Doorway into 1st floor extension

[williamglossop]

I've built a 1st floor bedroom above my attached garage. The stairs go to a quarter landing, and I have the doorway pretty much off the landing. As shown in the pics. It's going through BCO, and I'm pre-empting him not being over the moon about it.







Is this acceptable

 

[noseall]

I've built a 1st floor bedroom above my attached garage. The stairs go to a quarter landing, and I have the doorway pretty much off the landing. As shown in the pics. It's going through BCO, and I'm pre-empting him not being over the moon about it.







Is this acceptable

It doesn't look compliant, no. I'm pretty sure you need 400mm of landing beyond the door threshold before the first step down. It looks as if that new floor joist against the wall should have been trimmed to allow a very small well and the door casing moved back inside the extension to suit.

 

[williamglossop]

Hmmmmm... I was (wrongly it appears now ) under the impression that the steps up to the door were off a quarter landing and as such, can be considered seperate to the main stairs.... and they are less than 600mm high. I'll have to see what he says, but don't fancy ripping it all out.....

 

[^woody^]

Can't have a door directly on to a step.

Didn't you have approved plans to follow?

 

[noseall]

Didn't you have approved plans to follow?

That's what I'm wondering...

 

[noseall]

but don't fancy ripping it all out.....

Maybe if you'd considered the dangerous set-up before carrying out the work...? As per Woody - what did your drawings illustrate?

 

[williamglossop]

In my defence, I read doc K and I couldn't find anything that directly relates to this situation. The door opens away from the landing and the step up off the landing is less than 60 cm. The plans show a daft landing into the room, but it would create a load of unusable space. I cant find anything in Doc K that prohibits what I've done.

 

[^woody^]

The plans show a daft landing into the room, but it would create a load of unusable space.

Not so daft then!

That's actually how it's done.

 

[tony1851]

Can't have a door directly on to a step.

Didn't you have approved plans to follow?

No rule against that in a domestic setting.

The ultimate regulation on stairs is K2; "shall be designed, constructed and installed so as to be safe for people moving in and about the building"

If I was a BCO, I'd accept that due to the change in direction, and the limited rise. Although the 600mm limit is not mention in the latest update of Part K, it states clearly in the preface that no substantive change in the law has been made. On that basis, it could be argued that 2 risers are not unreasonable.

If the door is hinged on the right (from the room-side) as in the pics, that would be better than the other side. Its a more tricky situation if the access has to be off winders, but a square landing is less of an issue.

Is this LABC or an Approved Private inspector?

This link gives a number of appeals and determinations on staircase designs and what is/isn't acceptable:

Building regulations: appeals

Guidance about meeting the building regulations, given by decisions on appeals against refusals by local authorities to relax or dispense with one or more requirements of the regulations.

www.gov.uk

 

[williamglossop]

Thanks Tony. That was the impression I was under when I put it there. I've hung it on the left of the door when viewed from the stairs

so that it pushes u away (in effect) from the stairs when it's opened. I was gonna fit a newel post of the wall to the right as u exit the room too. I'll see what he says. As daft as it sounds, do u have to have a door on a bedroom? I can't see how it's any different from the opposite side of the landing, with the exception of the door.

 

[noseall]

"shall be designed, constructed and installed so as to be safe

Well there's the first hurdle failed.

 

[^woody^]

If I was a BCO, I'd accept that

Then you wouldn't be buying many Christmas presents this year as you'd be out of a job.

 

[tony1851]

Well there's the first hurdle failed.

Safety depends on familiarity. In a domestic setting for a couple of steps to a single bedroom on an abrupt change in direction it could easily be argued that the arrangement is safe.
For a public building, it would of course be a completely different matter.
The guidance given in the Approved Docs is just that - guidance - it is NOT law; there can be other ways of achieving compliance.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

A BCO can assert their discretion, it's possible/or even likely that only occupants familiar with the layout will be using the bedroom and as such will soon get used to the layout, so try your hand with BC. But it doesn't excuse the fact the OP should have discussed this with his BCO before presuming it'd be OK.

 

[tony1851]

Then you wouldn't be buying many Christmas presents this year as you'd be out of a job.

I don't buy Christmas presents......and you're off my Christmas card list this year (not that they'd get there anyway).