Loft Conversions and Fire Safety Concerns

In the current economic climate a lot of home owners have decided to extend their current living space rather than sell while the property market is uncertain. A growing number of people tend to extend their living space with loft conversions. Converting a loft can add considerable value to your properly, providing it is done properly and with proper attention paid to any fire safety concerns.

Adding Another Storey to Your Home

A loft conversion essentially adds an extra level or storey to your home. The problem with extensions such as loft conversions is the complex process of locating a suitable exit point if there is a fire. Your loft conversion needs to be easy to access and leave, and it needs to be fire resistant.

Fire Resistance

Simply put, the level of fire resistance of a structure depends on the amount of hours it can hold back or resist fire. According to building fire regulations, your loft should be able to hold back fire for at least half an hour. How resistant to fire a building might be depends on its structural makeup and the kind of materials used insulation for example.

Under UK building regulations your loft conversion needs to have fire resistant and extra smoke protection construction sufficient to isolate it from the rest of the house by half an hour. Any exits from your loft conversion, including external doors and access windows need to be fire resistant. If you’re wondering why half an hour is quoted, it’s because this is seen as sufficient time for everyone in the house to realise there’s a fire and make their escape. Half an hour of fire resistance also means there is time for the fire brigade to arrive, carry out any necessary rescue and contain or put out the fire.

Loft Height and Access

According to UK building regulations the internal height of a loft conversion should be a minimum of 1.8 metres at the edge of a stair and 1.9 metres in the centre if there is a sloping ceiling. In loft conversions the regulations state that there should be stairs that lead to the landing or hall rather than the living space.

Regulations require that loft conversions are fitted with fire resistant doors, for the exit and any internal doors, to an ensuite for example would also need upgrading. Fire doors are thicker and heavier than ordinary doors because this allows them to hold back the fire for half and hour. Fire resistant doors tend to lower the levels of noise in a house. There are standard fitting requirements for fire doors and this often requires the work to be undertaken by a professional.

In addition to the above precautions, the floor joists of a converted loft should be approved by a buildings Inspector to ensure that they provide additional protection from below if there is a fire. Needless to say all the walls of a loft conversion, including any party walls, need to be fire resistant. Windows need to be a certain size and distance from the roof edge should allow for rescue by ladder. Smoke alarms are recommended in your loft conversion within the building regulations.