New garage build

[jonb5]

Evening all,

I have been reading the forum for a while during the renovation of my house but thought I would create a project thread for my new garage.

I have a couple of questions before I start the build so hoped you guys could help.

The planning has now been approved, an 8m x 4m garage attached to the side wall of my house, but no connecting door. It is also more than 2 meters from the boundary.

I am struggling to find the building regulations for the build. The plan is to build it timber frame with ship-lap cladding with rubber epdm on the roof.

I am wondering whether there will be any specifics around fire proofing?

Many thanks

Jon

 

[tony1851]

For fire-regs purposes, the side wall of your timber-framed garage would be classed as an 'unprotected area'.

The regs set limits on the amount of unprotected area near a boundary.

Look up Approved Document B vol 1 (dwellinghouses) and on p48 you will see the table showing what unprotected area you can have, depending on your distance from the boundary.

If it's 2m, you would be allowed approx.12 sq m.

 

[jonb5]

So my side wall is 2m x 8m so 16 m sqaured.

What would I do with the 4 m sqaured that I am over the limit?

Thanks

Jon

 

[Nakajo]

Fire protect it?

 

[jonb5]

When you say fire proof, would this simply be to plasterboard the inside of the frame work?

Many Thanks

Jon

 

[tony1851]

IIRC, if the wall is 1/2 hour fire-resistant, and faced with combustible cladding, the unprotected area is regarded as half the actual area, so they would then take your unprotected area as 16/2 = 8 sq m; on the face of it, that would mean you're OK.

But I think this only applies if the wall is 1/2 hour fire-resistant from both sides, which would imply some sort of lining under the cladding. This is because there could be a fire from your neighbour's side (eg if he put a shed right up to your boundary, filled it with open cans of petrol and was a chain smoker).

In that case, without a fire-resistant lining under the timber cladding, the studwork would ignite and your garage would be destroyed, regardless of your internal plasterboard.

Fire regs are often 'open to interpretation' as they say. You should really talk with your BC department and get their input.