S.I. No. 180/2014 - Building Regulations (Part K Amendment) Regulations 2014.


Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 18th April, 2014.

I, PHIL HOGAN, Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by Sections 3 and 18 of the Building Control Act 1990 (No. 3 of 1990), hereby make the following regulations:

Citation

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Building Regulations (Part K Amendment) Regulations 2014.

(2) The Building Regulations 1997 ( S.I. No. 497 of 1997 ) and these Regulations may be cited together as the Building Regulations 1997 to 2014 and shall be construed together as one.

Commencement

2. These Regulations come into operation on 1 January 2015.

Application

3. These Regulations shall apply to works, or a building in which a material change of use takes place, where the works or the change of use commence or take place, as the case may be, on or after 1 January 2015.

Amendment to the Building Regulations 1997

4. The Building Regulations 1997 are amended by substituting for Part K of the Second Schedule the following:—

“PART K

STAIRWAYS, LADDERS, RAMPS AND GUARDS

Stairways, ladders and ramps.

K1

Stairways, ladders and ramps shall be such as to afford safe passage for the users of a building.

Protection from falling.

K2

In a building, the sides of every floor, balcony and every part of a roof to which people normally have access, and sunken areas connected to a building, shall be guarded to protect users from the risk of falling.

Vehicle ramps, floors and roofs

K3

In a building, the sides of every vehicle ramp and every floor and roof to which vehicles have access shall be guarded against the risk of vehicles falling therefrom.

Application of this Part.

K4

The requirements of this Part apply to stairways, ladders and ramps which form part of the structure of a building.”

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GIVEN under my Official Seal,

14 April 2014.

PHIL HOGAN,

Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation).

These Regulations amend Part K (Stairways, Ladders, Ramps and Guards) of the Second Schedule to the Building Regulations 1997 ( S.I. No. 497 of 1997 ).

Regulation K2 has been amended to include reference to the protection of people from falling into sunken areas connected to buildings.

The Technical Guidance Document relating to Part K has been updated to:

• co-ordinate the guidance in Technical Guidance Document K with the amendment to Part M of the Building Regulations in 2010,

• take into account revisions to relevant British and EN Standards,

• take into account the implementation of the Structural Eurocodes in Ireland in March 2010 which obliged the National Standards Authority of Ireland and other national standardisation bodies to withdraw all standards with the same scope and field of application, and

• provide additional guidance on prevention of falls from windows in dwellings.