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Pub & Reasturant Ceilings


Rays

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I am constantly being asked by LA's & FRA to upgrade ceilings in bar areas to 60 minute protection as per Part B, where living/sleeping areas are above. This is just about every pub and reasturant in the country. Is this retrospective a requirement for every establishment or just new builds/refurbishments?

Most pubs/reasturants will have 30 minute plasterboard ceilings and L2 systems in place, so does it need a 2nd plasterboard skim, which would involve massive distruption and removal refitting of many services or is there another option?

 

Thanks for you replies.

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12 hours ago, Rays said:

Hi Anthony B

Private Quarters for the publican, so sleeping is a possibitity if they choose to do so..

Seems a bit OTT if it's integral staff accommodation and operating a simultaneous evacuation policy with a suitable alarm system. 
Such separation can't be retrospectively applied as it's not required in existing premises FRA guidance, nor would any sensible risk assessor require it in their FRA.

Approved Document B is only for Building Regulations purposes so only kicks in for new builds or relevant 'building work' and would then bring in the 60 minute requirement as whilst it says "Compartmentation is not needed if one of the different purposes is ancillary to the other." it does say that if that ancillary use is a flat it must always be treated as a separate Purpose Group.

ADB is not law, Building Regulations are and it is permitted to propose alternate solutions that would afford suitable safety such as BS9999 (which would allow 30 minutes where the floor of the upper storey is not over 5m)

Sounds like you need to find a fire authority with experienced and enlightened staff & set up a Primary Authority arrangement with them!

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You can imagine how it would look for a national enterprise if there was a fatality in the living quarters due to a fire in one of their pubs! Irrespective of whether the floor fire resistance was a contributing factor or whether robust control measures were in place to mitigate non-compliance with current building regulations, I can hear the TV journalist with a microphone stuck in their face sensationalising the non-compliance issue! It must indeed be a nightmare to manage a rational fire safety strategy for a plethora of individual circumstances across the separate U.K. nations.

I hope I am not telling granny how to suck eggs, but increasing fire resistance of floors can often be easier done from the space above. 

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