Fire Break Wall In Roof Void - help needed.

PlacidCasual

PlacidCasual

PlacidCasual

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Does anyone know what legislation covers the necessity for retro fitting a fire break wall into the roof void of a 3 storey terracehouse that was built without one.

If there is no such legislation is this a typical requirement of buildings insurance and should I be able to find T&C's or abuildings insurance online?

Any help much appreciated.

PlacidCasual
 
We build one layer of 12.5mm fireline either side of a stud partitioneither timber brick or metal stud, then fire mastic the edges, the only thing you'll have to find is a compressable material between the tip and the underside of the tiles something like a fireproof compraband

For security you can put chicken mesh in between

I need to caveat this with you need to have a spec drawn up after an inspection and the above is speculative and not what you should do
 
Sorry I think I for the wrong end of the stick

It might be that the fire break is in the ceiling and not required in the loft
How old is the building
 
The building is 150 years old and has a roof void that runs across all 4 houses in the terrace. The terraces are 3 storey and the rooms in the loft space have been in from design. A survey has pointed out that no firebreak exists between the 4 houses. I have a quote for the work, essentially installing overlapping fire resistant plasterboard where the party wall doesnot fill the roof void. However I am keen to understand the legal/insurance driver behind the requirement so I can better understand why and what needs to be done.
 
It's common practice to fire break at the party wall ground to ridge, how much is the quote ?

It basically means your house stands a chance of not being reduced to rubble in 20 mins and so not spreading to others if it catches fire, fires in cavities, lofts and anywhere you wouldn't see them till its too late are a big issue in construction
 
Typically between dwellings you need a fire break which gives one hour fire resistance from a fire spreading to a neighbouring property to allow residents to vacate the premises.

Simplest solution is where you have the party walls, at a guess I'm thinking a 300 mm stone wall with plaster on hard eitherside.....you can build up a dividing separating wall in the attic space with 2 timber stud partitions with a 60 mm airgap between and finish it eitherside with 12.5 mm plasterboard on Gyproc planks with all joints staggered, taped and filled to give you that 1hr fire resistance. Any minor gaps could be filled with an in tumescent sealer.
 
Yeah I'm familiar with the necessity it's the legalistic aspect I'm looking to nail.

The quote is £3k but it is so high because the only form of access is to scaffold from the front, remove tiles and effectively fit it from the outside in.
 
I presume that your neighbour(s) would be sharing the cost as its beneficial to their properties should any fire start?
 
Due to the properties age and assuming it has not been un lawfully altered recently (ignoring any building regulations) then there is no legislation for you to retro fit the fire break, assuming the house will have been built to the regulation standards at the time.

The only time that it would be a requirement to upgrade to current standards are
A. For your own piece of mind.
B. You are making alterations and building control have made it a requirement.
C. Refusal of insurance until this has been fitted due to being of high risk, this is more like your case as it has been flagged by a surveyor.
 
At my old house the neighbour built up to rafter level with breeze block, I think the whole row was done like that. I'd prefer that to a bit of plasterboard, that's not going to hold out for very long.

What do you mean no access, where is the loft hatch?
 
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