Part M and duplex’s

Are you referring to a particular duplex in existence?

Strangely an apartment building is not classed as a dwelling under Part M. Part M is a guideline, however, and most apartments are designed with wc’s that are hybrids between the fully accessible bathroom under part 2a of the regs and the visitable wc under Part 2b and the bare minimum of the vistable loo in a house. You have to be able to demonstrate that a wheelchair user can access and use the wc, whilst not being burdened with the 1.5x2m fully accessible requirement. Basically you have to show that a 750x1200mm rectangle can fit in the bathroom without hitting any fittings.

The same theory applies to duplexes. A wc has to be at the entry level unless there is no habitable room on that level, whereupon it needs to be at the same level as the living room . A Habitable room is A room used for living or sleeping purposes but does not include a kitchen having a floor area less than 6.5 m2, a bathroom or toilet. So, in theory, you can have the wc at a level where there are only bedrooms. Typically a duplex would be less than 45sqm per floor, so you would be able to use the visitable wc in Part M (but that would be pushing you luck a touch)

steps can be used to access the building provided that there is another wheelchair accessible entrance which is intended for general use ie not via the service yard through a store room.

@henry wrote:

right but i am wondering does this mean you can have any amount of steps up to the duplex -ie you do not need a level entrance for wheelchair users or do you have to have at least one level /ramped approach without steps

As I said above, steps can be used to access the building provided that there is another wheelchair accessible entrance which is intended for general use ie not via the service yard through a store room. The crucial this is that Part M is a guideline document only and the contents are to be adhered to “where practicable” If you, for example, turn a 3 storey georgian into a basement apartment with a duplex over, then there’s little or no hope of making it disabled friendly.

Anyway, I think you need to be more specific

@henry wrote:

well its just i saw duplex apartments with about 10 steps up to them in wicklow asnd i was just wondering how they would comply with part m and i dont think they would.

in that case the steps would have to be able to facilitate the ambulant disabled, rather than a wheelchair-bound individual.

in an apartment complex, it isn’t necessary to have each apartment fully compliant, so you don’t need to service each floor with a lift or ramps. however, where practicable, on the ground floor or any level where a level entrance can be created, it is encumbent on the designer and builder to facilitate people with disabilities.

@sw101 wrote:

in that case the steps would have to be able to facilitate the ambulant disabled, rather than a wheelchair-bound individual.

in an apartment complex, it isn’t necessary to have each apartment fully compliant, so you don’t need to service each floor with a lift or ramps. however, where practicable, on the ground floor or any level where a level entrance can be created, it is encumbent on the designer and builder to facilitate people with disabilities.

that’s not reeeealllly true sw101. The need or otherwise for a passenger lift depends on the number of storeys, the nett area of floor served by each entrance and the number of apartments off each entrance. Even where you can strictly avoid a lift, the need to have a level or ramped approach to the ground floor still applies

We could go around in circles for ever here. This could be a complex, it could be a terrace of duplex units, it could be a 3 storey georgian house! It could be 2 storeys to the front but have level access from a car park to the rear.

It is unlikely that these apartments were built not in accordance with Part M, especially as county councils are looking at Part M with – and rightly so – more scrutiny.

@burge_eye wrote:

that’s not reeeealllly true sw101.

i was referring to a duplex over single-storey where no level access is available from the rear to the duplex. as much as i’d love to build a 40 storey apartment building with no lifts, i don’t think it’d be a good idea.

@sw101 wrote:

i was referring to a duplex over single-storey where no level access is available from the rear to the duplex. as much as i’d love to build a 40 storey apartment building with no lifts, i don’t think it’d be a good idea.

My apologies, although you did use the phrase “apartment complex” to which I was replying as opposed to a single unit. Although 40 storeys is impossible (dare I say facetious) consider this:

5 storey Apartment building

Ground Floor: +0.00
First Floor: +3.00m above ground
2nd Floor: +6.00m above ground
3rd Floor: +9.00m above ground
4th Floor: +12.00m above ground

1 staircase serves 2 apartments per floor, both apartments max nett floor area of 100sqm each

This would give 8 aparments above the entrance storey, with 2 apartments only more than 10m above entrance level.

Storey height is 3m so a dog-leg staircase with 9 risers per flight would have a flight rise of 1.5m and a riser of 167mm (going 280mm, 250mm clear). This would satisfy Part 1.14 where a lift is not required

My reading would be that this satisfies Part 1.12 and a five storey lift free apartment building is possible. Whaddayathink?

As you say though – the abuse that you would rightly take from the powers that be would far outweigh the cost of a lift