Fire break in roof

[whoisthedaddy]

Hi,

I am renovating an old Victorian terrace and there is no fire break between my house and the house next door.

At the base of the roof on both sides of the chimney I can see (or even get into!) my neighbours roof void.

What is the best/easiest way of creating a firebreak?

I haven't spoken to the neighbours yet to see if they would give me access to their roof if required.

Thanks in advance.
Lee.

 

[BethesdaSlate]

Brick it up ? Bricks and mortar are relatively cheap - and it doesn't have to look great! - be careful not to drop a brick through your neighbour's ceiling though!

 

[whoisthedaddy]

Thanks for reply, now nearly at this stage of the project - all the roof joists needed to be replaced first.

Bricking it up does seem to be pretty straightforward but leaves me a question.

Would it be OK to use the lightweight concrete blocks to do this, these would go up quicker and can be cut easier than bricks. (I'm not a brickie!)

By looking through the roof void into the next door neighbours it would appear they've used the lightweight blocks (and whoever did it wasn't a brickie either!!!)

Thanks in advance
Lee.

 

[Mw Roofline]

Yes, Thermalites are A1 non-combustable, very good for stopping fire spread. (Well I suppose all bricks are really)

 

[whoisthedaddy]

Thanks for the really quick reply - are these 'Thermalites' the same thing as 'Aircrete' blocks?

 

[datarebal]

I'll second thermalite blocks.. easy fast and lightwieght.