Smaller Projects
Fire-safety engineering has applications in projects large and small, offering elegant and functional solutions to conceptual and design issues at any scale. For smaller projects, it may be used to secure significant cost-savings and increased efficiency in the construction process. Whether it be a fire-safety upgrade, a redevelopment or a brand new construction, Stephen Grubits & Associates has the experience and knowledge to apply the unique, value-adding performance-based approach that has made us leaders in our field.
Performance-based solutions
At Stephen Grubits & Associates we’ve developed a range of technical solutions for issues typical of both small-scale projects and the smaller details of larger projects.
We provide the most up-to-date advice on the following important aspects of fire-safety design:
- structural fire resistance
- fire compartmentalisation
- protection of openings and proximity to boundaries or other buildings
- minor egress compliance issues
- fire system design details, such as sprinkler head location, building code requirements, and water supply problems.
Such design issues are commonly associated with fire upgrades to existing buildings, and may be smoothly resolved using our unique approach.
How we work
With a determined focus on the objectives of the building code, rather than its prescriptive detail, we identify alternative solutions to meet compliance needs.
Some of the typical services we are called on to provide include the following:
- Fire spread analysis to and from openings adjacent to boundaries. In previous projects, computational analyses have allowed us to demonstrate the validity of placing openings to within three metres of property boundaries.
- Assessment of structural fire resistance. This may permit reduced fire-resistant loads by either burnout analysis or ‘sprinkler controlled’ fire analysis.
- Resolution of egress issues. We have a suite of methods, including the equivalence method, to address such issues and justify the use of alternative egress designs.
Thanks to our systematic approach to problem solving through modelling, we have the capacity to handle any problems we haven’t previously come across. With our own in-house team of computing experts, we can even develop the specific software needed to solve any ‘one-off’ problems you may experience.
Client benefits
A range of clients has already benefited from the skills and experience of our multidisciplinary team of experts. We are committed to finding economic solutions tailored to your construction time frame. You can expect:
- increased opportunities to recycle existing building stock in cost-effective ways
- timely resolution of detailed issues, either to provide aesthetically or financially superior solutions or to allow important design concepts to proceed
- smart solutions to on-site problems.
Our experience
We have extensive experience in analysing design details on smaller projects. Our recent work includes:
- Use of CFD analysis in assessing drencher effects to rationalise the requirements for vertical separation of openings at the new Hurstville Library
- Existing four-storey timber-frame structures successfully converted to residential buildings, such as the Piano Factory, Annandale
- Use of Radiant Heat Analysis on numerous small unit developments with windows within three metres of boundaries
- Increasing dead-end travel distances within small retail tenancies beyond 20 metres through equivalence analysis (Sydney Airport)