If you’re lucky enough to have a garden on your Spanish property, you’ve got a real treasure: you can have an aperitif in the sun on the weekends; you’ve got your little trees and your shrubbery; your urban veg patch where you grow cherry tomatoes; the sun lounger in the corner of the yard so you can do sweet Fanny Adams on Sunday afternoons ... and of course, the ideal space to invite friends over and have a party. Better yet, have a barbecue party! Can you turn your patio into an Ibizan beach and rave to the music of Café del Mar until sunrise? Well technically you can, but let's take it one step at a time...
The good news is, yes, you can turn your terrace into the setting for a summer party, but... there are some buts. "There is no specific prohibition and no Spanish law governing it," says Pablo García, of Atrezo Arquitectos, “but there are laws on protection against noise, and on the misuse of the house causing damage to the building. At night, noise cannot reach the bedrooms at more than 25dBA, so if we pass these figures we would be breaking the nocturnal noise regulations, which starts at 22:00 and lasts until approximately 8:00 the next day.”
There is another aspect to take into consideration as well as the noise: "The overcrowding of a terrace must also be taken into account, because a house is not designed for an excessive number of people as if it were a public space. It's a point load that you have to know that you can handle," Pablo explains. That’s all very well as far as parties go, but what about barbecues themselves? We know that there are different types of barbecues: fixed ones, ones with a chimney, portable BBQs, etc. Can you just go ahead and do it?
You have to bear several things in mind when putting a barbecue in your garden, not least of which are:
- The fumes: "Cooking fumes, as regulated by the CTE, must be extracted through ducts, so it is assumed that we could not generate smoke without safely removing them. This is what is determined for kitchens, though, and not for outdoor terraces. Barbecue smoke can be annoying for neighbours who may have their bedrooms or living areas nearby, but if you’re on a top floor roof terrace, that would no longer be a problem," he says.
- Fire: "A barbecue gives off sparks and is a permanent source of fire that can endanger awnings, clotheslines and other flammable materials, not to mention your clothes. That said, there is no law against it as such either. In addition, there are many barbecues covered with lids that make them quite safe," he adds.
That is to say, there is no express law that prohibits the setting up of a barbecue on a terrace, but the statutes of the community can do it. Here's the key – before you dive in at the deep end (or in this case, light the kindling at the flammable end!), you should see what the regulations of the homeowner's society of your community of neighbours say, or what your lease agreement says if you're a renting tenant. "If nothing is said about this topic, we can do it, but assuming full criminal responsibilities that may derive from an accident if it does occur," concludes the architect.
Well, then, what are you waiting for? Light up the barbie!