Situation is a top floor (over 55s) flat from the early 80s, with access to the loft through a conventional wooden framed and push up wooden loft access panel. The loft space is partitioned off with breeze block from the adjoining flat, and from the area above the corridor outside the flat.
The access is in the hall, and all the doors from it (except the bathroom) are fire doors - but there is just one big storage heater in the lounge, so the doors into hall and bedroom (there is a convector heater in bedroom and a small one in the hall) tend to be wedged open by the occupant during the day.
I'm currently decorating the hall and wondering if I ought to take the opportunity to swap the loft access for a fire rated hatch whilst I'm doing the rest of the work. However, flat has artex ceilings which I already know have tested positive for chrysotile (white asbestos), so I'll need to take appropriate precautions when removing the wooden frame to fit the metal hatch.
My questions are:
1. It will have complied with regs at the time, but if the flats were being built now, would it need a fire rated hatch? If so, the current one isn't insulated either so swapping it seems a reasonable idea.
2. If some fire protection is sensible, is there anything I can do with the existing access? It needs painting anyway so I dare say I could do it with fire retardant paint and pop an intumescent foam seal on the frame to give a bit of extra protection, but that isn't going to be anything like as good as a metal 1hr rated hatch I wouldn't have thought.
Thoughts appreciated.
The access is in the hall, and all the doors from it (except the bathroom) are fire doors - but there is just one big storage heater in the lounge, so the doors into hall and bedroom (there is a convector heater in bedroom and a small one in the hall) tend to be wedged open by the occupant during the day.
I'm currently decorating the hall and wondering if I ought to take the opportunity to swap the loft access for a fire rated hatch whilst I'm doing the rest of the work. However, flat has artex ceilings which I already know have tested positive for chrysotile (white asbestos), so I'll need to take appropriate precautions when removing the wooden frame to fit the metal hatch.
My questions are:
1. It will have complied with regs at the time, but if the flats were being built now, would it need a fire rated hatch? If so, the current one isn't insulated either so swapping it seems a reasonable idea.
2. If some fire protection is sensible, is there anything I can do with the existing access? It needs painting anyway so I dare say I could do it with fire retardant paint and pop an intumescent foam seal on the frame to give a bit of extra protection, but that isn't going to be anything like as good as a metal 1hr rated hatch I wouldn't have thought.
Thoughts appreciated.
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