Within the building regulations, fire safety is one of the biggest concerns, especially in new builds. It is important that a building developer follows these regulations to ensure there are safety procedures in place in case of an emergency. When it comes to a snag survey, our team will analyse the entire property, including the interiors, exteriors and what fire safety there is in place.

New Builds Should Keep You Safe

Although new builds will meet all building regulations, sometimes, smaller defects may go undetected. Let’s take a look at what fire safety snags there are in new builds and how Home Snagging can help.

Smoke Alarms

Firstly, according to current regulations, smoke alarms must be located no closer than 3 metres from any bedroom door and 7.5 metres from any hallway area. Secondly, they should be connected to the mains and have battery backup, as well as any CO alarm. Lastly, they will need to be at least 300mm from any light fixtures and the wall. This affects their ability to be activated by smoke.

During a snag survey, our team will check that there are smoke alarms present, in the correct position and that they all work. These are essential to detect a potential fire, so that homeowners can respond quickly and get themselves to safety. 

Fire Doors

Fire retardant strips will most likely need to be placed into the door or the frame if your house has fire doors installed. When activated during a fire, these plastic strips will expand, sealing the space to contain the flames and smoke for the predetermined amount of time. These ought should fit snugly. For proper sealing in the event that the intumescent strip activates, the gaps between the door and the frame should be between 2-4 mm.

Our professional snaggers will check every door to ensure that all doors are correctly fitted, sealed and open and close efficiently. This will not only ensure that the doors are not letting out any heat to ensure energy efficiency during the colder months, but also, that the fire doors will work properly in an emergency. This will be featured within a snag survey and the list will be then passed on to building developers to amend. 

Windows

If there are no fire doors or if you don’t go higher than the first story, then there should be escape windows. The only way out in the event of a fire obstructing the escape path would be through the window; as there isn’t a protected stairwell offered by fire doors (up to 4.5m above ground level). These must open to a minimum of 0.33 m2 and a space of 450 mm × 450 mm.

Much like checking the doors, during a snag survey, our team checks that all windows open and close correctly. We also ensure that the bedroom windows are compliant with the regulations and fire safety standards. All, so that if evacuation is necessary, occupants can quickly escape.

Home Snagging UK

Here at Home Snagging, we provide tailored snagging lists for homes across the UK. In various situations, a new build property may have undetected defects that, without a snag survey, will not be dealt with. This can lead to further problems in the future, resulting in high costs.

For more information on our snag survey service, fill in our form here. Make sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram to keep up to date with the services we provide.