The second blog post in our series of Approved Document M Compliance. As described in our previous blog post Approved Document M – Entering a Building, Approved Document M draws on BS8300:2010 for guidance on the reasonable provisions which should be made for people to access and use a building.
One of the recommendations is that one element of a building is visually distinguishable from another by virtue of the difference in Light Reflectance Value (LRV).
CS Acrovyn wall protection is available in a wide palette of colours and offers plenty of scope for specifying colour schemes compliant with the Approved Document M without having to compromise on design and aesthetics.
Here’s a quick overview of the areas of the building which require consideration along with how the relevant Acrovyn products can be applied for compliance.
1. Obstructions in corridors or entrance lobbies, such as columns, which should be protected with visually contrasting materials.
This can be achieved by applying Acrovyn sheet protection, rubrails, crash rails or corner guards in contrasting colours. Alternatively, a handrail could be utilised to steer pedestrians and wheelchair users around the obstacle.
2. Handrails where the colour should be sufficiently different from the background wall colour.
Acrovyn handrails are available in 27 colours and also meet all the dimensional requirements outlined in the Approved Document M.
3. Doors and frames where there should be sufficient contrast with each other and surrounding walls to be easily visible when closed.
All Acrovyn door and frame protection solutions can be supplied in any of the 30 solid Acrovyn colours, as well as Faux Wood and Faux Metal finishes.
A note for the technically inclined: The recommended difference between building elements should be 30 LRV points or more. However a difference of 20 LRV points can be acceptable where the illuminance on the surface is 200 lux or more (refer to BS8300:2009+A1:2010, Annex B for more details).
