I'm told there are strict building regulations about the distance
required between a loo and a kitchen - is it correct that you have to
have a space eg a small hallway between the two? Am trying to redesign
an area that currently comprises kitchen, back hallway/access to
stairs, and a downstairs loo, so any advice most gratefully received!
Thanks :-)

lyn rivers wrote:
I'm told there are strict building regulations about the distance
required between a loo and a kitchen - is it correct that you have to
have a space eg a small hallway between the two? Am trying to
redesign an area that currently comprises kitchen, back
hallway/access to stairs, and a downstairs loo, so any advice most
gratefully received! Thanks :-)

Take advice from your Building Control Officer at the Planning dept. of your
local council. You are going to have to notify them of your intentions
anyway, so you might as well get them involved now...
--

Reply address is spamtrapped. Remove theobvious for valid e-mail address

In article om,
"lyn rivers" writes:
I'm told there are strict building regulations about the distance
required between a loo and a kitchen - is it correct that you have to
have a space eg a small hallway between the two? Am trying to redesign

I had this discussion with a surveyor about 5 years ago. Apparently
there was much confusion, including BCO's, for many years. However,
it never was a requirement, and the regs were reworded to make this
clearer (although I haven't checked this part myself). I have a vague
recollection there might have been a requirement for some type of
fan ventilation in a room containing a WC opening off a kitchen.

an area that currently comprises kitchen, back hallway/access to
stairs, and a downstairs loo, so any advice most gratefully received!

There are rules preventing a kitchen being open plan with your
staircase if this forms your upstairs fire escape route.

--
Andrew Gabriel

The message om
from "lyn rivers" contains these words:

I'm told there are strict building regulations about the distance
required between a loo and a kitchen - is it correct that you have to
have a space eg a small hallway between the two? Am trying to redesign
an area that currently comprises kitchen, back hallway/access to
stairs, and a downstairs loo, so any advice most gratefully received!
Thanks :-)

ISTR that the requirement to have an annex between loo and kitchen was
removed a few years ago. If so it must be about the only occasion that
regulations have ever been changed to make things easier.

--
Roger

"lyn rivers" wrote in message
ps.com...
I'm told there are strict building regulations about the distance
required between a loo and a kitchen - is it correct that you have to
have a space eg a small hallway between the two? Am trying to redesign
an area that currently comprises kitchen, back hallway/access to
stairs, and a downstairs loo, so any advice most gratefully received!
Thanks :-)


In practice, it was found that people actually learned quite quickly how to
live with the differing smells that emanated from each of the apartments.
So the regulation is now "If you can live with the smell, then it must be
OK".

On 18 Jan 2005 04:20:01 -0800, "lyn rivers"
wrote:

I'm told there are strict building regulations about the distance
required between a loo and a kitchen

No, there are vague and floppy ones. It can vary between two sides of
the same city ! If you live somewhere with lots of Victorian
terraces and a later bathroom added as a ground-floor extension to the
rear, then the local BCO can be quite flexible over this, because
they'd otherwise have to rebuild half the housing stock. Go across
town to the '20s bungalows and '30s semis and the BCO can be awkward
about it.

Ask your local BCO. It's them you have to deal with.
--
Smert' spamionam

lyn rivers wrote:

I'm told there are strict building regulations about the distance
required between a loo and a kitchen - is it correct that you have to
have a space eg a small hallway between the two? Am trying to redesign
an area that currently comprises kitchen, back hallway/access to
stairs, and a downstairs loo, so any advice most gratefully received!
Thanks :-)


I think the requirement is now only to have a separate wash area and a
door between.

That is, you cannot have a bog in the kichen itself, nor yet in a room
off the kitchen unless there is a separate washing facility BETWEEN THE
TWO or IN THE BOG ROOM.

The requirement for a ventilated lobby between has been superseded by
more stringent regulations on e.g. extractor fans in the bog itself.
This is deemed to keep the smell of **** and pee out of the soup adequately.

So, what you need for a minimal loo off a kitchen is a door, and an
extractor fan, and a wash basin in it. Plus some way of lighting it.

Ther is no requirement for an opening window, but if there is no other
means you need a leaky door (a little gap under it will do, or a grille
in it) to let air in that the fan will extract.

Lots of houses tuck them under the stairs. A very good use of space IMHO.

Andrew Gabriel wrote:
In article om,
"lyn rivers" writes:

I'm told there are strict building regulations about the distance
required between a loo and a kitchen - is it correct that you have to
have a space eg a small hallway between the two? Am trying to redesign


I had this discussion with a surveyor about 5 years ago. Apparently
there was much confusion, including BCO's, for many years. However,
it never was a requirement, and the regs were reworded to make this
clearer (although I haven't checked this part myself). I have a vague


There are rules preventing a kitchen being open plan with your
staircase if this forms your upstairs fire escape route.

Once upon a time the rules were that you could not have the loo opening
diretly onto a food preparation area.
I once viewed a flat conversion where this rule had resulted in a
'bathroom' in which a loo at one end and the shower at the other end
were separated by a lobby opening into the kitchen. Needless to say the
owner had removed the loo and shower doors in order to create a more
useable layout.

Only lat year I was looking at a new dvelopment/refurbishment in which a
2 up 2 down cottage had been coverted with an open-plan kitchen in the
front room and a loo under staircase in the same room. It seems the
regs requiring a downstairs loo took precedence over the hygine factor.






--
David Clark

$message_body_include ="PLES RING IF AN RNSR IS REQIRD"

In article om,
lyn rivers wrote:
I'm told there are strict building regulations about the distance
required between a loo and a kitchen - is it correct that you have to
have a space eg a small hallway between the two? Am trying to redesign
an area that currently comprises kitchen, back hallway/access to
stairs, and a downstairs loo, so any advice most gratefully received!
Thanks :-)

At one time there were regulations requiring a ventilated corridor - but
according to a pal who converts old houses into small flats to let, these
have changed. In London, at least.

Best plan would be to ask your local BCO - they don't bite. Well, not
often.

--
*Why is 'abbreviation' such a long word?

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Andy Dingley wrote:

On 18 Jan 2005 04:20:01 -0800, "lyn rivers"
wrote:


I'm told there are strict building regulations about the distance
required between a loo and a kitchen


No, there are vague and floppy ones. It can vary between two sides of
the same city ! If you live somewhere with lots of Victorian
terraces and a later bathroom added as a ground-floor extension to the
rear, then the local BCO can be quite flexible over this, because
they'd otherwise have to rebuild half the housing stock. Go across
town to the '20s bungalows and '30s semis and the BCO can be awkward
about it.

Ask your local BCO. It's them you have to deal with.

The regulatins I have are specific and dated 2000.

There is no reqwuirement to have a room between the loo and the kitchen.

There are requiremnts on having a basin separate from the kitchen sink
however, between the loo and the kitchen.

The loo must be adequately ventilated.

Those are in a nutshell the applicable regs. There is no floppiness
about it whatsoever. They specifically mention that there is 'no longer
a requirement for a ventialated lobby between kitchen and sanitary room,
as new ventilatoin requirements cover that'

Its not so hard to look up the regs online. I have the book.

"lyn rivers" wrote in message
ps.com...
I'm told there are strict building regulations about the distance
required between a loo and a kitchen - is it correct that you have to
have a space eg a small hallway between the two? Am trying to redesign
an area that currently comprises kitchen, back hallway/access to
stairs, and a downstairs loo, so any advice most gratefully received!
Thanks :-)


The distance or separation requirement was removed but what is required is
that there is no possibility of the kitchen sink being used to wash ones
hands after using the toilet. There must be a sink in the toilet and it
must be easy enough to use - i.e. not totally inaccessable behind the door.

Thanks for all the replies - that seems to have cleared up the
loo/kitchen question nicely :-)

Am now doing a rethink due to Andrew's mention of fire escape routes
though;

There are rules preventing a kitchen being open plan with your
staircase if this forms your upstairs fire escape route

....this is something I hadn't even thought of before, so thanks for
that, Andrew!

What a knowledgeable (sp?) bunch you are :-)

Lyn

On Tue, 18 Jan 2005 23:01:13 GMT, a particular chimpanzee named
quisquiliae randomly hit the
keyboard and produced:

Only lat year I was looking at a new dvelopment/refurbishment in which a
2 up 2 down cottage had been coverted with an open-plan kitchen in the
front room and a loo under staircase in the same room. It seems the
regs requiring a downstairs loo took precedence over the hygine factor.

There's no requirement for a downstairs WC in a conversion of an
existing building, unless there was one there before.
--
Hugo Nebula
'What you have to ask yourself is, "if no-one on the internet wants
a piece of this, just how far from the pack have you strayed?"'

On Tue, 18 Jan 2005 23:01:13 GMT, quisquiliae
wrote:

Once upon a time the rules were that you could not have the loo opening
diretly onto a food preparation area.
I once viewed a flat conversion where this rule had resulted in a
'bathroom' in which a loo at one end and the shower at the other end
were separated by a lobby opening into the kitchen. Needless to say the
owner had removed the loo and shower doors in order to create a more
useable layout.

I had a 2up-2down with a bathroom extension off the kitchen, which had
two consecutive doors between them. Nothing between the doors at all.
--
On-line canal route planner: http://www.canalplan.org.uk

(Waterways World site of the month, April 2001)

In article .com,
"lyn rivers" writes:

Am now doing a rethink due to Andrew's mention of fire escape routes
though;

There are rules preventing a kitchen being open plan with your
staircase if this forms your upstairs fire escape route

...this is something I hadn't even thought of before, so thanks for
that, Andrew!

What a knowledgeable (sp?) bunch you are :-)

Don't just take my word for it though -- I'm not expert in this area.
For example, it might be something that only kicks in with 3 floors.

--
Andrew Gabriel

Mike wrote:
"lyn rivers" wrote in message
ps.com...

I'm told there are strict building regulations about the distance
required between a loo and a kitchen - is it correct that you have to
have a space eg a small hallway between the two? Am trying to redesign
an area that currently comprises kitchen, back hallway/access to
stairs, and a downstairs loo, so any advice most gratefully received!
Thanks :-)



The distance or separation requirement was removed but what is required is
that there is no possibility of the kitchen sink being used to wash ones
hands after using the toilet. There must be a sink in the toilet and it
must be easy enough to use - i.e. not totally inaccessable behind the door.


This is probably because they finally worked out that it wasn't the
smell that caused tummy upsets but lack of proper hand washing when
preparing food.