SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE

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Building Regulations: Technical Standards

E8 Special requirements for certain building types

PURPOSE GROUP 1 (DWELLINGS)

DUCTED WARM AIR HEATING

E8.1 If a dwelling has a storey at a height of more than 4.5m or has a basement storey and is provided with a system of ducted warm air heating -

a. transfer grilles must not be fitted between any room and the entrance hall or stair;

b. supply and return grilles must not be more than 450mm above floor level;

c. if warm air is ducted to an entrance hall or stair, the return air must be ducted back to the heater;

d. if a duct passes through any wall, floor, or ceiling of an entrance hall or stair, all joints between the duct and the surrounding construction must be sealed;

e. there must be a room thermostat in the livingroom, at a height between 1370mm and 1830 mm, with a maximum setting of 35°C, which turns off the heater and any circulation fan if the ambient temperature exceeds that setting; and

f. if the system recirculates air, smoke detectors must be provided in every extract duct to cause the recirculation of air to stop and direct all extract air to the outside of the building in the event of fire.

INNER ROOM

E8.2 In a dwelling no apartment in a storey at a height of more than 4.5m or in a basement storey may be an inner room (see E8.3), except -

an apartment being an inner room in a basement storey with an emergency escape window providing access to a space from which there is access to a place of safety at ground level.

EMERGENCY ESCAPE WINDOWS

E8.3* A suitably designed and located emergency escape window must be provided in every apartment -

a. in an upper storey at a height of not more than 4.5 m,

b. which is an inner room. except -

where there are alternative routes from the apartment to circulation areas or other apartments.

PURPOSE SUB-GROUP 1A (FLATS AND MAISONETTES)

GENERAL

E8.4 A dwelling of purpose sub-group 1A must meet the requirements of E8.5 to E8.16.

Note: Certain flats and maisonettes entered from the open air at ground level are to be regarded as houses in some respects - see E1.3.

ESCAPE ROUTE AND travel distance

E8.5 a. An escape route from a flat or maisonette must give access to a place of safety -

i. directly; or

ii. by way of a protected zone or unprotected zone; or

iii. by way of an unprotected zone to a protected zone.

b. Solid waste storage accommodation must not communicate directly with any escape route.

E8.6 Travel distance from a flat or maisonette is the distance, measured along the shortest route of escape from the main entrance door to the nearest protected door or place of safety, and must comply with the table to this standard. Travel distance in a building of purpose sub-group 1A, other than from a flat or maisonette, is measured in accordance with E2.7 -

Table to E8.6: Maximum travel distance in a building of purpose sub-group 1A related to available directions of travel

Notes:

1. No maximum travel distance where every dwelling on the storey has an alternative exit (see E9.15).

2. 32m where every dwelling on the storey has an alternative exit.

WIDTH OF ESCAPE ROUTE

E8.7 The minimum width of an escape route in a building of purpose sub-group 1A must be in accordance with Technical Standards E3.3 and E3.6.

FLATS AND MAISONETTES: SINGLE escape stair

E8.8* Where a building of purpose sub-group 1A has one escape stair -

a. there must be a protected lobby at each storey between the escape stair enclosure and the accommodation including a parking garage and any other accommodation ancillary to the dwellings; and

b. the protected lobby must be provided with automatic opening ventilators, with an aggregate opening area of at least 1.5m2. The ventilator or ventilators must provide for exhaust at or near ceiling level and for supply at or near floor level. The automatic opening ventilator must be activated by automatic smoke detection located in the protected lobby and fitted with a manual override for fire service use; and

c. the escape stair enclosure must be provided with an openable window at each storey or a ventilator with an opening area of at least 1m2 at the top of the escape stair (see Diagram a.), for fire service use,

except -

the requirements of a. and b. above do not apply -

i. in relation to flats and maisonettes entered from an open access balcony or access deck having an opening or openings to the external air extending over at least four-fifths of its length and at least one-third of its height; or

ii. where no storey is at a height of more than 11 metres and there are not more than 4 dwellings on each storey and not more than 8 dwellings in total served by the escape stair and each dwelling has within it a protected enclosure (see Diagram b.); or

iii. at the topmost storey.

Diagram to E8.8: Single stair access to flats and maisonettes

a. Storey at any height.

Diagram

b. Diagram to E8.8 exception ii.: Storey at a height of not more than 11 metres with 4 dwellings maximum per storey, 8 dwellings maximum in total: No protected lobby required.

Diagram

FLATS AND MAISONETTES IN A BUILDING WITH MORE THAN ONE escape stair

E8.9* Where a building of purpose sub-group 1A has more than one escape stair, every access corridor or part of an access corridor which is not an open access balcony or an access deck complying with E8.8 c.i. must be a protected zone and be provided with openable ventilators for fire service use with an aggregate opening area to the external air of at least 1.5m2. The ventilator or ventilators must provide for exhaust at or near ceiling level and for supply at or near floor level; and

where a corridor or part of a corridor provides escape in only one direction, automatic opening ventilators with a manual override are required in that part of the corridor which provides single direction escape. The automatic opening ventilators must have an aggregate opening area of at least 1.5m2. The ventilators must provide for exhaust at or near ceiling level and for supply at or near floor level.

OPEN ACCESS BALCONIES OR ACCESS DECKS

E8.10 Where an open access balcony or access deck is more than 2 metres wide, any soffit above it must have a downstand on the line of separation between each dwelling extending the full width of the access balcony or access deck at 90 degrees to the face of the building and extending at least 300mm below any beam or downstand parallel to the face of the building. For this purpose an access balcony is to be regarded as open if it has an opening or openings to the external air extending over at least four-fifths of its length and at least one-third of its height.

FLATS AND MAISONETTES IN A BUILDING WITH ACCESSES COMMON TO ACCOMMODATION OF DIFFERENT PURPOSE GROUPS

E8.11*An escape stair which serves a flat or maisonette must not communicate with any accommodation which is of a different purpose group, except -

a. in a building with no storey at a height of more than 11 metres and with only one escape stair, or in a building with more than one escape stair, one escape stair may serve both flats or maisonettes and other accommodation provided that the escape stair is separated from each occupancy in a different purpose group by a protected lobby; or

b. any escape stair which serves a flat or maisonette which is ancillary to the main use of the building may communicate with the other accommodation provided that -

i. the escape stair is separated from the other accommodation by a protected lobby; and

ii. an alternative exit is available from the flat or maisonette; and

iii. the building has a suitably installed automatic fire detection and alarm system protecting the flat or maisonette.

Note: In this context ‘ancillary’ includes caretakers’, directors’, supervisors’ and similar flats or maisonettes.

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