What you will be able to do after this lesson
You will understand what is checked when moving from one storey to two and three.
Why it matters
The INTERMODULE Standard series allows buildings of up to three storeys; the Budget series is designed for a single storey. But what the series can do is not a permit for a specific project: the lower modules and supports carry the loads of the upper ones, joints and tolerances are critical, and stairs and escape routes are designed together with the building.
Fire safety rules limit the number of storeys and occupancy by purpose and fire resistance rating; groups of block containers have their own limits on the number of units and storeys. The design engineer checks these requirements against the current edition of the regulations.
A two-storey dormitory is a typical task where mistakes are expensive: evacuation, stairs, and the fire resistance of floors and corridors are resolved before the modules are ordered, not after.
How to apply this on a project
- Step 1. Check the load-bearing system and stability for every project.
- Step 2. Design stairs, exits and escape routes together with the building.
- Step 3. Remember that the lower modules and supports carry the loads of the upper storeys.
- Step 4. Joints and tolerances are especially critical with several storeys.
Fire safety requirements: what to refer to
Block containers and prefabricated modular buildings in Kazakhstan are governed by the Fire Safety Rules (Order of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Kazakhstan No. 55 dated 21.02.2022) and the technical regulation "General Fire Safety Requirements" (Order of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Kazakhstan No. 405 dated 17.08.2021). As of September 2026, the Fire Safety Rules in particular provide that: clause 60 limits groups of block containers to ten units and two storeys and requires a fire alarm system where there are two or more residential or office modules; clause 194 limits the escape route in prefabricated modular buildings to 20 meters; clause 27 allows 50 or more people in buildings of fire resistance rating IV–V only on the ground floor.
Editions change: before including a clause in the specification, check it in the current edition and state its number. The fire resistance class and the materials of the enclosing structures are set by the design, not by the supplier's questionnaire.
Typical mistake
Assuming three storeys are automatically possible just because the module series has at some point been used in a three-storey building.
Check before the next step
- Frame analysis
- Foundation
- Joints
- Stairs
- Evacuation
- Installation sequence
Related materials and tools
- Two-storey dormitory: evacuation and stairs
- Two-storey buildings made of block containers
- Modular buildings
Apply the lesson to your project
Gather the input data and record the unknown parameters as questions for approval. We prepare a calculation based on the questionnaire within 1 working day.