Posted By shaun mckeever Richard Your reference should be British Standard 5306: Part 2, Specification for sprinkler systems, Section 26 - Sprinkler spacing, arrangement and location. Unfortunately this is a very expensive document. I'm not an expert on sprinkler systems and without spending time and reading it I can't help you much. I would recommend that you speak to your client and explain that this is a material alteration and they should therefore review their fire risk assessment to identify the impact of the works you are carrying out. My gut feeling is that if they are moving the bulkhead closer to the sprinkler heads then this is unlikely to make much difference. A change in the sprinkler head might be appropriate e.g. sidewall sprinkler head. I think the bigger problem would be if they are moving the bulkhead away from the sprinkler head. This could result in some of the floor area being unprotected.

Posted By Ian Waldram On the other hand, why is a sprinkler a sensible fire control measure in a bike shop? I wouldn't expect the fire load to be that significant and, if there is good control of potential ignition sources and minimal risk of out-of-hours spread from other areas of the building or fire-raising break-ins, then maybe none of the heads are needed! I realise this may be part of a wider design standard - I recall once seeing sprinkler heads above a swimming pool in a US hotel, where they were obviously a standard layout for each floor, regardless of what was in the area!

Posted By Ashley Wood from your posting I would assume that this is a shop within a retail mall or you have accommodation above? Firstly, a sprinkler design is based on a code of practice ie Light Hazard, Ordinary hazard, etc etc. The code that applies to the premises as a whole will require a volume of water known as the K-Factor from each nozzle at a defined pressure. this then equates to Xmm/M2/Per min. You may find that by bringing a partition in reduces the need for the old nozzle anyway, at the same time it may require additional nozzles in the old area. The distance from a wall could vary and is dependant on the room layout, combustibility of ceiling, height etc. The distance could be as low 250mm and as high as 1.5m depending on what I have said. I would look at an ideal being in the range of 500-750mm. As previously said, speak to the maintaining contractor. Hope this helps.