Thoughts on this please...
Old gatehouse/lodge for a large country house, not a listed building.
Currently I'm in the process of doing a number of "odd jobs" with a sympatheitc eye for the work to be in keeping with the older style of the house and original features.
The owners have recently moved in and are in the excited let's make this place perfect stage. They've asked me about the spindle spacing on the landing, which is currently at an average of 12.5cm some a little less some a little more (give or take 2mm). They have a 3 year old son. Obviously current regs if replacing would state max distance of 100mm or so that a 100mm sphere would not pass through.
They want to know if they should replace them from a safety perspective at the expense of a) the monetary cost and b) the loss or alteration/modification of an original hardwood feature.
My thought process is that as they are original features before the regulations there's no legal demand to change them and looking at the age of the child it's not like we're talking about a one year old and I don't think their head would easily fit between the spindles without a lot of force. But... what if a freak accident occurs?
Ultimately it's the homeowners choice, but if it was your child and your house would you change them because of an extra inch or do you think given the age of the child it's not a necessity?
Old gatehouse/lodge for a large country house, not a listed building.
Currently I'm in the process of doing a number of "odd jobs" with a sympatheitc eye for the work to be in keeping with the older style of the house and original features.
The owners have recently moved in and are in the excited let's make this place perfect stage. They've asked me about the spindle spacing on the landing, which is currently at an average of 12.5cm some a little less some a little more (give or take 2mm). They have a 3 year old son. Obviously current regs if replacing would state max distance of 100mm or so that a 100mm sphere would not pass through.
They want to know if they should replace them from a safety perspective at the expense of a) the monetary cost and b) the loss or alteration/modification of an original hardwood feature.
My thought process is that as they are original features before the regulations there's no legal demand to change them and looking at the age of the child it's not like we're talking about a one year old and I don't think their head would easily fit between the spindles without a lot of force. But... what if a freak accident occurs?
Ultimately it's the homeowners choice, but if it was your child and your house would you change them because of an extra inch or do you think given the age of the child it's not a necessity?
