ABSTRACT
Any refurbishment scheme, especially if it involves a building containing exposed structural elements of timber, steel or iron, is likely to need some upgrading of fire resistance if it is to comply with current regulations. Generally, the older the building, the more likely it will be to require fire resistance upgrading owing to the nature of its construction, a typical example being a nineteenth-century docklands warehouse being converted into offices. Many buildings of this type and period have open joisted timber floors supported by exposed wrought iron beams and castiron columns, none of which would come near to complying with current fire regulations. The timber roof structures of such buildings, often left exposed from below, and their timber staircases would also require upgrading. Another example, on a smaller scale, might be the conversion of a large Victorian house into flats. Here, the fire resistance of the existing timber stairs and the floors that would separate the newly created flats would, as existing, not comply with current fire regulations for the proposed new use and would therefore need upgrading. Further information on fire protection can be found in Emmitt and Gorse (2006), Advanced Construction of Buildings.
