 C2.6 WTF. Where's the fire resistance? C2.6 is a part of the part of the BCL which requires an FRL and sometimes buildings are going up without it. Now I didn't see this particular building under construction so I'm not saying that this building doesn't comply. In fact there's clues that tell me that this building likely does comply with C2.6. The reason I've shown a photo at this building is that it nicely shows some things about C2.6. So some might be thinking what's C2.6 again? Well C2.6 is vertical separation of openings in external walls, part of volume 1. It applies to all type A buildings like the unit building I showed you just now. It's the reason why we have spandrels and other construction to prevent fire from spreading from story to story which is directly related to performance requirements CP2. I'll set you through each part of the provision right now. This is subclause A and the first paragraph the lead-in tells us we need to worry about separating openings when our window or other opening in the external wall is above another opening in the story below if its vertical ejection falls within 450mm of the lower opening. What does that look like? Well here's a simple example. We have a three-story building. We'll make a type A for this exercise. The openings are shown by the blue boxes A, B and C. B is directly above C so we have to worry about protecting those openings from one another because if a fire broke out of opening C we don't want that fire spreading to opening B. Now A is not directly above B but we have to consider the vertical projection of A which is shown by the dotted line. If the distance of that vertical projection is more than 450mm from opening B then it's okay. No protections required. However if that distance is 450mm or less then we need to provide protection between B and A. So if we have to provide vertical separation the various options are given in subclause 1 to 4. In short it's going to look like an FRL of 60, 60, 60 either vertically that's options 1 to 3 or horizontally that's option 4. The guide is quite helpful on this topic and steps through these options. On the left we had the spandrel approach, Roman 1 where the total height of the spandrel has to be at least 900mm and at least 600mm of that has to be above the floor. You can have all 900 above the floor if you want only you can't have less than 600 above floor level. We could use the horizontal projection where the 60, 60, 60 FRL extends away from the wall and at least 450mm either from the side of the opening. So what does this look like in real life? Well like I said this building is very helpful. It shows both examples. First it shows the horizontal projection. We have these balconies with big sliding doors. The sliding doors are openings in the external wall above one another so protection is required and these balconies will provide that protection so long as they extend at least 1100mm out and at least 450mm either side of the opening. Balconies like this one make great horizontal projections but something we need to be careful of is all the holes that end up in balconies. We need to be sure that the holes don't compromise the FRL. These balconies here have light fittings installed. There's probably a conduit in the slab and it's likely the slab still achieves the FRL despite the conduit though that is something to check. Balconies often get holes in them for drainage or even downpipes. If possible these holes should be located away from the area that provides the protection. Else you'll need to look at protecting these openings say with firecolours. We also have these windows to the right of the image which need a spandrel because there's no horizontal projection. That looks like fibre cement cladding to me which typically doesn't have an FRL so we need to install a spandrel. That will look like FRL 606060 construction behind the cladding as indicated in red. But here's the thing. Those windows aren't the only openings. Have a look at subclause C of C2.6. C2.6 isn't just about windows and balcony doors as far as this provision is concerned anything that doesn't have an FRL of 606060 or more is an opening. So this building will have to have an FRL of 606060 in a spandrel 900mm tall at least as shown here. Most of the walls are rendered. Presumably there's blockwork behind so it's very likely that the whole wall easily achieves the 60 minutes. We have to be careful of these feature clad walls. The 60 minute spandrel has to be behind that cladding. It could be the whole wall or just a 900mm tall detail. I didn't see this building under construction so I don't know what it used but as far as I know this building does comply with the NCC but often this requirement is overlooked so that is why I'm bringing it to your attention today. I've shown you C2.6A which outlines the different types of different ways of achieving construction, the protection. I've also shown you subclause C which shows us that everything is an opening if it doesn't have an FRL of 606060. What I've skipped over is B but I'll show that to you now. These are the exemptions when you don't have to worry about providing a spandrel or horizontal construction. Of course you don't have to worry about type B and type C buildings. This only applies to type A buildings and you don't need to protect openings in your open deck car park or your open spectator stand. Your sprinkler protected building though note that the FPAA101D and 101H systems don't enjoy this concession. You also don't need to protect openings in the same stairway and you don't need to protect openings where the floor between stories doesn't need an integrity or insulation rating in its FRL. Otherwise, this applies to the external walls of all type A buildings of all classifications. So don't just check the floor plans, check the elevations as well. Otherwise you might end up with a problem like this one. This building isn't in Australia. It's a residential flat building in London and this fire happened last year. You can see damage to the building just to the right of the centre of the photograph. There are a number of factors that cause the fire to spread in this building, including the combustible cladding, but notice that each balcony has an opening which has been damaged by fire. Those balconies aren't concrete, they're still framed and had they been constructed to provide horizontal protection in accordance with C2.6, which admittedly doesn't apply in London, I'm sure that there would be a lot less damage if this building did have concrete balconies constructed in accordance with C2.6.