Hi all,

I have an HMO rental property with a large cellar/basement.  Both the electric and gas meters are located in the cellar.  The property has a grade A alarm system installed, with detectors in the cellar.  The local Housing Standard authority has inspected the property and told me to ensure 30 minutes of fire protection between the cellar and the ground floor, just in case a fire breaks out in the cellar.

They informed me that the most common way of doing this is to install a ceiling in the cellar comprised of fire-rated plasterboard.  Currently there is no ceiling there, only joists on top of which the ground floor floorboards are supported.

My issue with this is that boarding under the joists in the cellar will lead to damp/rot issues in the future, something which they have acknowledged.  I suggested an alternative method of painting over the joists with intumescent paint.  They won't give me a straight answer as to whether this would be acceptable.  It leaves me a little stuck - I don't mind getting the boarding done.  However, it doesn't solve the problem of condensation/rot issues.  After all, even though there is limited ventilation in the cellar, the temperature changes there will still lead to condensation etc.  Trapping this moisture in the space above the fireboards will mess up the joists, I fear.

Just wonder if anyone else has had similar experience, or a better solution?

Many thanks in advance for any suggestions.

 

You need to talk to Envirograf who have a variety of tested solutions.

 

https://envirograf.com/product/mouldblok-fire-resistant-coating/
https://envirograf.com/product/benefits-of-intumescent-paint-for-wood/

Thanks AnthonyB.  I spoke to Envirograf who were extremely helpful, and confirmed that their intumescent paints can be used for this type of project.  Unfortunately local Housing Standards won't give me a straight answer as to whether they'll accept it if done.  Would be very costly to buy the paint, only to be told it's not gonna fly with them.

I did ask them what their objection was, they said they'd never seen it applied before, they were more familiar with overboarding with fire-rated plasterboard.

Many thanks for the suggestion, in any case!

Armed with the certification & technical support from Envirograf if they still won't commit you could take the case to technical determination for which you have a fair chance of winning (the technical data and certification plus the prospect of a determination may make them turn around and accept it by itself!)

I have just been presented with a similar problem. I have had 3 previous inspections with no problem so they are obviously changing the rules. But with no clear alternatives for plasterboard and skim. My cellar just has an electric meter plus smoke alarm and detector. I have the added problem of a lot of water pipes which are below the joists and will need to be accessed . I am also searching for an answer.  We can’t be the only HMO landlords with this problem. We really need some guidance from the HMO assessors. 

If there is just the electric meter and access can be restricted to stop any storage then local enclosure of the meter is an option if an existing HMO, although if it's going through Building Regs you may find they will insist on following the guidance in Approved Document B