Building Safety Act Consult Limited was appointed as Building Regulations Principal Designer for the fire-safety refurbishment of an occupied seven-storey higher-risk residential building. The works include replacing combustible external insulation, rainscreen cladding insulation, undercroft soffit insulation, balcony decking, windows and doors.

We coordinated the Gateway 2 application, which was successfully approved by the Building Safety Regulator, allowing construction to commence while the building remained occupied.

Following opening-up works, previously concealed timber and combustible EPS insulation were identified around the window openings. These conditions had not been fully visible during the design stage and required further investigation and development of the approved design. Working with the client, contractor, architect, fire engineer and structural engineer, we reviewed the findings and coordinated revised details incorporating non-combustible insulation and replacement windows and doors.

We also supported the statutory change-control process for revisions to the upper-level rainscreen cladding support system and SFS design. The change application was approved by the BSR, with the remaining fixing design subject to ratification by the project structural engineer.

Potential safety occurrences identified during construction, including concerns regarding roof-void compartmentation, were escalated through the project’s Mandatory Occurrence Reporting process and referred to the appointed fire engineer for assessment.

Construction remains ongoing, with replacement windows and doors and associated fire-safety remediation progressing on site.

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