tazz]

I may be wrong but I think that it you add a third storey to a house then you need either a protected stairway, i.e. fire doors, or an alternative exit from the third storey. Could it be that he is allowing you to get away with not having fire doors if you fit smoke alarms in every room instead?

This is what the inspector is trying to achieve...to protect the escape routes from fire/smoke for 30 mis by fire doors or to fit smokes for early warning and rapid evacuation. If he thinks the risk in the attic was serve, he would also ask for an escape ladder.

 

[Tuttle]

Perhaps interlinked smoke alarms are actually better than fire doors because they give early warning of a fire downstairs, that might block escape from the third floor via the stairs, whereas fire doors in a house typically get propped open or closers get removed or doors replaced once the building inspector has gone.

 

[eganelectrical]

He has said that either fire doors or a smoke in every room! Looks like it is something to do with the attic room! But how the hell are we meant to know this! He turns up after the ceilings are plastered upstairs and above that is the new loft with no access into the eves!! Surely he should have stated this during first fix inspection of cable routes! Boo hoo
Thanks for comments and if there are any more experiences of this please keep them coming