Floor plan of existing houses/apartments

mlb10theshow

Hi,

I'm looking to purchase an apartment and looking to obtain a copy of the original floor plan to determine type of walls for a small renovation. Is there a way to obtain floor plan of a existing house/apartment before purchasing? If so, what the best way?

Thanks,

athtrasna

Did you ask the estate agent? Be aware though if it is an apartment you may require management company consent for making alterations to the apartment layout

BryanF

athtrasna wrote: »

Did you ask the estate agent? Be aware though if it is an apartment you may require management company consent for making alterations to the apartment layout

And potentially revision of fire cert.

4ensic15

Go and look at the planning file.

mlb10theshow

Do I need those to just demolish a internal drywall (platerboard wall) ?

seamus

Yeah, you can get a copy of the original planning file. Depending on how old the apartment is though, there may not actually be any drawings of much use in the planning file.
The finished apartment frequently also differs from the original plans, though not by much.

Drift

Also the planning drawings won't usually show the "type" of wall. - i.e. blockwork, timber/metal stud, loadbearing or not, etc. etc.

I see you subsequently described it as a plasterboard wall? If you know that what other information are you after?

As BryanF says through - the apartment will have a fire safety certificate based on its current layout. Any changes will require a new one which:

a. Probably would mean the whole apartment block requiring a new one.
b. You probably couldn't apply for yourself.
c. Will cost you thousands in consultancy fees.

Gumbo

mlb10theshow wrote: »

Do I need those to just demolish a internal drywall (platerboard wall) ?

It's possible yeah.

You will need :

Management company approval.
Fire safety certificate.
Disability access certificate.

mlb10theshow

kceire wrote: »

It's possible yeah.

You will need :

Management company approval.
Fire safety certificate.
Disability access certificate.

Thanks for the answer even though I still don't get why I need those for minor interior alterations. Is there a way that I can browse these regulations ?

Drift

Technical Guidance Document B is the one that deals with Fire Safety:

http://www.environ.ie/en/TGD/



The fire safety certificate is issued to the builder/developer when they prove to the fire safety officer that their building meets these (or similar) regulations and is therefore safe (relatively speaking) in the case of fire. If you change the layout of your apartment you might inadvertantly increase the distance or time taken to evacuate the apartment in case of fire. Or you may make it impossible to do so for specific types of fire or for specific types of people. You may also make it easier for a fire to spread by changing certain items of the layout.

So in order to prove that you are not making the building less safe a new fire safety certificate will be required for the building (they are not issued to individual apartments). This is an expensive undertaking because you will need a consultant to work on your behalf and at a bare minimum you will need the management company to give you the ok (which I doubt they will). I'm pretty sure the cost alone would be prohibitive to you. BEST case scenario is many thousands of euro for the paperwork.

A very similar set of circumstances and certification applies to disability access and a Disability Access Certificate. TGD M is the one you need to read for that.

Gumbo

mlb10theshow wrote: »

Thanks for the answer even though I still don't get why I need those for minor interior alterations. Is there a way that I can browse these regulations ?

The Building Control Act 1990-2015 will set out when works, including minor works require a Fire Cert, DAC and subsequently a Commencement Notice.

mlb10theshow

Thanks for answers. I understand needs but, it sounds like it's too expensive. I'm getting there but, does the same rule applies for other common interior works like replacing kitchen and replacing shower booth?

Gumbo

mlb10theshow wrote: »

Thanks for answers. I understand needs but, it sounds like it's too expensive. I'm getting there but, does the same rule applies for other common interior works like replacing kitchen and replacing shower booth?

Replacement of kitchen or shower is not an alteration to the layout so no.

F412

kceire wrote: »

It's possible yeah.

You will need :

Management company approval.
Fire safety certificate.
Disability access certificate.

Surely this is difficult to police?

i.e. whats stopping someone making changes, particularly when its only dry wall so not going to be like kangoing conctrete making loads of noise etc.

Peregrinus

What stops them is the fear that they may end up with an unsaleable apartment, which is a bit of a bummer if you ever want to move on.

Plus the risk that, when the management company finds out, they'll get distinctly shirty and, oh, I don't know, expect the person who did this to pay the costs of having the apartment block recertified.