Construction drawings in Southwark

Flats, floors and fire between homes

In a converted building, fire and sound are the quiet headline of every construction set. When a floor is lifted, the new build-up is drawn in section with its insulation and ceiling, so the standard between dwellings still holds. Services that pass through the floor are drawn with their fire stopping.

Detection and escape are written onto the plans: All dwellings: fire detection and alarm system minimum Grade D2 Category LD3 (BS 5839-6), mains-operated smoke alarms to BS EN 14604. For a bedroom above the ground floor, the opening must meet Escape window: unobstructed openable area at least 0.33 m², at least 450 mm high and 450 mm wide, bottom of opening no more than 1100 mm above floor.

A freeholder or managing agent will often ask for the drawings before consent to alter is given. The same set serves them, building control and the contractor, so nobody works from a different version.

What Southwark's planning figures tell an owner

The council decided 558 householder applications in its latest published year, granted 94.8 per cent and decided 95.3 per cent in time. Its Householder development SPD sets the design test. Whatever the rate, the technical set follows the permitted drawings without improvisation, because conditions are checked against them.

The statistics for large rear extension notifications are small by comparison: 7 granted and 2 refused. With so few houses, that route is rarely the main one. Planning drawings in Southwark usually come first.

Energy, stairs and ventilation in older Southwark buildings

Southwark's older buildings force compromises on energy and access. New elements still have to meet New elements in existing dwellings, limiting U-values W/(m²·K): roof 0.15, wall 0.18, floor 0.18, windows 1.4 (or WER Band B), doors 1.4. In a solid-walled terrace, we draw the insulation on the inside face with a vapour strategy, so the wall can dry.

Stairs in a Victorian terrace are often steep and narrow. If a loft is added, the new stair has to meet Private stair: rise 150-220 mm, going 220-300 mm, max pitch 42°, 2R+G 550-700 mm, and the section shows whether it can sit over the old one. Ventilation is set out too: Intermittent extract: kitchen 30 l/s with cooker hood (60 l/s otherwise), utility 30 l/s, bathroom 15 l/s, WC 6 l/s.

Fee, checks and nearby boroughs

Terraced houses average £838,160 in Southwark. The fee is fixed after a free constraints check, and every sheet is checked by a second chartered technologist. Where a house is converted, we also draw the shared parts, since a stair or hall used by several households has its own fire and lighting requirements. The same set can be submitted as building regulations drawings in Southwark, with structural calculations in Southwark behind the beams. The borough overview is architectural drawings in Southwark, and the same service is available in Lambeth and Lewisham.