Archive for May, 2010

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Does a sub-duct comply under the Building Regulations 2006?

Monday, May 31st, 2010

Does anybody remember sub-ducts?

590 Orrong Rd SubductI recently came across a subduct in a hydraulics shaft whilst doing an inspection on a 5 storey office building. This building was designed by the old State Government Public Works Department for the former State Rivers and Water Supply commission. These can be a useful alternative to a fire damper in certain circumstances, particularly where space is limited.

AS1668.1 permits subducts to be used both in smoke spill ducts and in minor exhaust ducts. Although the detailing of the construction is slightly different the concept is essentially the same. (more…)

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Posted in Australian Standards, BCA, Building Regulations, Fire Safety, Legislation, Smoke Hazard Management | 2 Comments »

Is it Fire Safety Engineering vs ESD?

Saturday, May 22nd, 2010

It’s a resounding “No!” according to Bart Taylor, director and group fire leader at WSP Lincolne Scott. In AIRAH’s feature article  “The New Wave” Ecolibrium Nov 2009 Vol 8.10, p21 – 22 Bart and AIRAH put a strong case to prove that fire safety engineering can support ecologically sustainable design. Using Melbourne’s (Victoria, Australia) Southern Cross Station as a case study Bart says there is “considerable fire safety engineering required to enable green designs.”

Photo credit – eArchitect

Bart also explains “that environmental design often pushes very hard against the prescriptive code, which doesn’t specifically envisage the range of environmental variations often being proposed.”

Now let’s combine Heritage, Energy Efficiency and Fire Safety Engineering … That’s for another blogticle!

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Posted in BCA, Energy Efficiency, Fire Safety, Fire Safety Engineering | No Comments »

Are the Building Regulations retrospective?

Saturday, May 22nd, 2010

Do the current technical requirements of our Building Regulations 2006, Building Code of Australia and Referenced Standards apply to existing buildings in our community in Victoria, Australia?

Gavel and Law bookThe general application of the Building Control legislation is to “building works”. To have “building works” you need to be doing something to a building or part of a building.

In certain circumstances Building Control Legislation is retrospective. These include:

  • In the case of a change of use i.e. a change from one defined use in the Building Code of Australia to another;
  • In the case of a major upgrade i.e. where more than 50% of the building has been altered in the previous 3 years;
  • Also in the case of subdivision i.e. if one building is divided into two or more parts they must be brought into compliance with the current requirements; and
  • There is also a group of requirements that apply to certain buildings of higher risk occupancies – swimming pools, sleeping accommodation, residential care and shared accommodation buildings (click here and scroll to Part 7 of the Building Regulations 2006).
  • (more…)

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Posted in BCA, Building Act 1993, Building Regulations, DDA, Disabled Access, Legislation | No Comments »

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