Building Control decline Completion Cert on Extension

muskoka

Final inpsection today on kitchen ground floor extension. All good except inspector today says that I either need to have a door from my kitchen to my hall (only one internal entry into kitchen) OR I must have mains smoke alarms together with a heat detector installed in kitchen.

Now, checking online it looks like I dont need this at all. Looks to me like you only need this stuff if its a new build or loft conversion. However, dont want to upset building control....

Anyone advise wether this inspector is correct? (I dont think he is) AND if he is incorrect, how on earth do I challenge this please?

System

good luck with that one!, ask them to clarify the specific regulation they are referring to then you can challenge it if they point you to a regulation that doesn't apply to you (normally you do need a fire separation or early warning system between a hallway and a kitchen)

phill99

They may well class the work that you have done as new build and therefore it will apply. If you try and appeal it, you may still not get the decision you want and therefore yuo are back to square one. It will be much quicker, cheaper and with a known outcome if you just do what he asks.

Also, are you absolutely sure that you have interpreted the regs correctly?

muskoka

ok chaps. Thanks. I'll email building inspector and just ask him to clarify more info ie specific reg, etc so i can ensure i meet their criteria. i'll be subtle . Thanks again

https://www.lincoln.gov.uk/doclib/Smoke_Detectors_in_Dwellings.pdf Not my local council, but would think the regs should be the same

Doozergirl

They don't always get it right. Sometimes they want more than is required. However, when we have extended houses we have been asked to do exactly that as well. It will class as something like a 'materially altered' property.

Hard wiring in smoke alarms is the first thing my H does when we move into a house simply because he believes it is an investment worth making. Even if it weren't regs, whilst you've got an electrician in doing all the new electrics for an extension, it makes perfect sense do something like hard wiring in smoke alarms across the whole house, especially if you have no doors between - you could be dead before you even realised there was a problem.

MX5huggy

This is the regs:-

http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/buildingregulations/approveddocuments/partb/bcapproveddocumentsb/bcapproveddocbvol1/volume1

Good luck understanding them!

paddy's_mum

I don't understand why anyone would bother to argue or debate the point when what the Inspector is doing (apart from his job) is trying to save your lives should the worst happen!

Been there, done that, survived the 'worst' and come out the other side far from unscathed.

How does it fit with the mse ethic to avoid spending out money on a door or an alarm system but a year or two down the line, find that you've lost a child or two plus almost everything you own in a fast spreading, highly destructive and lethal fire?

If you were injured and bleeding your life away, would you fend off the off-duty paramedic who rushes to help you?

Even if you can show that the rules don't decree this requirement and the inspector is in error, what will you ultimately prove? That you're happy to make the bigger mistake?

I urge you to think again.

olias

It's my understanding that an extension is a new build.

Olias

muskoka

I had already purchased smoke alarms for the property, albeit battery operated ones. What is frustrating is approx a month ago I contacted the building inspector & asked him what was still outstanding & was advised only kitchen extractor & sink in downstairs loo. What is frustrating is, had he of said mains operated smoke alarms, I could have got them installed & supplied for £30 by my sparks, now all the decorating has been done its going to cost me £200+ as I now to get radio linked alarms or damage the decor. That is what I resent. I'd gone to the trouble of clarifying outstanding items from him & he'd omitted this one. He obviously didnt bother checking the notes when he spoke to me.

As a matter of interest, he was/is a real jobsworth. He even went round measuring EVERY single window in the house, even though he'd had the FENSA certs & could see they were all the same spec & opened fully for safety. I've dealt with bldg inspectors before and this one is a right jobsworth! -

teneighty

I'm a bit rusty on this particular requirement so I may well be wrong but seem to recall it would only apply if you live in a 3 storey house or 2 storey with a loft conversion.

Look at regulation B1 2.6

bosseyed

I was under the impression that an extension would be classed as a new build. Having said that, ask the inspector to show you the section of the regs that covers what he is saying you need - not to say hes wrong or right, but some approved inspectors can be a little over zealous when it comes to application of the regs.

I work a lot with commercial building regs and I've come across a lot of approved inspectors who have been wrong or simply interpret the regs differently which can lead to the odd issue.

Ultimately though, these are the blokes who hold all the cards on your compliance certificate so ultimately you pretty much have to do what they say. Annoying I know, especially when its something they ought to have pointed out earlier in the project.