Fire hazard gap between attics in terrace houses.

hatchman

Hi I have a house that i have rented, the council inspected it and sent me a list of their findings most weren't a problem like no fire blanket and carbon monoxide alarm (which were there at time of inspection). The one finding which is a problem is the two dividing walls in the attic between two adjacent properties don't go the whole way to the roof felt. They are few inches short in places and this is a fire hazard on their report. I was hoping some one here would be able to answer, if fiber glass insulation would suffice to fill this gap is it fire proof in this situation ? Or does it have to be filled with mortar or something similar? And should I be only liable for one of the walls ? should one land lords of the neighboring houses (both rented) be responsible for sealing this gap on their side ? Thanks.

Calahonda52

FG won't do as it won't stop smoke, not to mind flames.

How you actually fix it depends on access to the work and how close the roof rafters are to the wall.

As to sharing the work etc, the responsibility is now firmly on your shoulders, in writing, and you need to act on it.
The only way you might have to get their attention is if the only way it can be done properly is strip off the roof tiles over the wall

cerastes

hatchman wrote: »

Hi I have a house that i have rented, the council inspected it and sent me a list of their findings most weren't a problem like no fire blanket and carbon monoxide alarm (which were there at time of inspection). The one finding which is a problem is the two dividing walls in the attic between two adjacent properties don't go the whole way to the roof felt. They are few inches short in places and this is a fire hazard on their report. I was hoping some one here would be able to answer, if fiber glass insulation would suffice to fill this gap is it fire proof in this situation ? Or does it have to be filled with mortar or something similar? And should I be only liable for one of the walls ? should one land lords of the neighboring houses (both rented) be responsible for sealing this gap on their side ? Thanks.

Not the exact point of your thread but CO alarms arent required by the legislation from what I can see, the guidelines of the CC are guidelines, I was asked about a CO alarm, and even though one is there, I asked was this a requirement now as I didn't believe so(I knew it wasn't). How can the CC enforce something that isn't even in the legislation, as for the dividing wall, thought you were going to say none existed, if a fire had made it that far from one house then I'm not certain that it wouldn't go unnoticed or detected by the required smoke detectors if it made it to the living spaces. Worth looking into though.

Robbie.G

If the gap is 50mm or less it's normal practice to pack this up with rockwool(not fibreglass) as rockwool is fire resistant.
If the gap is larger it would need to be bricked up or you can use fire slabs pushed up tight to the roof double slabbed and joints filled.
You can also call in a specialist company and they charge around €400-€600 a side.its really your call do you want to put it on the councils rental scheme if so you have no choice.

cerastes

Robbie.G wrote: »

If the gap is 50mm or less it's normal practice to pack this up with rockwool(not fibreglass) as rockwool is fire resistant.
If the gap is larger it would need to be bricked up or you can use fire slabs pushed up tight to the roof double slabbed and joints filled.
You can also call in a specialist company and they charge around €400-€600 a side.its really your call do you want to put it on the councils rental scheme if so you have no choice.

Sounds like a better option, I think the op is talking about the council inspection of property, not any council rental scheme.are the fire slabs you mention resistant plaster/fibre board?

Calahonda52

Robbie.G wrote: »

If the gap is 50mm or less it's normal practice to pack this up with rockwool(not fibreglass) as rockwool is fire resistant.
If the gap is larger it would need to be bricked up or you can use fire slabs pushed up tight to the roof double slabbed and joints filled.
You can also call in a specialist company and they charge around €400-€600 a side.its really your call do you want to put it on the councils rental scheme if so you have no choice.

Have we a reference for this normal practice?

Thr other thing that's missing here is the gap in the eaves overhang

mickdw

Calahonda52 wrote: »

Have we a reference for this normal practice?

Thr other thing that's missing here is the gap in the eaves overhang

Are you taking about ventilation at the soffit?
You can drill holes and fit circular vent covers at whatever spacing required ..... equivalent to 10mm wide continuous most likely.

Calahonda52

mickdw wrote: »

Are you taking about ventilation at the soffit?
You can drill holes and fit circular vent covers at whatever spacing required ..... equivalent to 10mm wide continuous most likely.

No, I assume the soffit and facia run through on the houses so there may be a gap where a fire in house a can get past the concrete wall via the gap at soffit into roof space in house b . May be all wrong about this

Robbie.G

Calahonda52 wrote: »

No, I assume the soffit and facia run through on the houses so there may be a gap where a fire in house a can get past the concrete wall via the gap at soffit into roof space in house b . May be all wrong about this

If the soffit isn't separated it can be closed off but the problem you have is how.
You would probly need to remove tiles on roof to gain access.
It all gets debate able do you cut back the slating lathes as they would run through.

Robbie.G

cerastes wrote: »

Sounds like a better option, I think the op is talking about the council inspection of property, not any council rental scheme.are the fire slabs you mention resistant plaster/fibre board?

The slabs are plasterboard

mickdw

Calahonda52 wrote: »

No, I assume the soffit and facia run through on the houses so there may be a gap where a fire in house a can get past the concrete wall via the gap at soffit into roof space in house b . May be all wrong about this

Ok.i get you now.
Should not be too difficult to remove outer facia allowing a section of soffit to be removed and the gap then fire proofed.
I'd contact a fire stopping company and see what materials they have available. You should be easily able to diy all these repairs.
From working on construction on commercial building, I'd seen fireproofing of uneven gaps carried out using a material like a compacted fiberglass in rectangular blocks. Its easily cut and is then sealed around the edges using a fire mastic one in place .

In what capacity have the council inspected your property?

dathi

Calahonda52 wrote: »

Have we a reference for this normal practice?

Thr other thing that's missing here is the gap in the eaves overhang

http://www.environ.ie/en/Publications/DevelopmentandHousing/BuildingStandards/FileDownLoad,1640,en.pdf page 80-83 there is a picture of eaves detail including what to do at overhang

Markcheese

I've seen fire resistant expanding foam in builders providers - ain't cheap but would it be enough ?

hatchman

Markcheese wrote: »

I've seen fire resistant expanding foam in builders providers - ain't cheap but would it be enough ?

That is exactly what some one else suggested to me, it would be the easier option if regulations allowed and should stop smoke travelling too. I am annoyed that it was never caught or inspected by anyone at time of build or post build prior to sale. The person my wife got to snag it prior to purchase was obviously not up to the task. Who should have checked that the builders were building to regulations ? What input did the council have during the boom times or were they just happy to take the developers money and let them at it. I lived in that house with my family and never knew of the potential danger we were in. I contacted Home Bond but they didn't want to know and told me it wasn't their problem. The builder I feel should be responsible but as with most builders of that time is now out of business. I don't have the money to strip the roof and do repairs that way so that won't be happening. I realise this is serious problem and I will have to fix but both owners of the adjoining houses equally share the same duty of care for their tenants. Should I try to inform them ?