PIV and building regs.

Senseicads

Hi All, 

Hoping someone can help, we have turned our garage into a utility room/ excercise room....well it has a treadmill in there...i might use it...

Building control have said that as it is being used as a utility room that we will need to install a mechanical ventilation system(extractor fan) that will extract 30l/s from the room.  What i don't think he was aware of is that we also in our house have a PIV system which vents into the loft. I am just wondering whether the presence of this would negate the need to have a ventilation system in the new utility room.  To be fair it does get quite humid in there when we run the washing machine/dryer but it dehumidies pretty quickly when they are turned off.  It might be better to get one installed anyway.  I am just wondering whether we can use this to get our building control cert signed off rather than having to find the money for the install right now?  also i am a little worried that if i fess up to having a PIV that will then mean a whole raft of other questions from the building control chap about that...rather than focusing on whether it will function for the lack of extractor fan in the utility room.  If that makes some sense? i don't want to open up a can of worms here!!  

thanks in advance for any advice on this. 

Doozergirl

They've got nothing to do with each other in that respect.  The PIV is 'input' ventilation. It's creating a through-flow of air in combination with the extractors.  

The extractor 'outputs' it.  

Building Control only care about your utility and they want it extracting.  

Senseicads

Oh! that's annoying. Never mind eh. I was hoping that I wouldn't have to stump up the cash to fit an extractor fan as it looks a bit beyond me to do myself.  The roof of the garage is fibre glass or similar and I'd be way out of my depth!! 

Doozergirl

You put it through the wall, not the roof, for ease.  

rob7475

A 4" extractor through the wall should do the trick - possibly 6". Just check it meets the airflow requirements for regs

Senseicads

We can't put it through the wall, it's a terraced house with part of the garage roof being flat.  sticks out a little bit to the front but is connected to the porch and is level with next door so there is no side wall to be able to put it through.  that leaves the front of the converted garage which is a big window with a radiator underneath it and not enough space above it or to the sides.  The only place it can go is through the ceiling and vent out on the roof.  Which is a shame.  

rob7475

Senseicads said:

We can't put it through the wall, it's a terraced house with part of the garage roof being flat.  sticks out a little bit to the front but is connected to the porch and is level with next door so there is no side wall to be able to put it through.  that leaves the front of the converted garage which is a big window with a radiator underneath it and not enough space above it or to the sides.  The only place it can go is through the ceiling and vent out on the roof.  Which is a shame.  

Personally then, I wouldn't use it as a utility room and just use it as a home gym. That should satisfy building control that it doesn't need mechanical ventilation. Once you've had building control sign it off, you can do what you want in there.

Senseicads

prob we have is he's already seen it and its on his "recommendation" that we get the ventilation and he's saying he won't sign off on it without it.  :-/