Compartment floor
The spread of fire can be restricted by sub-dividing buildings into a number of discrete, contained compartments.
- Prevents the rapid spread of fire which could trap the occupants of a building.
- Reduces the likelihood of fires growing and creating a danger to occupants, fire and rescue services, and people in the vicinity of the building.
- Limits the damage caused to a building and its contents.
A compartment floor is horizontal component that forms part of the enclosure of a fire compartment.
Compartment floors are required to provide a minimum degree of fire resistance as set out in Appendix A of Approved document B2 and Appendix A of Approved document B1 (for dwellinghouses). This fire resistance is generally expressed in terms of the number of minutes of resistance that must be provided. Methods for testing fire resistance are set out in BS 476 Fire tests.
Joints between compartment floors should be fire-stopped to maintain the continuity of resistance; and openings for timber beams, joists, purlins and rafters, and pipes, ducts, conduits or cables that pass through any part of a compartment floor should be kept as few in number as possible, kept as small as practicable; and should be fire-stopped. See Fire stopping for more information.
Additional measures may be needed where an atrium, chute, stair, lift and so on passes through a compartment floor.
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
Featured articles and news
Government outcome to the late payment consultation, ECA reacts.
IHBC 2025 Gus Astley Student Award winners
Work on the role of hewing in UK historic conservation a win for Jack Parker of Oxford Brookes University.
Future Homes Building Standards and plug-in solar
Parts F and L amendments, the availability of solar panels and industry responses.
How later living housing can help solve the housing crisis
Unlocking homes, unlocking lives.
Preparing safety case reports for HRBs under the BSA
A new practical guide to preparing structural inputs for safety cases and safety case reports published by IStructE.
Male construction workers and prostate cancer
CIOB and Prostate Cancer UK encourage awareness of prostate cancer risks, and what to do about it.
The changed R&D tax landscape for Architects
Specialist gives a recap on tax changes for Research and Development, via the ACA newsletter.
Structured product data as a competitive advantage
NBS explain why accessible product data that works across digital systems is key.
Welsh retrofit workforce assessment
Welsh Government report confirms Wales faces major electrical skills shortage, warns ECA.
A now architectural practice looks back at its concept project for a sustainable oceanic settlement 25 years on.
Copyright and Artificial Intelligence
Government report and back track on copyright opt out for AI training but no clear preferred alternative as yet.
Embedding AI tools into architectural education
Beyond the render: LMU share how student led research is shaping the future of visualisation workflows.
Why document control still fails UK construction projects
A Chartered Quantity Surveyor explains what needs to change and how.
Inspiration for a new 2026 wave of Irish construction professionals.
New planning reforms and Warm Homes Bill
Take centre stage at UK Construction Week London.
A brief run down of changes intentions from April in an onwards.