Temporary partition - Living room to Bedroom and corridor

[Will Coley]

Hi,

Ive found a few threads on this subject, but none seem to really cover our situation.

My grandparents are unwell and will be moving into our house. Currently we have a large downstairs living room which we would like to convert into a bedroom for them as they are unable to climb stairs. This room will have to have a corridor down one side (1m wide) as it is the only access to the rest of the house due to the layout/internal garage. We will still have another reception room on the ground floor as we have a large conservatory with underfloor heating. The room will be approx. 3.2m by 2.2m. If possible we would prefer not to use a door, as it will make access more difficult for them.

Is this legal in terms of building regulations? We will be renewing our mortgage soon and will require a home report inspection, and are concerned that it may cause problems.

Ive attached a diagram for clarity. Converting the garage has already been done and is used for an online business we run from home. The two rectangles are approx bed positions for perspective.

We are in Scotland, not sure whether this makes a difference.

Thanks in advance.

 

[^woody^]

In terms of building regulations, that will be no different to what it is now. But you may want to fit a smoke detector to the corridor and bedroom area (presumably there is one already in the hallway) and maybe a heat detector to the kitchen.

 

[Will Coley]

Thanks so much for your reply.

So there is no issue with using the room as a "bedroom" rather than for a "living room" in terms of what it is used for? Change of use etc is not an issue?

 

[^woody^]

Not really. Both rooms fall under the title of habitable room in this context, so are generally treated the same in terms of building regs - which is mainly concerned about means of escape.

It's looked at from a risk perspective. Living rooms and kitchens are high risk for fires starting, so you would deal with that by a means of suitable warning in the kitchen. Bedrooms are a lower risk for fires starting, but higher risk for getting out of because people need to be woken up the early stages of a fire situation and be able to get out quickly while a bit disorientated.

You dont need any specific other fire safety measures other then being able to leave one room and either go straight outside or via a hallway to an exit door - and you will still have that.

Change of use is a planning permission concept which does not apply.

 

[Will Coley]

That's great, you've made it really clear.

Thanks again for your help.

 

[OwainDIYer]

if you rehang the lounge door to hinge on the right it will be easier to get into/out of the bedroom area at night or in the event of a fire.

 

[Doggit]

A home report inspection, will mainly concern themselves with, is there enough value in the house is you default on the mortgage, and whilst the layout may be odd, it's not his place to comments, but a door may make the new layout a reasonable change, rather than an odd one.

 

[big-all]

just a thought
would your parent not prefer the door to be opposite the kitchen door rather than fairly remote near the front door giving a more natural flow and connection allowing two areas as part off there living and easy accsess to the conservatory
yes i realize this will reduce there privacy but that may be what they would prefer
you could have double sliding doors for privacy and noise reduction if required

 

[RichA]

How temporary would you anticipate this would be?

Could you move the kitchen door? Closer to the garage to reduce the corridor run? Or even via the garage/home office to eliminate the corridor entirely.

 

[Diver Fred]

Appreciate from your perspective the wall is temporary - but have you considered the need for a downstairs toilet/shower room? Are you intending to convert cloakroom and ajoining cupbord?

 

[lt8480]

As wg52 said the need for wc/shower is perhaps needed as wc will probably be frequently required.

I would suggest adding a door to new bedroom to complete the room. Located in line with hall door and opening into room swung to the left. Then remove the door into the Hall (could reuse this door on the bedroom). This will be much more useable.

Also depending on existing kitchen layout... If you can move the kitchen door along as far as it will go towards the garage you will gain a lot of space back, and could then just take a single wall straight across. If you are having works done this is not much extra unless the kitchen is on the other side of the wall.

You could then add a small shower room/wc on the left hand side in the area behind the existing hall door. And access off the bedroom if you like.