Help!
I'm supposed to be starting work on my flat next week after confirming with Building Control 2 months ago that the work I was doing was fine and it would be done under a building notice. I had the surveyor round yesterday as I wanted to be good and give more than the 48hrs required notice. When he came in he immediately said I couldn't do the work.
So here's my issue:
I'm in a 4 story townhouse broken into 4 flats and I'm in the basement flat. There is one central set of stairs servicing the block.
I'm the only flat at the basement level where there is a small corridor and my flat is right next to the bottom of the stairs.
As you walk into my flat, there is a hallway to the front and wall and doorway to the kitchen on the left.
I want to remove this wall so that as you walk into the flat you have an open plan kitchen space.
The surveyor said that because I'm removing this wall, I'm removing a protected lobby between the communal staircase and my kitchen and this cannot be done. He then went on to say I need 2 door protection from my kitchen to the communal stairway.
The other rooms have large windows so have alternative means of escape which he was happy with so this is currently the only issue.
I asked if I could increase the size of my front door so that its 90mins thus increasing the protection I currently have from two 30 minute fire doors, and I was told that I couldn't because of smoke.
I then phoned his boss who said they would only allow it if I put a sprinkler system in the kitchen area, which seems to me, overkill for this situation.
Has anyone got any ideas how I can deal with this? Do you think a sprinkler system is my only option?
Many thanks for any responses, I'm tearing my hair out at the moment!
Steve
I'm supposed to be starting work on my flat next week after confirming with Building Control 2 months ago that the work I was doing was fine and it would be done under a building notice. I had the surveyor round yesterday as I wanted to be good and give more than the 48hrs required notice. When he came in he immediately said I couldn't do the work.
So here's my issue:
I'm in a 4 story townhouse broken into 4 flats and I'm in the basement flat. There is one central set of stairs servicing the block.
I'm the only flat at the basement level where there is a small corridor and my flat is right next to the bottom of the stairs.
As you walk into my flat, there is a hallway to the front and wall and doorway to the kitchen on the left.
I want to remove this wall so that as you walk into the flat you have an open plan kitchen space.
The surveyor said that because I'm removing this wall, I'm removing a protected lobby between the communal staircase and my kitchen and this cannot be done. He then went on to say I need 2 door protection from my kitchen to the communal stairway.
The other rooms have large windows so have alternative means of escape which he was happy with so this is currently the only issue.
I asked if I could increase the size of my front door so that its 90mins thus increasing the protection I currently have from two 30 minute fire doors, and I was told that I couldn't because of smoke.
I then phoned his boss who said they would only allow it if I put a sprinkler system in the kitchen area, which seems to me, overkill for this situation.
Has anyone got any ideas how I can deal with this? Do you think a sprinkler system is my only option?
Many thanks for any responses, I'm tearing my hair out at the moment!
Steve
