fire escape ladder to suit a velux window

fitzge

hi,

i am looking for an emergency escape ladder for a velux emergency escape window. The roof has a 39 degree pitch.
this is for a bungalow attic conversion

cheers
fitzge


please feel free to move if posted in the wrong section

Mellor

If you want to use a velux as an emmergency escape, then there are certain requirements for where it can be located, including height.
If a ladder is needed, then it is not an escape window by definition.

sydthebeat

fitzge wrote: »

hi,

i am looking for an emergency escape ladder for a velux emergency escape window. The roof has a 39 degree pitch.
this is for a bungalow attic conversion

cheers
fitzge


please feel free to move if posted in the wrong section

can you put this into context please?

if this is an attic conversion, then you MUST provide habitable rooms with escape windows which comply with building regulations.
This usually means some structural work to the roof timbers.

Carlow52

+1 on the request for context.

Fire Regs are not my area....

Am I right in saying that Part B 2006 is the current set of Fire Regs
http://www.environ.ie/en/Publications/DevelopmentandHousing/BuildingStandards/FileDownLoad,1640,en.pdf

and in this regard the provision of top opening velux windows with the bottom sill not higher than X mm is no longer acceptable.

I saw some 3rd story attic conversion in Terenure back some time ago and they had these velux windows c/w rope ladders fixed to floor...

sydthebeat

Carlow52 wrote: »

+1 on the request for context.

Fire Regs are not my area....

Am I right in saying that Part B 2006 is the current set of Fire Regs
http://www.environ.ie/en/Publications/DevelopmentandHousing/BuildingStandards/FileDownLoad,1640,en.pdf

and in this regard the provision of top opening velux windows with the bottom sill not higher than X mm is no longer acceptable.

I saw some 3rd story attic conversion in Terenure back some time ago and they had these velux windows c/w rope ladders fixed to floor...

those are the correct regulations yes.

and in this regard the provision of top opening velux windows with the bottom sill not higher than X mm is no longer acceptable.

im not quite sure what you mean here. there is still a requirement to provide an escape opening from first floor habitable rooms.
namely:

The bottom of the window opening should be not more than 1100 mm and not less than 800 mm (600 mm in the case of a rooflight) above the floor, immediately inside or beneath the window or rooflight.

In the case of a dormer window or rooflight, the distance from the eaves to the bottom of the opening section of the rooflight, or, where the window is vertical, the vertical plane of the window, should not exceed 1.7 m measured along the slope of the roof.

The window should have an openable section which can provide an unobstructed clear open area of at least 0.33 m2 with a minimum width and height of 450 mm (the route through the window may be at an angle rather than straight through). The opening section should be capable of remaining in the position which provides this minimum clear open area.

I saw some 3rd story attic conversion in Terenure back some time ago and they had these velux windows c/w rope ladders fixed to floor

hope you were not asked to sign that off.

There may be cases in which an alternative escape opening does not need to be provided, but these solutions need to be engineered out and agreed with relevant authorities.

fitzge

hi guys,

sorry for not making my post clear, the velux windows are at the right height for the building regs the velux windows are gpl m08 emergency excape windows and they are approx 900 mm from the floor, what i was looking for is a ladder that you can use to climb down from the window to the ground not a ladder that you climb to get to the window

cheers

fitzge

sydthebeat

that makes sense now

sounds like youd need a bespoke ladder made to suit. any metal fabricators could sort you out, What you are looking for is sort of like the metal ladders which are used in large deep manholes.

maybe like something here.

do you need one at every window? is the fall greater than the normal 2.6 m or so?

fitzge

Hi Sydthebeat

what i was looking for was more of a rope ladder that i can have inside the window and just throw out if needed i saw some on the web and they had eye bolts fixed to the wall underneath the window and the rope ladder either in a box that you just take off the cover or just quick couple the top of the ladder onto the eye bolts, the other had metal arms that hooked under the window sill but i don't know it there would be safe enough for a velux.
I was just looking to see if anybody had one and would they recommend it

thanks for thee help

fitzge

sydthebeat

fitzge wrote: »

Hi Sydthebeat

what i was looking for was more of a rope ladder that i can have inside the window and just throw out if needed i saw some on the web and they had eye bolts fixed to the wall underneath the window and the rope ladder either in a box that you just take off the cover or just quick couple the top of the ladder onto the eye bolts, the other had metal arms that hooked under the window sill but i don't know it there would be safe enough for a velux.
I was just looking to see if anybody had one and would they recommend it

thanks for thee help

fitzge

fitzge,
the idea behind the requirement of not more than 1.7 m from the window to the eaves is so that a person can climb out the window easily, and hold onto the window as they lower towards the eaves. So in reality the rope ladder might be over kill.
If you have fears about getting from the eaves to the ground, well a stragetically placed ladder might solve that one

muffler

sydthebeat wrote: »

If you have fears about getting from the eaves to the ground, well a stragetically placed ladder might solve that one

Alternatively the ladder can be placed on the ground with a rope tied to one end end extended up (the rope) and secured to the velux where it can be used to pull the ladder up.