I am planning on doing some work to a byre which is attached to the side of our farmhouse. At the moment, there is a single door + 2 windows facing onto the driveway running upto it. The plan is to change that to a larger barn door setup which would be wide enough to get a vehicle through into the garage space on the odd occasion I would want to do some repair work on it ( but not engine-running repair work)
As I'm specifying vehicle storage, I have to meet specific ventilation requirements ( which is fair enough ). The trouble is that whilst I'll only ever get 1 car into the space of the byre due to its layout and other stuff in the space, the overall footprint of the byre is >60sqm ... which in Scotland puts it into non-domestic building regs.
The non-domestic regs say that for natural ventilation, I'd basically need wall openings of approaching 4sqm ... I might as well leave not fit doors, and leave the place open. For mechanical ventilation, I'd need 6 changes of air per hour... again, acheivable without too much fuss.
My questions are ...
- Does ventilation have to apply 24/7 ? or does it only apply when the space is acutally being used such as me simply leaving the barn doors fully open when I'm in it? ( which would give a ventilation area approaching 6sqm ) then closing them when not. ( the design of the doors would leave significant gaps (3" etc ) top and bottom for trickle air flow when the place is closed up )
- Similarly, does mechanical ventilation have to work 24/7 ? of can it be selectively switched on when I'm in the space. I dont really want to have 400W of extractor fans running 24/7 killing the leccy bill.
I knowthat Scottish regs apply to me, but I'm just looking for general principles of whether it needs to be constant ventilation, or when space in use ventilation.
Thanks
As I'm specifying vehicle storage, I have to meet specific ventilation requirements ( which is fair enough ). The trouble is that whilst I'll only ever get 1 car into the space of the byre due to its layout and other stuff in the space, the overall footprint of the byre is >60sqm ... which in Scotland puts it into non-domestic building regs.
The non-domestic regs say that for natural ventilation, I'd basically need wall openings of approaching 4sqm ... I might as well leave not fit doors, and leave the place open. For mechanical ventilation, I'd need 6 changes of air per hour... again, acheivable without too much fuss.
My questions are ...
- Does ventilation have to apply 24/7 ? or does it only apply when the space is acutally being used such as me simply leaving the barn doors fully open when I'm in it? ( which would give a ventilation area approaching 6sqm ) then closing them when not. ( the design of the doors would leave significant gaps (3" etc ) top and bottom for trickle air flow when the place is closed up )
- Similarly, does mechanical ventilation have to work 24/7 ? of can it be selectively switched on when I'm in the space. I dont really want to have 400W of extractor fans running 24/7 killing the leccy bill.
I knowthat Scottish regs apply to me, but I'm just looking for general principles of whether it needs to be constant ventilation, or when space in use ventilation.
Thanks