Service Corridors and Ceilings

Where possible, service corridors should be provided behind fitments for access to, and maintainance of, sanitary appliances, fitttings and assoicated pipework, and the emptying of sanitary waste bins. These non-public service access corridors should have a minimum clear width of 600mm, and be wide enough to allow easy access for maintenance and repair and waste removal and should be accessed via a lockable entrance.

Service corridors provide clear and easy access to services runs for air extract and pipework, and to sanitary appliances from behind, which would otherwise need to be accessed and maintained from public-facing areas. This means that, in general, the majority of repair and maintenance work can take place behind the scenes without impacting our customers, or having multiple maintenance personnel in public-facing areas whilst they are in use, which is an important consideration for our MSA’s which can be open to the public 24/7.

The more traditional approach is to use duct-panelling or public-facing access panels, in order to access concealed service runs, however, these systems present cleaning, maintenance and security issues.

Especially since the design of many access panel systems …. shadow gaps .. which if not cleaned regulary can … a build-up of dust and debris

Access doors into service corridors should be designed in such a way so that they do not open into pedestrian flows, and cannot be misidentified as public access doors. Ideally service corridors should be accessed from non-public areas, however, if they are public-facing they should be marked with appropriate signage.

Suspended ceiling grids, and/or demountable ceiling panels should be avoided to prevent misuse, for example hiding drugs, weapons or stolen goods. [50].

A continuous ceiling finish is recommended with ceiling-mounted services and equipment planned to minimise the need for access covers, and high ceilings can help to reduce vandalism to ceiling finishes, and other fittings.[50].

If smoke detection is required in ceiling voids, locating smoke detection within the service corridors avoids the need for access hatches, however, downstand beams need to be considered when locating smoke detectors

Light fittings should be accessible and maintainable from below, and should include tamper-resistant fittings where they may be within reach.

Where ceiling access hatches are unavoidable, these should be lockable and located in public circulation areas to discourage tampering.

Air supply valves should also be in public circulation areas to discourage tampering.