Final Inspection

[con1_uk]

Had the local BC round today for my "Final Inspection" now we have had these inspections all the way through our loft conversion which has been going on for about 4/5 years now. I have tried to do most of the work myself when I get the time.

At the moment we are finished up there and just need to finish throwing paint at the walls. When the man came today he said we need to change our 2 (Very expensive) internal doors downstairs for solid ones. The ones in now are solid but are glazed.

He said that they are not fire proof and require solid doors (Not fire doors).

He said I could board them either side with plywood then he would pass us.

The trouble is we have had glazed doors on there all the time through all the other inspections and they mention it now!!!!

He said they would be OK also if the glass was a special type which it isn't.

Is there any better way of dealing with these two doors that the plywood method please?

We opted for the glazed doors because they let the light through if we fit solid doors then we would need to leave them open all the time which is a contradiction.

To give you an idea of the layout we live in a mid terraced house with the staircase in the middle of the house and a door either side of the entrance to the stairs.


Thanks in advance.

 

[^woody^]

You obviously don't have a means of escape window in the loft then?

The doors do not have to be solid, but they should be fire resistant - and glazed doors can be fire resistant with some resistant glass such as georgian wire glass. A bit of ply is not really fire resistant

It does not matter if the BCO has walked past them 100 times, it is the final inspection what counts.

Your best option is to buy two fire door blanks - about £25 and hang these. Then you will get a completion certificate.

Then you may want to take the solid doors off and put some nice glass ones in their place.

 

[con1_uk]

Thanks for your reply mate

I do have an escape Velox in the loft and a window in the back bedroom which opens fully onto the extension.

It was the BCO that suggested the Ply and I was thinking of taking this off once we had the tick in the box.

The glass in the doors cant be removed as it is built around with wood and not beaded as you sometimes see. Is there anything that can be sprayed on the glass to fireproof it?


Thanks again for your reply.

 

[Richard C]

Woody’s got it; Standard doors are ½ hour rated & obviously ordinary glass in a glazed door would fail long before that. What he’s obviously worried about is that any fire originating in either of these rooms would spread to the hallway & up the stairs very quickly. It’s obviously annoying that BC haven’t picked up before but the regulations do change & have done so on almost an annual basis since 2002. The ones I’ve been using for reference on my own work were updated yet again last year & I only found out by accident! You do have to check ODPM website frequently & make sure your working to the latest regs., as, presumable, you can even fall foul if they change before you get your completion certificate! Specialist glass is available as you say but probably won’t look very good & is bound to be expensive; I don’t know if glass blocks meet the ½ hour rating but you could install these above a solid door I suppose. Can you fit another, solid door between the 2nd floor & the conversion which may satisfy BC?

I will probably get lambasted for suggesting it but the easiest way around it is probably to board the glazed section of the doors up as suggested by BC but do it in such a way that you can remove it as soon as you have your certificate or fit 2x B&Q cheapos & replace after as Woody suggests: believe me it goes on all the time even in professional circles!

 

[con1_uk]

I thought when you get your plans passed you have to do your work to those regulations at the time regardless of if they change?

So does glass not last very long in a fire?

Thanks again for your replies so far.

 

[con1_uk]

He has also got me to fit door closers on every door apart from the bathroom where the other chaps said I only needed it on the firedoor that seperates the loft from the rest of the house.

 

[Richard C]

I thought when you get your plans passed you have to do your work to those regulations at the time regardless of if they change?

So does glass not last very long in a fire?

Thanks again for your replies so far.

Maybe they use the regs in place at the time of inspection, I don't know.
Standard glass will shatter very quickly in the event of a fire.

He has also got me to fit door closers on every door apart from the bathroom where the other chaps said I only needed it on the fire door that seperates the loft from the rest of the house.

So you already have a fire door fitted? Have you not provided a separate means of escape from the loft conversion? If not, that’s almost certainly the cause of your problems; ideally you should always provide 2 routes for means of escape in the event of a fire.

I would be tempted to ask for specific references to the regs being applied so you can check yourself, the at least you know where you stand & can challenge if you think they are wrong!

 

[markie]

Just do as the BC said, ply wood over the glass and use pannel pins to fix the ply, and when your've got the cert take the ply off.

You still have to put door closers on all doors apart from bathrooms/toilets etc.

 

[Robert too]

He has also got me to fit door closers on every door apart from the bathroom where the other chaps said I only needed it on the firedoor that seperates the loft from the rest of the house.

he is getting you to do the right thing mate.

Regs changed on 6th April ( or there abouts ) where an escape window is no longer required from the extra level , BUT , every door needs to be 1/2 hr.

Your job was obviously submitted before this time so you need ,

an escape window from the loft regardless

1/2 hrfrsc to new doors & frames

No glazing allowed to doors on the escape route , unless fire resisting

self closers to existing doors . ( regs allow for rising butts , but you may have a few arguments with some BCO's )

 

[con1_uk]

I think I have made a desision

I will fit the ply to the 2 doors downstairs.

He said all my other doors are fine they just all need self closers on. Can I use the type that go into the door and have a chain on? Do they just need to close the door or is there any other specific needs?

What are Rising Butts?


Thanks.

 

[con1_uk]

Will these do?

http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/pro.jsp?cId=A432968&ts=12782&id=12108

 

[Richard C]

I think I have made a desision


What are Rising Butts?


Thanks.

http://www.ironmongeryonline.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=5_538_1359

 

[con1_uk]

Thanks for the link

What are these used for?

 

[markie]

//www.diynot.com/shop/Surface_Door_Closer_White/16212

These one's would be all you'll need to meet the regs.

 

[Richard C]

Thanks for the link

What are these used for?

They are door hinges that cause the door to swing to the closed position under gravity but they won't be powerfull enough to latch the door so for fire purposes, I would sugest you need something a little stronger along the lines others have suggested.