Proposed Amendment to Part K (Stairways, Ladders, Ramps and Guards) of the Building Regulations
A public consultation process on proposals for the review of Part K of the Building Regulations and Technical Guidance Document K, (TGD K) has recently been announced by the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Mr. Phil Hogan, TD
The following Consultation Documents have been published as part of the consultation process:
- Draft Building Regulations (Part K Amendment) Regulations 2011 (doc, 48kb)
- Draft Technical Guidance Document K (Stairways, Ladders, Ramps and Guards) (pdf, 234kb)
- Regulatory Impact Assessment (pdf, 144kb)
The main reasons for this review of Part K of the Building Regulations are as follows
- The requirement to co-ordinate the guidance in Technical Guidance Document K with the recent amendment to Part M of the Building Regulations in 2010.
- Revisions to relevant British and EN Standards have created the requirement to update references in Technical Guidance Document K.
- The recent implementation of the Structural Eurocodes in Ireland in March 2010 obliges NSAI and BSI to withdraw all standards with the same scope and field of application at this time.
- There is no proposed fundamental change to Part K of the Building Regulations apart from some minor amendments to terminology, however there are a number of proposed amendments to the TGD.
Examples of some of the proposed key changes to the document include:
- Existing terminology such as ‘the pitch’ or ‘degree’ of stairs will be amended and replaced with the word ‘Gait’.
- There will be a minimum rise and maximum going.
- The height of a handrail may be raised to be between 900mm and 1000mm.
- Additional references to Technical Guidance document M are proposed.
- New tables to provide informative guidance and comparisons between Part K, Part M and Part B of the Building regulations with regard to internal and external stairs.
The Department is currently seeking written or electronic submissions on the proposals (the deadline for Submissions is not later than 4pm, 20th September 2011). For further details on the consultation click here
