Loft hatches and building regs

[andyinthepeaks]

Hi all,

Restoring a 1770's house under building regs...

Got a loft which we just want to use for light storage, so need a hatch/cover, but I can't seem to find the relevent regs info.

Plenty of info about loft conversions/ladder acces etc., but nothing I can find that covers my requirement.

I've seen some "Part L" covers, complete with insulation, but they rely on rafters that are typically 520mm apart. In this old place they are less than that, so I can't use something off-the-shelf.

I could make a "box" type hatch and fill with insulation, but I'm unsure about the fire regs angle...

Anyone have any knowledge on this..?

Cheers Andy

 

[DevilDamo]

Fire reg's wouldn't come into it unless you were providing a third storey with habitable accommodation. If it's to be soley used for storage, then you only really need to look into the thermal properties (u-values) and Part L.

When you say the rafters are 520mm apart, you mean the ceiling joists as I don't know many situations (if any) that you would provide a hatch/cover along the roof plane?

What centres are the existing joists? Having them at 600mm (which you confirmed they are less) is normally ok go gain access to/from the loft space. Anything smaller will just be unpractical, so you may have to look at trimming part of a joist and providing additional support before providing an access hatch.