I'm back revisiting this now as it's no longer pie in the sky stuff as I'll need to sort before Christmas when I anticipate to be almost done.
I'll state first off that I'm not looking to compromise fire safety and wish to comply with regs, if in a roundabout way to the same effect - of escaping fire.
Building inspector came for the first visit today (structural) and was happy with how things were done. Insulation visit and stair inspection are next on the cards.
We chatted about fire doors on rooms bordering escape route. Almost every door in the house..... 11 of them. Nice big solid pitch pine original doors 44mm thick. Heavy as hell.
He suggested 3 options, fire doors, sprinkler system and the following:
Approved document B Part 1 Section 2.22 “Where it is undesirable to replace existing doors because of historical or architectural merit, the possibility of retaining, and where necessary upgrading, them should be investigated”.
Please feel free to have the doors investigated if you want to keep them otherwise you’ll have to achieve a minimum of FD20 doors.
This to me is rather cryptic. Investigate. So Google time and I'm getting lots of hits for intumescent paint. Really? Can't see that giving the doors a lick of that is going to keep BC happy. What about intumescent seal on the door? Easily routerd out and no real cosmetic impact. Any info on this is appreciated to adhere to FD20.
A sprinkler system is ruled out. More faff and expense than fire doors (I think). However, I'm now unsure what a "fire door" consists of. Looking at the building regs, it seems just by purchasing fire doors and 3 hinges each, the inspector should be happy. But further reading suggests a fire door should be a "fire door set" to include rated and properly fitting frame/lining. Stands to reason as although my 1925 linings are in pretty good nick, I can imagine a new flat door won't sit perfectly. But to replace all door frames? Christ! Seems like another level of project and decoration to a finished house.
I remember a post back in 2020/2021 where the following was stated:
District Surveyors association policy suggests hard wired, interlinked smoke detection in every room as an alternative to fire doors on each room bordering an escape route.
I've looked and googled this to no avail..... Any pointers? If this is feasible, it's the lesser of all the evils. If I could only locate said policy I could approach BC to see if they will accept.
Help and direction appreciated. I already know how to go the standard route. £2.5k worth of fire doors and hinges and the monotonous job of fitting and hanging 11 new doors I don't want!
I'll state first off that I'm not looking to compromise fire safety and wish to comply with regs, if in a roundabout way to the same effect - of escaping fire.
Building inspector came for the first visit today (structural) and was happy with how things were done. Insulation visit and stair inspection are next on the cards.
We chatted about fire doors on rooms bordering escape route. Almost every door in the house..... 11 of them. Nice big solid pitch pine original doors 44mm thick. Heavy as hell.
He suggested 3 options, fire doors, sprinkler system and the following:
Approved document B Part 1 Section 2.22 “Where it is undesirable to replace existing doors because of historical or architectural merit, the possibility of retaining, and where necessary upgrading, them should be investigated”.
Please feel free to have the doors investigated if you want to keep them otherwise you’ll have to achieve a minimum of FD20 doors.
This to me is rather cryptic. Investigate. So Google time and I'm getting lots of hits for intumescent paint. Really? Can't see that giving the doors a lick of that is going to keep BC happy. What about intumescent seal on the door? Easily routerd out and no real cosmetic impact. Any info on this is appreciated to adhere to FD20.
A sprinkler system is ruled out. More faff and expense than fire doors (I think). However, I'm now unsure what a "fire door" consists of. Looking at the building regs, it seems just by purchasing fire doors and 3 hinges each, the inspector should be happy. But further reading suggests a fire door should be a "fire door set" to include rated and properly fitting frame/lining. Stands to reason as although my 1925 linings are in pretty good nick, I can imagine a new flat door won't sit perfectly. But to replace all door frames? Christ! Seems like another level of project and decoration to a finished house.
I remember a post back in 2020/2021 where the following was stated:
District Surveyors association policy suggests hard wired, interlinked smoke detection in every room as an alternative to fire doors on each room bordering an escape route.
I've looked and googled this to no avail..... Any pointers? If this is feasible, it's the lesser of all the evils. If I could only locate said policy I could approach BC to see if they will accept.
Help and direction appreciated. I already know how to go the standard route. £2.5k worth of fire doors and hinges and the monotonous job of fitting and hanging 11 new doors I don't want!
