Author Topic: Travel Distance  (Read 7089 times)

Offline Tadees

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 122
Travel Distance
« on: May 24, 2011, 09:12:39 PM »
In a HMO is the bedroom fire door classed as the storey exit for the purposes of travel distance or is it the final exit? If it is the former, what about all the rooms that have to be passed with the potential of the fire door being wedged and compromising the single staircase? Obviously it's impractical to carry out a structural alteration whereby you have an additional fire door at each level of the staircase and an exit within the stairway enclosure thereby preventing the need to pass several rooms where doors may be wedged by tenants.
Some people are like clouds. When they disappear it's a brighter day.

Offline tmprojects

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 281
Re: Travel Distance
« Reply #1 on: May 24, 2011, 09:54:34 PM »
The story exit is the point you enter a protected staircase.

If the rooms are accessed of a corridor, however small, then it is a protected corridor. and every door should be a FD30S fire door. the corridor should also be seperated from the staircase by FD30S. it is this door that is your story exit.

or,

you are refering to a converted type premises where all the rooms open directly onto the staircase. then arguabely they should be lobbied.. in this case you are at your storey exit once you are past the lobby.

in this arrangement the building is compliant. if the doors are being wedged, this is a managment issue,and is enforceable. it does not alter the fact it is compliant.

Offline Tadees

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 122
Re: Travel Distance
« Reply #2 on: May 24, 2011, 10:00:57 PM »
In LACORS, however, the bedroom door of the HMO can open in to the staircase. In such a scenario, it seems acceptable for TD to stop once the tenant leaves the bedroom and not at the final exit
Some people are like clouds. When they disappear it's a brighter day.

Offline tmprojects

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 281
Re: Travel Distance
« Reply #3 on: May 24, 2011, 10:11:07 PM »
in this instance you would have sd in every room of the staircase. thus, they are using detection to compensate the lack of protection. however yes,  the storey exit is the bedroom door.

either way the story exit is the point you enter the protected staircase.

you could argue that if the stair was not protected then your TD would extend to the final exit, but this would not be a storey exi. Anyway you couldn't have an unprotected staircase in a HMO.

Offline Geoff

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 79
Re: Travel Distance
« Reply #4 on: May 26, 2011, 02:15:17 PM »
Not wishing to be picky but how can you say that 'you couldn't have an upprotected staircase in an HMO'?  I've come across loads of them in my property stock over the last few years and it's cost a fortune to sort it out!  That really should read 'shouldn't instead of couldn't' I would suggest.

Offline tmprojects

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 281
Re: Travel Distance
« Reply #5 on: May 27, 2011, 03:43:28 PM »
Not wishing to be picky but how can you say that 'you couldn't have an upprotected staircase in an HMO'?  I've come across loads of them in my property stock over the last few years and it's cost a fortune to sort it out!  That really should read 'shouldn't instead of couldn't' I would suggest.


maybe my choice of words could be misleading.

i mean couldnt in the sense that couldnt have one that would be acceptable. NOT you couldn't find them out there, which obviously you would.