I did research and arranged successful fire resistance tests to BS 476 conducted in the fire test laboratories in TNO Institute in Delft, Netherlands. Within the construction timescale it was not possible to get tests done in an accredited fire test lab in the UK in the late 1960s. All the floors in this 600ft (200m) high building ...
I was asked to give advice on the splendid duplex apartment located on the fourth and fifth floors. There were doubts about the efficacy of an incorrectly installed cooker hood and extract, and on the lack of fire detection in the roof space, etc. I observed that the fifth floor is approximately 15 m from ground level and beyond the reach of normal fire appliance ladders for rescue so that fire detection needs to be rapid so that safe escape ...
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I was asked to make a site inspection and make recommendations as to how, safely, one could install a dishwasher and tumble dryer in a tall two-door cupboard owned by my client but on the landing of a common parts staircase. There were only two flats above my clients flat and therefore few people were at risk. After ...
Initially my brief was to comment on a quotation for a watermist system and I was able to identify a more economical AWFS system saving more than £10k and I also suggested a revised area coverage. I was also asked to comment on the building control officer’s comments on the project, which I did.
I suggested ...
All flats require, under the Building Regulations 2013, to have boundaries (ie walls and floors) possessing one hour fire resistance. This is assessed in a severe furnace test BS 476 Part 8 or equivalent BS EN and the furnace fire severity represents fire after flashover in a room with combustion gas temperatures rising to 1000 degC. The question here was ‘Does the offset party wall and floor construction provide one hour separation between flats as required under building regulations?’
