Adamski

Thanks for the response. Proposed the well/ladder idea to building control and subject to a couple of conditions - size of well and extending the detector system into the basement they have agreed this would be OK.

Hello all, Have a slight conundrum with a new basement I would like to put partially under a new extension. 1/3 will be under the extension, 2/3 will be in the garden. size is approx 5 x 5 x 3 high There will be skylights in the garden bit. Access to the basement will be via a spiral staircase from the open plan kitchen/dining area. Building regs require an egress window and then stairs up to ground level - in this situation that means we will have a wall/banister 1000 high in the middle of the garden - that is enough to scrap the idea. HOWEVER... It has been suggested that other measures may negate the need for an egress opening - domestic mist sprinklers, smoke dampers and others have all appeared in the mix, but the Building Control people are a bit non-commital on this... which I understand. Before I get to Fire Engineers, surveys (as any solution would have to be certified for BC to accept) can anyone tell me from their experience whether my basement idea is a non-starter or that there is actually an acceptable way to overcome the egress requirement and make it happen? There will be no services in the basement other than a radiator and a few sockets for domestic appliances, it is intended to be a living room. Thanks in advance.