Sprinklers and building reqs

[Kevin Dawson]

We're about to start breaking ground on a Passivhaus Low Energy 200sqm two-storey MBC timber frame house build and the architect has asked if there's a fire hydrant within 100m of the site.

 

No, nearest hydrant is over 300m away although there are 4 other (old, stone built) houses on the same farm/immediate vicinity to our plot who are all on mains water (as far as we know) but we have a borehole - 200+ metres of mains water piping across several farmers' fields or 300m up the track was too big a deal.

 

Hadn't planned on any sort of mass water storage for fire purposes (guessing that'd be a very large hole - and no, our plans do not include a swimming pool) or any sort of sprinkler/mist suppression system (do I understand that Wales now mandates these?)  There's nothing in the planning consent about fire mitigation and we're about 40m fro the nearest other building.

 

Are we walking into a bunch of mandated but unplanned cost here or is this a discussion with our (non-local planning) BC officer about all the "should have" text in the Merged Approved Docs?

 

Thanks in advance.

[JohnMo]

Our neighbour has an underground tank that he will divert rain water too for fire fighting. It's a condition of a habitation that it's full. 

 

Not sure you will need sprinkler system unless you are open plan from kitchen to stairs. Or lots of floor levels.

[kandgmitchell]

Requirement B5 is more about getting a fire appliance to within 45m of the house and allowing it to turn and leave. You'll only need a private hydrant if you are more than 100m away from one AND you have a compartment of more than 280m2 in area. So if your house is really big then split it up into distinct compartments with the appropriate fire resistance between.

 

Wales do ask for sprinklers and Scotland is simply another country.

[bob the builder 2]

you can offer to install more smoke detectors to get around sprinkler requirement if you are outside wales - obviously you need a sensible BC officer

[David001]

The previous owners of our house were required by the planning department to fit sprinklers before they could have their building works signed off and certificated so as to sell it to us.  Beside the massive inconvenience of channelling pipes throughout the floors and ceilings of a big house the owners had to install a large, dark green, bunded, plastic oil-tank just outside the back door to keep the water in.  We had hoped to evade sprinklers when buying an old house, but that wasn't to be the case . . . in Wales.  It's connected to electricity and does a noisy self-check once a week.  But we are at least safe from a fire burning the house down.  Let's hope the climate emergency doesn't result in the surrounding woodland catching fire: the sprinkler system wouldn't save the house then. 🔥

[JohnMo]

7 minutes ago, David001 said:

sprinklers

So sprinklers needed in every new house in Wales! That must be the fire engines having to do 20mph. So takes an age to get there.

[DevilDamo]

11 minutes ago, David001 said:

required by the planning department to fit sprinklers before they could have their building works signed off

Building Control, not Planning.