Hello.
Please can you advise if I am being over the top - I am beginning to believe I am.
New 3 floor Boarding House has been built.
There are 3 electrical cupboards.
1 on first floor and 2 on second.
They are located in of the dormitory corridors.
Each has fire detection (on my insistence) and a Fire rated door.
Above there is a void of about 8 inches high and is wide as the corridor, which has wires and pipes running in it and this runs all along the corridors.
Construction of these voids looks to be fire rated plasterboard.
There is an inspection 12 inch plastic hatch in the corridor ceiling about 4 metres away which allows access to some pipes.
Should I:
a) insist the electrical cupboard is completely ceiled above
or
b) perhaps take the more reasonable action of ensure the inspection hatch has fire rated plasterboard attached to it
I wanted the cupboard sealed but the builders are refusing and I do see their point, what we have is a very large area but allegedly all fire proofed (with the exception of the plastic hatch).
I just didn't like the idea of there being this large are in which a fire could spread but from a risk assessment point of view - very little fuel!
Any advice gratefully received.
Marko
Advice please - Electrical board cupboard
Moderator: Moderators
Advice please - Electrical board cupboard
- Attachments
-
- Cupboard Photos.pdf
- (374.86 KiB) Downloaded 137 times
Re: Advice please - Electrical board cupboard
Morning all
Just an update.
I had a walk through with Principal Contractor and Architect and I explained my issue.
They said they do not need to attach fire rated plasterboard to the hatch as the ceiling is not fire rated and that only the ceiling of the void is fire rated!
I explained that we have an even bigger issue then as the corridor is not protected at all!
The architect said the wall of the electrical cupboard should reach the ceiling of the void and I showed him that it did not.
Suffice it to say, the Principal Contractor admitted that all 3 electrical cupboards needed compartmentalising.
A real win, but a surprising find nowadays in a brand new boarding house.
Marko
Just an update.
I had a walk through with Principal Contractor and Architect and I explained my issue.
They said they do not need to attach fire rated plasterboard to the hatch as the ceiling is not fire rated and that only the ceiling of the void is fire rated!
I explained that we have an even bigger issue then as the corridor is not protected at all!
The architect said the wall of the electrical cupboard should reach the ceiling of the void and I showed him that it did not.
Suffice it to say, the Principal Contractor admitted that all 3 electrical cupboards needed compartmentalising.
A real win, but a surprising find nowadays in a brand new boarding house.
Marko
-
bernicarey
- Anorak Extraordinaire
- Posts: 8973
- Joined: Tue Jan 13, 2009 2:50 am
- 15
- Twitter: @bernicarey
- Industry Sector: Consultancy/Training
- Occupation: Safety, Health, Environment and Fire Consultant.
- Location: The heart of the East Midlands...
- Has thanked: 76 times
- Been thanked: 300 times
- Contact:
Re: Advice please - Electrical board cupboard
Doesn't surprise me.
A couple or so years ago I was doing fortnightly H&S Inspections on a construction site that was a conversion of Victorian Warehousing above a retail unit into student accommodation.
While inspecting the 'site' I raised observations about several gash construction aspects, including problems with Fire Doors on the student rooms. They were basically using rated fire doors but them building their own, not particularly well fitting frames on site. Poor use on intrumescent seals etc.
The project was badly run, getting through 3 project managers and a change of Principal Contractor, overrunning by about 20% time wise, resulting in the Uni that had taken a lease on all the rooms having to get several weeks of budget hotel rooms to cover the late handover.
They were rushing around so much at the end, they actually were boarding over the trailing cables for some of the site lighting in the corridors, intending to just cut them off when finished, they were in that much of a rush to finish the floors to get carpet laid.
A couple or so years ago I was doing fortnightly H&S Inspections on a construction site that was a conversion of Victorian Warehousing above a retail unit into student accommodation.
While inspecting the 'site' I raised observations about several gash construction aspects, including problems with Fire Doors on the student rooms. They were basically using rated fire doors but them building their own, not particularly well fitting frames on site. Poor use on intrumescent seals etc.
The project was badly run, getting through 3 project managers and a change of Principal Contractor, overrunning by about 20% time wise, resulting in the Uni that had taken a lease on all the rooms having to get several weeks of budget hotel rooms to cover the late handover.
They were rushing around so much at the end, they actually were boarding over the trailing cables for some of the site lighting in the corridors, intending to just cut them off when finished, they were in that much of a rush to finish the floors to get carpet laid.
