Loft conversion and fire regulations for protected stairway.

[lasors]

Hello again,

We're contemplating converting our loft space to a third bedroom. As I understand it, in the course of such a conversion current regs require that all doors and partitions on the first and ground floors need 30 minutes of fire protection. It's a small house so the first floor landing doesn't really have any walls, it's all doors to rooms or cupboards.

Is it safe to assume that what little stud wall there is conforms to any necessary fire resistant regulation? The house is of early 1950s construction. Is there a measured area I can have that doesn't have to be fireproofed? Can I fireproof a stud wall without pulling it down?

Do the fire doors need to be self closing?

Does 'all rooms' mean fire doors for storage cupboards as well?

In terms of fire protection between the first and loft floors, is it easiest/cheapest to protect the entire floor area, including that area of the eaves behind the new stud walls, to avoid cavity barriers etc? Or am I only required to protect the area above the first floor landing?

Thanks a lot for any advice!

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

You are unlikely to have to upgrade your existing walls.
You should not need closers.
Your storage cupboards should be ok unless they house the fuse box etc (I believe).
Normally the existing layer of plasterboard beneath the new loft floor joists and 22mm T&G flooring plywood or chipboard above will satisfy the inspector.

 

[lasors]

Sounds good. Thanks Freddy.

 

[Mamps]

How about the ground floor doors? do they also need changing? I have 2 doors downstairs on the ground floor. 1 that goes into the utility room, and 1 goes into the open plan lounge kitchen diner with doors to the garden.

 

[lasors]

If you have or are having a loft conversion all doors onto the protected stairway must be fire doors with 20mins protection. You must be able to get from loft to final exit (usually the front door) as if the stairway was a sealed passageway.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Yes you'll have to upgrade these too, as ever though, you can ask your inspector if you can avoid their upgrade but the chances of this are slim unless they're beefy doors to begin with.

 

[DevilDamo]

Just an extract from a website...

Lofts are a long way above the ground, so you should consider fire escape routes. If you have a two-storey house, you will have to replace the existing doors around the whole staircase (except those to non-habitable rooms like bathrooms and cloakrooms) with fire- resisting doors, to make a fully-protected path to the ground-floor exit. The new room(s) in the loft also need to be provided with fire-resisting doors. Any glazing in the walls enclosing the stairs will also need to be replaced with fire-resisting glass.

If you have an open-plan layout, you must put in walls to separate your stairs from any rooms, and link them to an escape route to the outside.

Until April 2007, all doors to habitable rooms off the stairwell had to be provided with self-closers. You no longer need to do this, but everyone in the household will now have to be much more aware about the need to keep doors protecting your escape route closed, especially at night.

And as far as I'm aware, you can not buy FD20's so FD30's will have to suffice.

 

[big-all]

just remember you will have to comply with building regs from the start
you will need too beef up the joists to around 8x2" install insulation up to spec with an air gap behind head height around 2m with insulation
escape windows ect

 

[big-all]

duplicate please remove

 

[DevilDamo]

escape windows ect

Escape windows from where... the new room in the loft? Because if so, they're no longer required in a loft conversion.

 

[big-all]

escape windows ect

Escape windows from where... the new room in the loft? Because if so, they're no longer required in a loft conversion.

yes of course you are right thanks for the correction

 

[sparkybird]

We've just managed to get around having to replace all 11 non standard size and original doors as part of a loft conversion by fitting mains interlinked smoke alarms in all habitable rooms. TBH I think this is a better solution because who keeps all their doors closed at all times??

Also helps that I can fit them so keeps costs down!

SB

 

[DevilDamo]

TBH I think this is a better solution because who keeps all their doors closed at all times??

Hence why the regulations do not ask for self closers to doors onto the staircase (to habitable rooms).

The regulations "used to" request it but because people just prop the doors open, it was very difficult to enforce so that requirement was removed.

 

[Mamps]

Sparkbird, did that work then to have smoke alarms instead of doors replaced? I don't want to replace my doors either as they are the original doors and I can't find replicas of them and also my downstairs lounge door is frenchdoors with glass and to get that in a firedoor version is well over £500.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Sparkbird, did that work then to have smoke alarms instead of doors replaced? I don't want to replace my doors either as they are the original doors and I can't find replicas of them and also my downstairs lounge door is frenchdoors with glass and to get that in a firedoor version is well over £500.

Frankly its irrelevant what a previous poster did or did not achieve with their conversion, it will depend on the actual inspector who inspects the works to your own job, they are the ones who you need to be talking/negotiating with. As is evident in this thread, fire regs for loftys are to a certain extent negotiable and depend on the inspector.

If you’re inspector is not satisfied with the alarms in each room (sounds reasonable to me but I’m not an inspector!) then another option may be upgrading the doors with intumescent sealers to make them fire resistant although this method depends on the existing doors and not all inspectors accept this method either.