Building reg's fire doors/loft conversion

Legacy_user

Please can anyone who has dealt with building control help.

Building regs state "For loft conversions... due to the greater risk associated with escape via high-level windows. These require a new 30- minute fire-resistant floor..., and a protected 30- minute fire-resistant stair enclosure discharging to its own final exit, with fire doors to all rooms (except bathrooms and WC). The fire doors do not need to be self-closing. http://www.homebuilding.co.uk/advice....I2a63Myg.dpuf

On our landing we have three bedrooms with the original Edwardian five panelled pitch pine doors. Can replacing these doors with fire proof doors be avoided, by putting three smoke detectors (interconnecting or not)with the other smoke detectors, in the three bedrooms that lead towards the proposed new stair enclosure of the future loft conversion? I don't want to lose my doors.

Thank you.

MonsieurFrugal

You can paint them with intumescent paint, google it.

I know this is accepted by the fire service, although you might need some intumescent strips round the frame / in the door

Good luck

pc1271

I think you can take the doors off and put them back after the work is signed off. You'd only have to replace non-fire doors, but if it's open plan there's nothing to replace.

leveller2911

pc1271 wrote: »

I think you can take the doors off and put them back after the work is signed off. You'd only have to replace non-fire doors, but if it's open plan there's nothing to replace.

That would be a great idea apart from the fact that it won't get signed off as being completed by building control unless there are firecheck doors fitted with all the associated costs (hinges,hinge pads,intumescent strips etc). Once its signed off the OP can do what they like but personally I wouldn't want it on my conscience if there was a fire and someone died as a result, just so I could have the doors I liked.

There may be a solution by altering the existing doors that will be acceptable to Building control by making them more fire retardant.I'm not sure fire retardant paint is accepted by all local authorities.

Owain_Moneysaver

Newlook wrote: »

On our landing we have three bedrooms with the original Edwardian five panelled pitch pine doors. Can replacing these doors with fire proof doors be avoided, by putting three smoke detectors (interconnecting or not)with the other smoke detectors, in the three bedrooms that lead towards the proposed new stair enclosure of the future loft conversion?

No.

You will need the smoke detectors (although possibly not in each bedroom) anyway to comply with Building Regs.

You might be able to get the compartmentation requirement waived if you have a sprinkler system installed.

suisidevw

Just done ours done. Had smoke detectors put in all rooms but have kept all our period doors and don't have fire doors upstairs.

All signed off by BC so OP, you have hope

holgate79

This varies From authority to authority and it shouldn't. ours would have accepted upgrading our existing doors but it would have cost too much. From memory they could have been coated with a lot of very expensive intumescent varnish or been split in half and had an intumescent core added ( again very expensive).

My sister has just had similar work done to us and her inspector didn't check that they had fitted Fire doors.

'Trying to get away with it' wasn't worth it for us as we were having a full plaster and a fire door needs a fire door frame so in the end we ended up with new more modern doors.

Mrs_Optimist

I agree that it should be the same for every Local Authority. We have had to change all our internal doors to fire doors after completing a 2 storey side extension and loft conversion. We also have smoke alarms fitted on every floor, wired into the electrical supply, it has cost an absolute fortune and the doors are really ugly too - I would have preferred to have kept the original doors to our 1930's semi -they were much nicer to look at.