Compartment wall - Revision history

Designing Buildings at 07:38, 24 January 2025

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	* Wet riser.		* Wet riser.

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Designing Buildings at 09:12, 12 November 2020

2020-11-12T09:12:38Z

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	* Joint fire code.		* Joint fire code.
	* Means of escape.		* Means of escape.
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	* Wet riser.		* Wet riser.

	[[Category:DCN_Definition]] [[Category:DCN_Guidance]] [[Category:DCN_Regulation]] [[Category:Design]]		[[Category:DCN_Definition]] [[Category:DCN_Guidance]] [[Category:DCN_Regulation]] [[Category:Design]]

Designing Buildings at 09:10, 12 November 2020

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	* Joint fire code.		* Joint fire code.
	* Means of escape.		* Means of escape.
		+	* Sub-compartment.
	* Wet riser.		* Wet riser.

	[[Category:DCN_Definition]] [[Category:DCN_Guidance]] [[Category:DCN_Regulation]] [[Category:Design]]		[[Category:DCN_Definition]] [[Category:DCN_Guidance]] [[Category:DCN_Regulation]] [[Category:Design]]

Designing Buildings at 08:41, 30 October 2020

2020-10-30T08:41:48Z

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Editor at 16:13, 26 February 2019

2019-02-26T16:13:03Z

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	* Fire safety design.		* Fire safety design.
	* Fire-separating element.		* Fire-separating element.
		+	* Fire separation.
	* Fire-stopping.		* Fire-stopping.
	* Firefighting lift.		* Firefighting lift.

Designing Buildings at 06:51, 29 January 2019

2019-01-29T06:51:24Z

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	* The height of the building.		* The height of the building.
	* The availability of a sprinkler system.		* The availability of a sprinkler system.
		+
		+	= Grenfell Tower =
		+
		+	Following the Grenfell Tower Fire, a decision was taken to ban combustible materials in the cladding of buildings over 18m in height. It is considered that this will help prevent the spread of fire from one compartment to another by spreading up the outside of a high-rise building.
		+
		+	The following change to approved document 7 came into force on 21 December 2018.
		+
		+	{\|
		+	\| The Building Regulations restrict the use of combustible materials in the external walls of certain buildings over 18m in height. Refer to regulation 7(2) of the Building Regulations and to Approved Document B: volume 2, part B4 for details.
		+	\|}

	= Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki =		= Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki =

		+	* Approved document 7.
	* Approved document B.		* Approved document B.
	* Compartment floor.		* Compartment floor.

Designing Buildings at 06:45, 29 January 2019

2019-01-29T06:45:22Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 06:45, 29 January 2019
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	= Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki =		= Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki =

		+	* Approved document B.
	* Compartment floor.		* Compartment floor.
	* External fire spread, Supplementary guidance to BR 187 incorporating probabilistic and time-based approaches.		* External fire spread, Supplementary guidance to BR 187 incorporating probabilistic and time-based approaches.

Designing Buildings at 06:44, 29 January 2019

2019-01-29T06:44:59Z

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Editor at 16:11, 28 January 2019

2019-01-28T16:11:47Z

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−	\| [[File:~~Old St~~.JPG]]	+	\| [[File:Old_St.JPG\|link=File:Old_St.JPG]]
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	\| In a residential block, each apartment may constitute a single fire compartment.		\| In a residential block, each apartment may constitute a single fire compartment.
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	* Unprotected escape route.		* Unprotected escape route.
	* Wet riser.		* Wet riser.
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		+	[[Category:Design]]

Editor: Created page with "{| | File:Old St.JPG |- | In a residential block, each apartment may constitute a single fire compartment. |} = Introduction = Within a building, a compartment wall is any ..."

2019-01-28T16:02:42Z

Created page with "{| | File:Old St.JPG |- | In a residential block, each apartment may constitute a single fire compartment. |} = Introduction = Within a building, a compartment wall is any ..."

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{|
| [[File:Old St.JPG]]
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| In a residential block, each apartment may constitute a single fire compartment.
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= Introduction =

Within a building, a compartment wall is any fire-resisting construction (loadbearing or non-load bearing) that forms part of one or more compartments designed to help contain the spread of fire for a designated period of time. The configuration of compartment walls (and floors) in a building create one or more fire compartments. Fire compartments subdivide buildings into manageable areas of risk, protecting the building fabric and allowing people in other areas of a building better chances of escape.

= Design and regulations =

[https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Approved_Document_B Approved document B] defines a compartment [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Walls wall] or [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Floor floor] as a '...[https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Fire fire]-resisting [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Walls wall]/[https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Floor floor] used in the separation of one fire compartment from another.'

Compartment [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Walls walls] and [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Compartment_floor compartment floors] form a complete barrier between fire compartments and are required to provide a minimum degree of [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Fire_resistance fire resistance] as set out in Appendix A of [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Approved_document Approved document] B2 and Appendix A of [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Approved_document Approved document] B1 (for dwelling houses). This [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Fire_resistance fire resistance] of a compartment wall is generally expressed in terms of the number of minutes of resistance that it provides. Methods for testing [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Fire_resistance fire resistance] are set out in BS 476 [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Fire Fire] tests.

Openings in compartment walls (such as doors, windows, penetrating pipework and ducts etc) can be thought of as compromising the wall’s fire performance unless they are adequately designed. Thus [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Doors Doors] within compartment [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Walls walls], and other openings should have a similar [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Fire_resistance fire resistance] to the compartment [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Walls walls] or [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Floor floors] they penetrate.

Joints between [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Fire-separating_element fire-separating elements] such as compartment [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Walls walls] or [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Floor floors], should be [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Fire fire]-stopped to maintain the continuity of resistance; and openings for [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Timber timber] [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Beam beams], [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Joist joists], [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Purlins purlins] and [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Rafter rafters], and [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Pipe pipes], ducts, conduits or cables that pass through any part of a [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Fire-separating_element fire-separating element] should be kept as few in number as possible, kept as small as practicable; and should be [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Fire fire]-stopped.

[https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Approved_Document_B Approved document B], defines a [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Fire_stop fire stop] as: ‘A seal provided to close an imperfection of fit or [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Design design] tolerance between [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Element elements] or [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Component components], to restrict the passage of [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Fire fire] and [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Smoke smoke].' See [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Fire_stopping Fire stopping] for more information.

[https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Fire_damper Fire dampers] are installed in the ducts of [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Heating,_ventilation_and_air_conditioning heating, ventilation and air conditioning] systems which penetrate compartment walls and floors, and will automatically close once they have detected [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Heat heat]. See [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Fire_damper Fire damper] for more information.

[https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Space Spaces] that connect fire compartments, such as stairways and [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Services service] shafts, need to be protected to restrict [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Fire fire] spread between the compartments. These are described as ‘protected shafts’.

= Additional requirements =

There are a number of additional requirements depending on the type of [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Building building], for example:

* Parts of a [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Building building] that are occupied for different purposes should generally be separated from one another by compartment [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Walls walls] and [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Compartment_floor compartment floors].
* [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Walls Walls] common to two or more [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Building buildings] (eg party walls) should be constructed as compartment [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Walls walls].
* Compartment [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Walls walls] in the top [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Storey storey] beneath a [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Roof roof] should be continued through the [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Roof roof] [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Space space].
* [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Walls Walls] separating semi-detached [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/House houses] or [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Terraced_house terraced houses] must be compartment [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Walls walls].
* [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Garage Garages] should be separated from attached [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/House houses] by compartment [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Walls walls] and [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Compartment_floor compartment floors].
* There are additional requirements for; [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Flats flats], institutional [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Building buildings], other [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Residential_building residential buildings] and non-[https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Residential_building residential buildings].

The maximum permissible dimensions of fire compartments (for [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Building buildings] other than dwellings) are set out in Table 12 of [http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/buildingregulations/approveddocuments/partb/bcapproveddocumentsb/bcapproveddocbvol2/ Approved document B2, Fire Safety, Buildings other than dwelling houses].

= [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Fire_compartmentation Fire compartmentation] =

Fire compartments within a building will normally be separated by compartment walls (and possibly compartment floors). A compartment may comprise a single room or chamber, eg a restaurant kitchen, or several rooms, such as a cluster of bedrooms around a hotel corridor.

Fire compartmentation can be conceived at the design stage of a new building or else created in existing buildings if it is necessary to upgrade them to current fire standards.

Fire compartments:

* Prevent the immediate spread of [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Fire fire] which could trap [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Occupant occupants] inside a [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Building building].
* Reduce the chance of [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Fire fires] growing and creating a danger to [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Occupant occupants], [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Fire_and_rescue_service fire and rescue services], and people in the vicinity of the [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Building building].
* Limit the damage caused to a [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Building building], its structure and its contents.

The degree of sub-division that should be provided by [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Fire_compartmentation fire compartmentation] will be dependent on:

* The use of the [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Building building].
* The [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Fire fire] load in the [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Building building].
* The height of the [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Building building].
* The availability of a [https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Sprinkler sprinkler] system.

= Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki =

* Approved Document J.
* Cavity barrier.
* Compartment floor.
* Dry riser.
* Escape route.
* External fire spread, Supplementary guidance to BR 187 incorporating probabilistic and time-based approaches.
* Fire and rescue service.
* Fire compartment.
* Fire damper.
* Fire detection and alarm systems.
* Fire resistance.
* Fire risk assessments and historic buildings.
* Fire safety design.
* Fire-separating element.
* Fire-stopping.
* Firefighting lift.
* Firefighting route.
* Installing fire doors and doorsets (GG 86).
* Joint fire code.
* Means of escape.
* Protected escape route.
* Protected stairway.
* Thermal zone.
* Unprotected escape route.
* Wet riser.