Summer Quay Stalybridge
The Brief:
The design supply & installation of residential fire sprinkler system within a 6 storey (72 apartment) tower block complex to comply with BS9251:2014 code of practice for residential occupancies and the design supply & installation of a basement under croft car park & series of retail units to a BSEN12845 commercial standard.
This project comprised of an unusual design as it incorporated two different types of sprinkler system & design standards (a commercial system for the basement car park & retail areas & a residential system for the 6 floor residential levels) which posed a challenge in respect of the two different designs, materials utilised and the separate compliant water supplies to serve the two systems and remain in compliance with the regulations.
The client was extremely conscious of space on this particular project (as the apartment block was to occupy the entire plot of land and remain architecturally aesthetic) and there was no external space for sprinkler water storage tanks and independent sprinkler water supplies.
In order to facilitate the clients request to keep sprinkler system water supplies to a minimum we carried out flow and pressure tests (in conjunction with the water authority’s) on the underground water authority towns mains pipework (approximately 20m away from the site boundary) and after undertaking extensive hydraulic calculations we were able to prove that this supply was capable of supplying the car park & associated retail units to the higher requirement of a BSEN12845 commercial sprinkler system.
As the underground basement car park was to be left open around certain areas of the perimeter and entrance and would be exposed to the elements, the proposed sprinkler system would be prone to freezing and damage and a solution had to be developed to overcome this problem.
Our Solution:
In order to facilitate the clients request to keep sprinkler system water supplies to a minimum we carried out flow and pressure tests (in conjunction with the water authority) on the underground water authority towns mains pipework (approximately 20m away from the site boundary) and after undertaking extensive hydraulic calculations we were able to prove that this supply was capable of supplying the car park & associated retail units to the higher requirement of a BSEN12845 commercial sprinkler system.
As a result we were able to undertake a connection in the water authority towns main & supply & install fusion welded underground mains supply pipework from the town’s main to a small room within the basement car park where the sprinkler control valves were installed within a minimal space and from this location the large underground basement car park and perimeter retail units were installed with a fully compliant commercial sprinkler system.
The requirement to prevent the basement sprinkler system pipework from freezing was solved by installing electrical trace heating and thermal over lagging to all the exposed section of sprinkler system pipework which operate on heat sensitive thermostat’s ensuring any reduction in temperature would activate the trace heating and prevent the pipework from frost damage.
In regards to the upper 6 floor residential sprinkler system we worked closely with the mechanical contractor to develop a solution for a combined domestic and residential sprinkler system where the boosted domestic cold water system would be combined to also serve the residential sprinkler system thereby keeping the space for the water supplies to the minimum, saving the client money for independent sprinkler pumps and tank(s) and creating a more robust supply (as the pump is in constant use for the domestic system).
In order to keep the above supplies to a minimum a priority demand valve was installed on the domestic feed supply pipework which was designed to shut off the domestic supply to enable the entire water supply to be utilised for the sprinkler system should a fire condition within any of the residential apartments or communal corridors occur.
Throughout the residential levels, apartments and communal corridors special lightweight Blazemaster CPVC pipework was installed to serve the sprinkler protection throughout and each individual apartment was installed with an independent isolating valve and sprinkler alarm device to enable the identification of each individual apartment (via the fire alarm panel) immediately a fire/sprinkler activation occurs.
The sprinkler installation within these premises were designed utilising AutoCAD and was fully hydraulically calculated utilising approved hydraulic computer software (FHC) which is unique to fire sprinkler organisations that are approved by the LPCB to undertake this level of work.
Unlike the majority of residential sprinkler system installers we were not only able to provide a fully compliant BS9251 residential sprinkler system but also a fully compliant LPCB BSEN12845 commercial system within the same premises which is unique and provided the client extra confidence in knowing all areas of the premises were protected to the full extent of the regulations.
The Results:
On completion of the sprinkler installation we understand that all 72 residential apartments have been occupied with the tenants having confidence that the premises benefit from a full sprinkler installation in full compliance with the regulations and that this acts as a 24hour 365 days a year automatic fire protection system (without the need for any of the tenants to maintain or worry about) which is designed to protect the residents & premises from fire occurrences and is recognised by the buildings insurers as the best form of fire protection.