House plans

[Central]

Is it possible to find out the original plan of my house or any history on it.

The reason I ask is because one of the bedrooms has a plasterboard wall and also in other places of the house is door frames with the doors removed

I have asked the Landlord but he said it was like that when he got it

Cheers

[popper]

http://architecture.about.com/cs/rep...ndoldplans.htm
http://search.ntlworld.com/ntlworld/...tryGB&x=37&y=8

[Bula Bula]

Originally Posted by Be*

Is it possible to find out the original plan of my house or any history on it.

The reason I ask is because one of the bedrooms has a plasterboard wall and also in other places of the house is door frames with the doors removed

I have asked the Landlord but he said it was like that when he got it

Cheers

What a confidence! The second post that I read and it's spot on what I am planning to do this morning.

I will go to the planning Department of the council and I will ask them to give me the file of my house. They told me (on the phone) that I can have a look but I might not be able to copy the plans as they might be copyrighted by the architect. I will also speak to the Building Control Dept and ask them the very same thing...

[fireman328]

Originally Posted by Bula Bula

What a confidence! The second post that I read and it's spot on what I am planning to do this morning.

I will go to the planning Department of the council and I will ask them to give me the file of my house. They told me (on the phone) that I can have a look but I might not be able to copy the plans as they might be copyrighted by the architect. I will also speak to the Building Control Dept and ask them the very same thing...

Just take care, your enquiry may reveal that unauthourised work has been carried out to the property which should have been sanctioned by building control or architects department. The lack of internal doors is a little worrying IMHO. It could lead to you opening a can of worms which the Local Authority would have to act upon once it was drawn to their attention.

[Bula Bula]

I just spoke to the Council. No plans in file

[fireman328]

Originally Posted by Bula Bula

I just spoke to the Council. No plans in file

Oh well, it could be a blessing in disguise.

[Rob]

Originally Posted by fireman328

Just take care, your enquiry may reveal that unauthourised work has been carried out to the property which should have been sanctioned by building control or architects department. The lack of internal doors is a little worrying IMHO. It could lead to you opening a can of worms which the Local Authority would have to act upon once it was drawn to their attention.

It's unlikely that a local authority would take action on a single dwelling, for Building Regulations matters older that came to light a year or more later, unless the issue was so bad that the building could become a dangerous structure. Houses in multiple occupation, commercial buildings yes and frequently where means of escape might be compromised. All too often do I survey houses where somethign was done 5 years, or so, ago, in blatant disregard of regulations. I draw attention to it, but know that nothing will be enforced, leaving it to the new owner's choice to rectify.

Town planning though could see action, if only for the authority to prevent something becoming a precedent in tha area. But chances are someone would already have complained, as planning problems are usually visible from the building exterior and some nosey neighbour will have said something.

[fireman328]

It was the means of escape which would cause me some concern, if a fire occurred down stairs during the night the occupants would be in some danger of not being able to vacate to a place of ultimate safety. I do appreciate the tenet that an "English mans home is is castle" but if a fatality occured because of the removal of fire seperation, a Coroner may take the view that the person who recklessly removed the doors was guilty of manslaughter. In my opinion this is unlikely but has to be considered.

Something else has just occured to me, the matter of insurance, I am almost certain that an insurance company is unlikely to pay out after their surveyors discovered that there was no fire seperation which could have held the fire damage to one room.

[greencreeper]

My house has a simple layout, so the interior is not a mystery. I used the 1901 Census to find out who lived here not long after it was built - bloke called "Herbert" who was a house painter. Leeds has the Leodis project - photographs of Leeds across the years. Some interesting pictures of my area. General Leeds history has told me that the area was subject to various slum clearances over the years - clearance, rebuild, clearance, rebuild... The land registry gave me some fascinating information about the land - strange alcohol clause Not sure what that's about. But they had money - loads of it - and interestingly some of the streets are named after them.

[Rob]

Originally Posted by fireman328

Something else has just occured to me, the matter of insurance, I am almost certain that an insurance company is unlikely to pay out after their surveyors discovered that there was no fire seperation which could have held the fire damage to one room.

So many properties are open plan design that I doubt that would be the case. Yes fire separation between properties is important - for years they've wanted proper fire walls in roofs when the victorian or earleir houses often were built without these. But since insurer's can't force you to keep internal doors shut, that's not much worse than having no door or wall altogether. Building Regulations was never originally supposed to be about protecting the structure, just the welfare of persons using it.