Building regulations when knocking down kitchen wall

2 years ago

I’m having trouble getting a clear answer from local building control (still trying) so wondered if anyone here can clarify.
I would like to knock the wall between kitchen and hall down. So front door opens straight into kitchen. I thought that to meet fire regs I would then need to put in a wall/doorway (of appropriate standard) between kitchen and stairs -marked on my plan in pink. Will this be sufficient to meet building regs? It’s a 3 storey house. There are doors off the hallway to utility and living room, both of which have doors to the garden. Any knowledge appreciated.

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Comments (4)

arc3d
2 years ago
Usually building regs don't like it when "means of escape" are reduced. There are no doors between the stairs and the outisde currently i.e. down the strairs and staright out of the front door. The kitchen is the most likely source of a fire. There is now no direct escape except via an internal door. This reduces the means of escape, however you have two other non direct routes so it really depends on whether your building regs officer thinks that is sufficient.

If not, this could be an alternative

Also useful for when you want guests to avoid the pile of dishes in the sink!
Jonathan
2 years ago
Speak to the building regs people. Likely they would have not worried about you building a porch and therefore adding an additional door to your fire exit, so going through your utility room or living room to exit is no different.
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We'd prefer an enclosed utility, probably adding a new door from from the dining area so that we no longer have to enter via the conservatory (whoever added the extension to this house didn't think it through properly!). On the plan the red outlines are the open plan kitchen/diner that would be created by knocking down the kitchen wall & moving the utility wall. We'd make a new entrance to the playroom so that no useable space in that room would be wasted. We did think about encorporating all of the utility into the open plan & slicing off the top of the playroom too but then we'd lose the area in the playroom where we have a sofa that is used by the kids a lot.
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Thank you for the replies! We have had a few people out and all are saying different. I am thinking that I could block upstairs and have a door at the top to separate the two levels but have to check to see if this would pass the regs. it would mean I could still have my desired open living area and have to compromise the upstairs light. I am installing a new window too which will also help 🙏
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Personally I’d want the living space to have the views and garden access. I also wouldn’t be keen walking down two floors to do the laundry (I have that!) id probably convert the kitchen and dining into a master with ensuite though rather than two bedrooms. live it in for a while though and see what works for you and then bring an architect on board
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Do you need to visualize your rooms in 3D? Before starting any reform, it would be good if you could see it finished even without having started. For this, here I am willing to capture all the ideas in a 3D design, where you will see the realism of the room both in textures and in the style that you would like to see. Before contacting me, I invite you to look at my Portfolio, there you will find information that may be useful to you and help you say. I invite you to enter my Instagram where you will see some 3D design images. Portafolio Instagram Example of a reform, extension of a children's bedroom Final result, and change from girl to boy. At the last moment we changed furniture since it was a child and since we are focused on space and once we have finished deciding that if we add space we realize that it was a child, we would have to adapt the furniture to the child.
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1sandyh
2 years ago
The only way to do it is as Arc suggested, so that you have a means of escape in a fire. Of course you will still need a fire door on the kitchen too.

It’s whether knocking the wall down & relocating the front door is worth it financially? How much space will you gain in the kitchen? You definitely cannot just remove the hallway.

If the kitchen was on fire, how would you get out? Building regs won’t pass that off. Must be a protected means of escape. Presuming your house has fire doors being 3 storey, they usually give 30 mins of protection. So if your kitchen was on fire for example, the door closed, you would be able to escape in the way Arc has suggested.
natalieduranton
Original Author
2 years ago
Thanks all for commenting. Great suggestion on moving the door but worried this will be costly and look strange at front of house!
I read the regs and thought that the requirement was for a protected stairway to final exit OR protected stairway that gives access to two final exits, in my case patio doors to garden from utility and living room, so was hoping this one would apply.
There do seem to be different views on this so I guess it might end up being down to the building regs officer I get. Thanks so much for taking the time to reply.

Building regulations when knocking down kitchen wall

Comments (4)

arc3d

Jonathan

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Building regulations when knocking down kitchen wall

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arc3d

Jonathan

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