Fire regs

[grays85]

Hi people, just needed some advice..as usual. We have a grade 2 listed farmhouse, that was divided in 2 several years ago. We had to get building regs to re-instate the attic area as the divide removed the access to our attic. All done..insulated, heat detectors/smoke alarms/fire proof insulation between walls and floors/ fire proof plasterboard on studworks. fire escape conservation velux..get the picture. Now, we were told that we had to have 30 minute fire proof doors which we managed to get down to 20 minute doors, (otherwise we would have had to have intrumescent strips fitted to doors and frames.) We then were told we could coat the doors with a clear fire proof coating, we agreed, to meet the regs, however the first batch was faulty and this has ruined one door (hopefully we may be able to re strip it) the second door we did looks terrible! it is clear..ish and spoils the character of the door, it looks like its been coated in exoplasytmn!! I've been told they have to be painted and those doors that don't fit into the frames properly will need to be rectified..They're almost 350 years old and why should they have to comply to modern rules ((grrrr.)) a chap down the lane who owns a grade 1 listed building told me to tell the building regs guy to "go away"
Question: can I tell him to go away or do I have to comply a 350 year old house to meet new regs?

If I'd have wanted a modern, vacuum sealed box I'd have bought a new house.. Iaccepted the house warts n all.

over to you.. thanks all steve n Jo

 

[Gervase]

As your house is listed you need to get your local Conservation Officer onside - s/he can then lean on the BCO and tell him or her not to be such an arse. Are you letting out any of the house for B&B or the like - if so then fire doors are a must, otherwise; well, personally I'd tell the BCO to naff off right now...

 

[grays85]

thanks gervase.. no we do not intend to use it as a B&B it'sjust our house...
we saw the listed buildings advisor 18 moths ago to agree what we wanted. haven't seen him since!! Redditch borough council don't have their own listed buildings officer we have one for Worcestershire....which we have to share.. thanks for the advice. Is there anything in writting I could produce to to back my case up? The feeling is that all things have to be in place for the final inspection after which we can remove the fire proofing. and do what we want once its inspected.. which is even more galling.. its a case of "jobsworths"

 

[Flyfisher]

I'm not sure "jobsworths" is entirely fair in this case, galling though it undoubtedly all is. The BCO is only concerned with the latest building regulations whereas the CO is responsible for protecting the historical aspects of the property and therein often lies fundamental conflicts. It's rather unfair to expect a BCO to sign off work that clearly doesn't meet the required regulations (although there may be some 'wiggle room', I don't really know) unless he has some form of exemption, presumably from the CO.

I suspect the get-it-signed-off-then-remove-it approach is often used but I've always wondered about the potential risks; e.g. would LBC strictly be required to make such alterations and what happens if fire-prevention measures are removed in the event of a subsequent fire? Potential insurance issues?

My CO has always encouraged me not to involve building control as part of our LBC works, but they're nothing as extensive as dividing a property in two so it's less of an issue. Not much comfort in your case I realise. I would definitely get in touch again with your CO and I wouldn't interpret his absence as anything sinister; he's probably too busy to routinely re-visit projects unless a problem occurs and for that he's reliant on some notification.

Perhaps one of our resident COs will offer some advice.

 

[Penners]

Perhaps one of our resident COs will offer some advice.

I believe one already has - "naff off", if memory serves!

Actually I think it's easy to interpret fire regulations as a kind of "jobsworth" culture, but if I'm honest, I suspect that people trapped in a fire are probably darned glad of them

It's a bit like the old wartime saying: "there are no atheists in foxholes".

OK, the regulations have to be balanced against the importance of conserving ancient fabric, but I can see the sense in trying to observe them as much as possible, up to that point.

 

[Flyfisher]

Perhaps one of our resident COs will offer some advice.

I believe one already has - "naff off", if memory serves!

Ah, of course.
My profound apologies, Gervase, for my momentary lapse of memory.

 

[robgil]

cant you use a different approach? a sprinkler system or even strategically placed fire extinguishers?
a lot of older houses are pretty much nothing more than a fire waiting to happen, i am sure there can be some sort of common ground to meet on.

 

[Hatster]

just a thought - could you paint another layer of paint on top of the fire proof coating?

 

[Penners]

What sort of door are you painting? I've used white intumescent paint that was semi-matt, and was indistinguishable from ordinary eggshell white paint.