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Guidance on requirements
Early on, the questions are usually simple. Is smoke ventilation needed? What kind? What plant will it need, how much space, and how much power?
We identify which published guidance and standards apply to your building, and set out what they call for. Our advice covers:
- Whether smoke ventilation is required, and in which parts of the building
- The guidance and standards that apply, and the edition of each
- The figures the guidance gives, such as a minimum free area, a shaft size or a pressure differential
- The likely plant, space and power implications
- Where the guidance is silent, ambiguous or in conflict, so that the matter can be resolved early
The answers are set out in writing, so that they can be shared with the design team, Building Control and the fire and rescue service.
This is our opinion on what the published guidance requires. We do not derive figures by calculation or modelling where the guidance does not give them, and detailed design remains with the appointed designer.
Because we have nothing to sell, the answer is never shaped by a product or system type.