Building Control
The Building Regulations
The technical requirements of the Building Regulations are broad and complex, so a set of subsidiary guidance documents have been created. It is these Approved Documents that form the basic framework upon which the local authority’s Building Control team will judge any works.
The Approved Documents and related information are available via the Planning Portal. The Approved Documents are listed below.
The problem many professionals face is that the Approved Documents can be amended by the Secretary of State at short notice, and without the need to go back to Parliament for further authority – so keeping track of the latest requirements is no simple matter. Although changes are published via the Planning Portal website, you need to visit the right pages periodically.
Ensure that the contractor or builder is quite aware of the Building Regulations requirements and also decide who is paying for the Building Regulations application.
Building Regulations: Approved Documents
- Part A - Approved Document A: Structural safety
- Part B Fire safety
- Approved Document B Volume 1: Dwellinghouses
- Approved Document B Volume 2: Buildings other than dwellinghouses - Part C - Approved Document C: Resistance to contaminates and moisture
- Part D - Approved Document D: Toxic substances
- Part E - Approved Document E: Resistance to sound
- Part F - Approved Document F: Ventilation
- Part G - Approved Document G: Sanitation, Hot Water Safety and Water Efficiency
- Part H - Approved Document H: Drainage and waste disposal
- Part J - Approved Document J: Heat producing appliances
- Part K - Approved Document K: Protection from falling
- Part L Conservation of fuel and power
Dwellings
- Approved Document L1A: Conservation of fuel and power (New dwellings)
- Approved Document L1B: Conservation of fuel and power (Existing dwellings)
Buildings other than dwellings
- Approved Document L2A: Conservation of fuel and power (New buildings other than dwellings)
- Approved Document L2B: Conservation of fuel and power (Existing buildings other than dwellings) - Part M - Approved Document M: Access to and use of buildings
- Part N - Approved Document N: Glazing safety
- Part P - Approved Document P: Electrical safety
Some contractors are quite capable of resolving all of the Building Regulations issues – but both parties need to be clear in advance who will be paying for the fees and if these are to be included in the contract sum.
Some of the smaller contractors – often, but not always, the one/two-person variety – seem to consider that Building Regulations are an optional extra. Make it clear at the outset that the Regulations will apply.
Routes to compliance
Previous versions of the Approved Documents contained 'deemed to satisfy' tables for items such as joist sizes, roof frame timbers and so on, but in their current form the Approved Documents are no longer 'complete'. Instead, the Approved Documents set out the objectives that the structure should achieve. However, other organisations publish 'Deemed to Satisfy' guidance that can be very helpful – for example, the Timber Research and Development Association (TRADA) publishes Span tables for solid timber members in floors, ceilings and roofs for dwellings, setting out strategies that will be acceptable for most common timber building components.
British and European Standards (BSEN)
The Building Regulations are not the only way of complying with the Building Act. The Regulations also list British Standard European Normative (BSEN) numbers which correlate to each appropriate part of the Approved Documents. These often provide another route to compliance.
The BSEN are sometimes much more rigorous in what they demand. However, the level of detail contained in them, despite the inherent complexities, may enable a solution to be tailored to a particular project.
|
Rules of thumb won't do Increasingly, there is a need to prove technical compliance with the various elements of the Building Regulations, and the more traditional rules of thumb simply will not do. For instance, the old British Standard 446 has been phased out. This BS had not been cited in Approved Document A for many years, but still applied until its withdrawal. This is a pity, because this was a comparatively simple British Standard that you could use for beam or stanchion calculations, especially if you had the appropriate computer software. Likewise the new Approved Document L requires pressure testing of new buildings, and a theoretical calculation will no longer suffice. |
Robust Standard Details
If you are operating in a smaller practice that does not have access to engineers or Building Surveyors familiar with structural, thermal, or acoustic performance calculations, then you need to look at other strategies for producing simple designs which will satisfy the Building Regulations (and the requirements of your professional indemnity (PI) insurance), and yet still remain cost-effective on the smaller and simpler projects.
Robust Standard Details are one answer and provide standardised solutions to typical problems. The handbook it is a worthwhile investment if you find yourself getting drawn into more design work. As a building surveyor it provides a useful point of reference for modern best practice when considering defects analysis on new properties.
Also, many manufacturers or suppliers can offer solutions or calculations for their products if sent the relevant plans, drawings, sections or photographs. Steel lintels are a common example – these can be checked to prove the loads, provided all of the wall areas can be measured (and floor areas and joist positions, if appropriate, and bearing into the load triangle of the wall).
Drain manufacturers may also oblige with discharge/surcharge calculations. It is worth making the enquiry if you are not confident with the calculations but do not want to justify the expense of an engineer or suitably qualified building surveyor to do the maths for you.