Note:
This is a list of terms used in the Technical Standards that have a specific
meaning. The list includes all the terms defined in Regulation 2, ‘Interpretation’,
of the Building Standards (Scotland) Regulations 1990 as amended (these are
indicated by an asterisk). The definitions of ‘building’ and ‘construct’
derive from the Act. All the terms listed below are in italics throughout
the Technical Standards.
ACCESS DECK means a structure having a surface in the open air suitable for ingress and egress of persons to a building.
ACCOMMODATION STAIR means a stair or ramp, which is not an escape stair, fire-fighting stair, or private stair.
*the ACT means the Building (Scotland) Act 1959.
*AGRICULTURE has the same meaning as in the Agriculture (Scotland) Act 1948 (a), and AGRICULTURAL shall be construed accordingly.
*AIR SUPPORTED STRUCTURE means a structure which has a space-enclosing single-skin membrane anchored to the ground and kept in tension by internal air pressure so that it can support applied loading.
ALTERNATIVE EXIT means an exit from a dwelling which is through a door other than its main entrance door and is available for use at all times.
APARTMENT means a room in a dwelling not used solely as a kitchen, store or utility room.
APPLIANCE COMPARTMENT is a space constructed or adapted specifically for the housing of a combustion appliance.
BASEMENT STOREY means any storey which is below the level of the ground storey.
*BOUNDARY means a boundarybetween land on which the building is situated and land in different occupation, so however that -
a. in relation to any external side of a building it shall exclude any part of the boundary which makes an angle with that side of more than 80°;
b. in relation to any road, whether public or private, public access way or public right of way, river, stream, canal, loch, pond, common land or public open space it shall be taken to mean the centre line thereof; and
c. the sea and its foreshore shall not be regarded as land in different occupation.
a*BUILDING means any structure or erection of what kind or nature soever, whether temporary or permanent, and every part thereof, including any fixture affixed thereto, not being a structure or erection or part thereof consisting of, or ancillary to -
a. any road, whether public or private, including in the case of a public road (but not in the case of a private road) any bridge on which the road is carried;
b. any sewer or water main which is, or is to be, vested in a public authority;
c. any aerodrome runway;
d. any railway line;
e. any large raised reservoir within the meaning of the Reservoirs Act 1975(b); or
f. wires and cables, their supports above ground and other apparatus used for telephonic or telegraphic communication;
and includes any prospective building; and in relation to the extension, alteration or change of use of a building any reference to the building shall be construed as a reference only to so much of the building as is comprised in the extension or is subject to alteration or change of use as the case may be.
(a) 1948 c.45
(b) 1975 c.23
*CARPORT means a roofed building for vehicle storage which is open on at least two sides except for roof supports.
CAVITY in Part D means a concealed space enclosed by elements of a building (including a suspended ceiling) or contained within an element, but not a room, cupboard, circulation space, stair enclosure, lift well, flue or a space within a chute, duct, pipe or conduit.
CAVITY BARRIER means any construction provided to seal a cavity against the penetration of fire and smoke, or to restrict its movement within the cavity.
*CHIMNEY means a structure enclosing one or more flues, not being a flue-pipe, but including a factory-made chimney, and including any opening for the accommodation of a combustion appliance, but does not include a chimney-can.
CHIMNEY-STACK means that part of a chimney which rises above the roof of the building of which it forms part and includes any cope but not a chimney-can.
CIRCULATION AREA in Parts D and E means an area mainly used as a means of access between an apartment and an exit; or an area forming an unprotected zone or part of an unprotected zone; or an area in a room or a space, which provides access to an exit and is permanently demarcated from any space intended for human occupation.
*COMPARTMENT, except in the expression watercloset compartment, means a part of a building (which may contain one or more rooms, spaces or storeys and includes, where relevant, the space above the top storey of the compartment) constructed so as to prevent the spread of fire to or from another part of the same building; and COMPARTMENTED and COMPARTMENTATION shall be construed accordingly.
*COMPARTMENT FLOOR and COMPARTMENT WALL mean respectively a fire resistant floor and a fire resistant wall used in the separation of one compartment from another.
*CONSERVATORY means a building attached to and having an entrance from a dwelling and having not less than three-quarters of the area of its roof and not less than one-half of the area of its external walls made of translu-cent material.
a*CONSTRUCT includes alter, erect, extend and fit, and CONSTRUCTION shall be construed accordingly.
*COVERED AREA means a roofed building which is open on at least two sides except for roof supports.
DEAD LOAD means the load due to the weight of all walls, permanent partitions, floors, roofs and finishes, including services and other permanent construction.
DECORATIVE FUEL-EFFECT GAS APPLIANCE means an open flued appliance designed to simulate a solid fuel open fire primarily for decorative purposes and intended to be installed so that the products of combustion pass unrestricted from the firebed to the flue.
*DIFFERENT OCCUPATION, in relation to two adjoining buildings or parts of one building, means occupation or intended occupation of those buildings or parts by different persons.
DISABLED PEOPLE means persons with a physical, hearing or sight impairment which affects their mobility or their use of buildings.
*DRAINAGE SYSTEM means the system of pipes and drains used for the drainage
of a building, including all
other fittings, appliances and equipment so used.
DRY FIRE MAIN means a pipe installed in a building for fire-fighting purposes which is normally dry but is capable of being charged with water by pumping from a fire service appliance.
DUCT means the structure, trunking, or casing, with any apertures, enclosing a passage, other than a flue, used solely for conveying air, gases, or services including refuse.
*DWELLING means a unit of residential accommodation occupied (whether or not as a sole or main residence)-
a. by a single person or by people living together as a family; or
b. by not more than six residents living together as a single household (including a household where care is provided for residents).
ELECTRO-MAGNETIC OR ELECTRO-MECHANICAL DEVICE SUSCEPTIBLE TO SMOKE means a device which allows a door held open by it to be operated manually at all times and to close automatically upon-
a. the operation of an automatic smoke detector; or
b. the manual operation of a switch fitted in a suitable position; or
c. the failure of electrical supply to the device, apparatus or switch; or
d. if a fire alarm system is installed in the building, operation of that system.
ELEMENT OF STRUCTURE means a part of a building which is referred to in Tables 1 and 2 to Technical Standard D2.1.
EMERGENCY DOOR means a door which may be a fire door and which is intended to be used only during an emergency.
EMERGENCY LIGHTING means lighting, designed to come into, or remain in, operation automatically in the event of either a local or general power failure.
ESCAPE ROUTE means a route by which a person may reach a place of safety, and in relation to-
a. a storey, a space or an access deck, means a route from an exit from that storey, space or access deck;
b. a room, means a route from an exit of that room;
c. an inner room, other than an inner room in a dwelling, means a route from an exit of the room which provides access to the inner room;
d. a flat or maisonette, means a route from the main entrance door of that flat or maisonette;
e. a gallery, catwalk or openwork floor, means a route from any doorway of, or from the head of any un-enclosed escape stair from, that gallery, catwalk or openwork floor;
f. a place of special fire risk, means a route from an exit of that room or from an exit of the protected lobby serving that room, or from an exit of the room or lobby separating the place of special fire risk from any other accommodation, as the case may be.
ESCAPE STAIR means a stair or ramp including a fire-fighting stair forming part of an escape route. In shared residential accommodation the escape stair for the purpose of Part S (maximum permissible pitch) is considered to be a private stair.
EXIT means a point of egress from a room, storey, protected zone, space, gallery, catwalk or openwork floor which forms part of, or gives access to, an escape route or place of safety.
EXPOSED in Part J in relation to a building element means an element directly exposed to the outside air or a ground floor directly in contact with the ground or ventilated underfloor space.
*EXTERNAL WALL includes a part of a roof pitched at an angle of 70° or more to the horizontal.
FIRE DOOR means a door which, together with its frame and furniture as installed in a building, is intended, when closed, to resist the passage of fire and, where prescribed, smoke and is capable of meeting specified performance criteria in Table 2 to Technical Standard D2.1 and E5.5.
FIRE-FIGHTING LIFT means a lift with additional protection, and with controls to enable it to be used under the direct control of the fire service when fighting a fire.
FIRE-FIGHTING LOBBY means a lobby within a fire-fighting shaft providing access from the fire-fighting stair to the accommodation and to any associated fire-fighting lift.
FIRE-FIGHTING SHAFT means an enclosure protected from fire in adjoining accommodation and containing a fire-fighting stair, a fire-fighting lobby at every storey at which the fire-fighting shaft can be entered from the accommodation and, if provided, a fire-fighting lift together with its machine room.
FIRE-FIGHTING STAIR means a stair in a fire-fighting shaft communicating with the accommodation only through a fire-fighting lobby.
FIRE RESISTANCE means the ability of an element of structure to satisfy the criteria specified in Table 2 to Technical Standard D2.1 and in other Technical Standards and FIRE RESISTANT and FIRE RESISTING shall be construed accordingly. The methods of determining fire resistance are described in the Appendix to Part D of the Technical Standards.
FIRE SHUTTER means a shutter which, together with its frame and furniture as installed in a building, is intended, when closed, to resist the passage of fire and is capable of meeting specified performance criteria in Table 2 to Technical Standard D2.1.
FIRE-STOP means a seal provided to close an imperfection of fit or design tolerance between elements, components or construction so as to restrict the passage of fire and smoke through that imperfection. FIRE-STOPPING and FIRE-STOPPED shall be construed accordingly.
*FLAT means a dwelling on one storey, forming part of a building from some other part of which it is divided horizontally, and includes a dwelling of which the main entrance door and associated hall are on a different storey from the remainder of the dwelling.
FLAT ROOF means a roof the slope of which does not exceed 10° from the horizontal.
FLIGHT means part of a stair or ramp uninterrupted by a landing.
FLOOR in Part G means any construction between the surface of the ground, or the surface of any hardcore laid upon the ground, and the upper surface of the floor, together with any floor finishes which are laid as part of the permanent construction.
*FLUE means a passage which conveys the products of combustion to the open air.
*FLUE-PIPE means a pipe forming a flue, but not a pipe fitted as a lining in a chimney.
FOUL WATER means any water contaminated by soil water, waste water or trade effluent.
*FOUNDATION means that part of the structure in direct contact with, and transmitting loads to, the ground.
*GALLERY means a raised floor or platform, including a raised storage floor, which is open to the room or space into which it projects and which-
a. has every part of its upper surface not less than 1.8 metres above the surface of the main floor of the said room or space; and
b. occupies (or, in the case of there being more than one gallery, together occupy), not more than one-half of the floor area of the said room or space.
GLAZING means any permanently secured sheet of glass or plastics, and GLAZED shall be construed accordingly.
*GREENHOUSE, except in the expression agricultural greenhouse, means a building ancillary to a dwelling used mainly for growing plants which is either-
a. detached from the dwelling; or
b. attached to, but not entered from, the dwelling.
GROUND STOREY means the storey of a building in which there is situated an entrance to the building from the level of the adjoining ground or, if there is more than one such storey, the lower or lowest of these.
HARMFUL OR DANGEROUS SUBSTANCES includes deposits of faecal or animal matter and any substance or mixture of substances which is or could become corrosive, explosive, flammable, radioactive or toxic or which produces or could produce any gas likely to have any such characteristic.
*HOUSE means a dwelling on one or more storeys, either detached or forming part of a building from all other parts of which it is divided only vertically.
IMPOSED LOAD means the load assumed to be produced by the intended occupancy or use, including the weight of moveable partitions, distributed, concentrated, impact, inertia and snow loads, but excluding wind loads.
INNER ROOM means a room, other than a kitchen in a dwelling, which does not have a direct access to an exit, or direct access to an enclosed circulation area having an exit.
*KITCHEN means any room or part of a room used primarily for the preparation or cooking of food.
*LAND IN DIFFERENT OCCUPATION, in relation to a building, means land occupied or to be occupied by a person other than the occupier of the land on which the building is or is to be situated.
*LIMITED LIFE BUILDING means a building intended to have a life of the period specified in Regulation 5.
*MAISONETTE means a dwelling on more than one storey, forming part of a building from some other part of which it is divided horizontally.
NET INPUT RATING of an appliance is the total energy input rate determined when the water produced by the combustion of the fuel is assumed to remain as a vapour.
NON-COMBUSTIBLE means that a material is resistant to combustion as determined by an appropriate test procedure as specified in Part D.
NOTIFIED BODY is an organisation appointed for the purpose of the relevant directive by a member state and whose name is notified to the European Commission to certify, inspect or test the production of goods.
*OCCUPANCY CAPACITY shall be construed in accordance with Regulation 7.
*OCCUPIER, in relation to a dwelling, means the person inhabiting the dwelling.
An OPEN-FLUED APPLIANCE is one that draws its air for combustion from the room or internal space within which it is installed and uses a flue system to discharge its products of combustion to the outside air.
*PASSENGER CONVEYOR means a power-driven installation containing an endless moving walkway for the conveyance of persons between different levels or between different parts of the same level of a building.
PERMANENT VENTILATOR means a ventilator which provides continuous ventilation.
PLACE OF SAFETY means either-
a. an unenclosed space in the open air at ground level; or
b. an enclosed space in the open air at ground level leading to an unenclosed space, via an access not narrower than the total width of the exits leading from the building to that enclosed space.
PLACE OF SPECIAL FIRE RISK means any place within, or attached to, or on the roof of, a building in which there are installed one or more-
a. solid fuel appliances, with a total installed output rating more than 50 kW, other than kitchen appliances; or
b. oil or gas-fired appliances, with a total installed net input rating not more than 70 kW, other than kitchen appliances, forced air convection or radiant heaters in buildings of purpose groups 3 to 7 inclusive; or
c. fixed internal combustion engines, including gas turbine engines, with a total output rating more than 45 kW; or
d. oil-immersed electricity transformers or switch gear apparatus with an oil capacity more than 250 litres and operating at a supply voltage more than 1000 volts; or
e. fuel oil storage tanks having a capacity of more than 90 litres; or
f. paint spray booths or rooms where a cellulose or other flammable liquid spray is used.
POINT OF ORIGIN means-
a. in the case of a flat or maisonette, the main entrance door to the flat or maisonette; or
b. in any other case, any point within a room or storey.
*PORCH means a building attached to and providing a covered entrance to a dwelling.
PRIVATE STAIR OR RAMP means a stair or ramp-
a. wholly within a dwelling; or
b. wholly within shared residential accommodation.
PROTECTED CIRCUIT means a circuit originating at the main incoming switch or distribution board, the conductors of which are suitably protected against fire.
PROTECTED DOOR means a fire door giving access to-
a. a protected zone, including a protected lobby; or
b. a fire-fighting shaft; or
c. another compartment; or
d. a place of safety; or
e. an unenclosed external escape stair; or
f. an open access balcony; or
g. an escape route across a flat roof or access deck.
PROTECTED ENCLOSURE in a dwelling means a circulation area constructed to resist fire in adjoining accommo-dation. It includes a hall, landing or private stair or ramp but not a room.
PROTECTED LOBBY means a lobby within a protected zone but separated from the remainder of the protected zone by a fire door in a fire resisting construction to resist the movement of smoke from the adjoining accomm-odation to the remainder of the protected zone.
PROTECTED ZONE means that part of an escape route which is within a building, but not within a room, and to which access is only by way of a protected door and from which there is an exit directly to a place of safety, and which is constructed as a compartment.
*PUBLIC OPEN SPACE includes land used as a public park or for public recreation or as a burial ground.
*PUBLIC ROAD has the same meaning as in the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984(a)
*PURPOSE GROUP and PURPOSE SUB-GROUP mean respectively a group or sub-group of buildings specified in Schedule 3 to the Building Standards (Scotland) Regulations 1990 (as amended).
*REASONABLY PRACTICABLE in relation to the carrying out of any operation, means reasonably practicable having regard to all the circumstances including the expense involved in carrying out the operation.
*RELEVANT STANDARD means a standard set out in the Technical Standards which relates to the requirements of a particular provision of these regulations [i.e. the Building Standards (Scotland) Regulations 1990 as amended].
ROOF in Part G means any roof, including eaves and junctions with other elements penetrating or connected to the roof.
ROOF SPACE means any space in a building between a part of the roof and the ceiling below.
*ROOM means any enclosed part of a storey intended for human occupation or, where no part of any such storey is so enclosed, the whole of that storey, but excepting in either case any part used solely as a bathroom, shower room, washroom, watercloset compartment, stair or circulation area.
*ROOM-SEALED APPLIANCE means a combustion appliance which, when in operation, has its combustion chamber, air inlet and its flue outlet ways isolated from the room or space in which it is installed.
SANITARY ACCOMMODATION includes bathrooms, shower rooms, washrooms and watercloset compartments.
*SANITARY FACILITIES includes washbasins, baths, showers, sinks, urinals and waterclosets.
SELF-CLOSING FIRE DOOR means a fire door, fitted to close automatically from any angle of swing.
SEMI-EXPOSED in Part J in relation to a building element means an element between a building to which Part J applies and a building or part of a building to which it does not apply.
SEPARATING FLOOR and SEPARATING WALL mean respectively a floor or wall constructed to prevent the spread of fire between buildings or parts of a building in accordance with Technical Standard D3.1.
SERVICE OPENING means any opening to accommodate a duct, pipe, conduit or cable (including fibre optics or similar tubing).
SHARED RESIDENTIAL ACCOMMODATION means a unit of accommodation of purpose sub-group 2B having an occupancy capacity not exceeding 10, entered from the open air at ground level and having no storey at a height exceeding 7.5 m.
*SITE in relation to a building, means the area of ground covered or to be covered by the building, including its foundations.
SMOKE ALARM means a device powered by mains electricity, with a secondary power source, containing within one housing all the components necessary for detecting fire and thereupon giving an audible alarm.
*SOCKET OUTLET means a fixed device containing contacts for the purpose of connecting to a supply of electricity the corresponding contacts of a plug attached to any current-using appliance.
SPACE in Part E means an area of a building, including a roof open to the external air to which there is access for a purpose other than the maintenance of the building.
*STOREY means that part of a building which is situated between the top of any floor being the lowest floor level within the storey and the top of the floor next above it being the highest floor level within the storey or, if there is no floor above it, between the top of the floor and the ceiling above it or, if there is no ceiling above it, the internal surface of the roof; and for this purpose a gallery or catwalk, or an openwork floor or storage racking, shall be considered to be part of the storey in which it is situated.
SURFACE WATER means the run-off of rainwater from roofs and any paved ground surface within the curtilage of a building.
TAPERED TREAD means a stair tread in which the nosing is not parallel to the nosing of the tread or landing next above.
(a) 1984 c.54
*TECHNICAL STANDARDS means the Technical Standards for compliance with the Building Standards (Scotland) Regulations 1990 issued by the Scottish Office in October 1990, as amended by the substitute pages issued by the Scottish Executive in and dated December 1999.
TRAVEL DISTANCE has the meaning assigned to that expression by the Technical Standards E2.7, E2.8, E2.9, E2.10 and E8.6.
TRICKLE VENTILATOR means a closeable small ventilator which can provide minimum ventilation.
UNPROTECTED AREA, in relation to an external wall or side of a building, means-
a. any opening, including a door or window, but not an unopenable window containing only glazing which reacts to heat to provide the required standard of fire resistance for an external wall; or
b. any part of an external wall or side of a building which has a fire resistance less than that required by Part D; or
c. any part of an external wall or side of a building which has combustible material more than 1mm thick attached or applied to its external face, whether for cladding or any other purpose.
UNPROTECTED ZONE means that part of an escape route, which is separated by walls, glazed screens or any other permanent form of demarcation from any space intended for human occupation, including a protected zone.
UPPER STOREY means any storey which is above the level of the ground storey.
U-VALUE (or thermal transmittance co-efficient) means the rate of heat transfer through one square metre of a structure when the temperature at each side of the structure differs by 1°C (expressed in W/m2K).
VENTILATED SPACE in Part J means a space which is enclosed by structure, part of which is exposed to the outside air, and permanently ventilated to the outside air by openings or ducts having an aggregate area exceeding 30% of the wall area.
VENTILATOR means a window, rooflight, grille or similar building component (and in the case of a dwelling includes a door) capable of being opened to provide ventilation.
WALL in Part G means any wall including piers, chimneys, columns and parapets which form part of the wall.
*WATERCLOSET COMPARTMENT means an enclosed part of a storey which contains a urinal or a watercloset pan and which has provision for flushing from a piped supply of water and is connected to a drainage system.
WET FIRE MAIN means a pipe installed in a building for fire-fighting purposes which is permanently charged with water from a pressurised supply.
WIND LOAD means the load due to the effects of wind pressure or suction.