In this second Blog, I talk about the Building Regulations, Part B to P. Check out Building Regulations Part A, click here.
During the many seminars that I have spoken at and the workshops that I run, I have a section dedicated to this subject. However, it never fails to surprise me how many delegates are simply unaware of these important construction regulations. In this Blog, I give an overview and discuss the parts which are more commonly needed to be complied with.
Since setting up my Architectural practice in 1995, the building regulations have changed enormously, in fact, they first came out in 1991.
So, what are they and how do they affect you?
The Building Regulations are a set of Documents approved and issued in the UK by the Secretary of State for the purposes of providing practical guidance for some of the more common building situations. They set minimum standards for the design and construction of all buildings and require that any work should be carried out with proper materials and in a good workmanlike manner and they are made for specific purposes, these being Health and safety, energy conservation and the welfare and convenience of disabled people.
The regulations are set out in a series of sections known as ‘Parts’ and are there to ensure that national standards of building work are being undertaken whether it be a small house extension, a new house, a new factory, office or your house renovation.
The regulations are administered by either your Local Authority Building Control Section or by what we term ‘Private Building Control surveyors’ and you are required to make an application (and pay a fee) if the work you propose to undertake falls within what is known as ‘relevant works’ or you are making a ‘material change’ to the building.
Part B- Fire
This Part deals with installing systems that provide ‘early warning’ of fire, ensuring that there is a safe route to the outside and to stop the spread of fire.
Usually, unless you are redesigning the layout of the house and making it open plan, where the stairs are not in a protected route to the outside, the requirement would be for you to install an interlinked smoke detection system instead of the battery-operated ones.
Also in this event of creating an open plan living area including a stair in the room, you will then need to look at the opening arrangement of the first-floor bedroom windows, these will need to be ‘escapable’ in the event of a fire.
Part F- Ventilation
This Part deals with ventilation to prevent the build-up of condensation in roof voids and within the dwelling, which will lead to damp problems. (See the section in defects)
In the event, that you are creating a new en-suite or utility room then you will need to install an appropriately sized extractor fan.
Part H- Drainage and Waste disposal.
This Part deals with the removal of wastewater and rainwater. In the event of you installing the aforementioned en-suite or utility room then you are required to ensure that the wastewater from toilets, basins and sinks are collected through the correctly sized pipes and discharged into the foul drainage system.
For example, a Toilet must connect to a soil pipe with a minimum diameter of 100mm, a kitchen sink, bath or shower must be 38mm diameter and a basin or sink 32mm diameter. This section also requires that each drainage facility must be fitted with ‘traps’.
Part K- Protection from Falling, Collision and Impact.
This Part deals with staircases, balustrading and guarding to balconies.
So if you install a totally new staircase, say to the provide access to an attic room in the house the stair, balustrading and handrail design and layout of the items will need to comply with the requirements, these involve maximum tread heights known as ‘risers’ and minimum tread width- known as ‘goings’, also there are minimum height of handrails and balustrading.
If you are simply replacing a staircase with like for like, then this is not a ‘material change’ or if you change the arrangement slightly but not make the situation any worse than it was originally, the same applies.
Part L- Conservation of Fuel and Power.
This part deals with standards required to ensure maximum energy efficiency to all parts of the building including wall insulation, floor insulation, loft insulation, pipework insulation and windows.
This Part has traditionally been one of the main ones referred to in the design of new dwelling and buildings, however, in 2006 the document was amended and includes ‘Renovation’ in relation to Thermal Elements, which means ‘the provision of a new layer in the thermal element or the replacement of an existing layer’, as mentioned previously this requires you to improve the heat loss efficiency of existing walls in the event that the Internal plaster or external render is being replaced.
For example: If you hack off the internal plaster or external render, you are deemed to be making a material change to the wall and therefore must improve its thermal efficiency, there are two ways to do this, either insulate the wall internally by adding at least 50mm of insulation to the inner face of the wall and then finishing with plasterboard or by adding 90-100mm of polystyrene insulation batts to the outside face of the wall and rendering over. You may well have seen local authority houses or a number of terraced houses having this work done under the ‘Green deals’ funded by the energy companies.
Part M- Access to and the Use of Buildings.
This Part deals with making living in a house easier for people with disabilities. In the event that you are undertaking a replacement electrical system in the house, you will be required to set the switches at certain heights. If you introduce a WC on the ground floor there must be sufficient space to allow wheelchair access. You are also not permitted to remove a WC on the entrance level of a house unless you propose to replace it elsewhere on that level, and that facility must not be less compliant than the original.
Part P- Electrical Safety.
This Part applies to the Design and Installation of electrical work to ensure that the work has been undertaken by a competent person. So, if you intend on replacing any electrical cables, change the consumer unit or adding equipotential (earth) bonding this Part applies to you.
If you are adding a new WC or Utility room as mentioned above you will need to install an extractor fan and hence new wiring.
So, there you have it. I would guess that some of you will be surprised that carrying out some of the work mentioned above will require you to submit an application to the Local Authority Building Control Section for their approval.
If you consider that you will need to submit an application, this is how you go about it.
You can either call your local offices and request an application form or go online and download one from your Local Authority. However, there are 2 ways to go about it.
The first is where you submit a ‘Full Plans’ application, this would be used in the event that that your renovation works are substantial and you have gone the length of employing someone to prepare plans i.e. An Architectural Technologist or even and Architect. Then you would submit the plans along with a fee for the plans to be ‘vetted’ and approved with conditions.
Following receipt of the approval, and once the works have commenced you will be sent an invoice from the BCO (Building Control Officer) for ‘site inspections’, which you must pay.
In the event that the works are not such that you need to have plans prepared, you can submit and ‘Building Notice’ the cost of which is the same as a Full Plans application and the Site Inspection fee together. plus VAT. Following your submission, you are required to notify the BCO when you commence the work and he or she will arrange to visit you at the work to go through what is being done. The BCO will make arrangements for you to notify them as the works progress so that they can make regular inspections.
The fee that the BCO will charge is based on the ‘value of the work’. This is where people can make a mistake and just pay what they are told. The best way for me to explain this is by example.
Say you are undertaking a refurbishment or renovation and the contractor you have employed has provided you with a quotation for £15,000. On the application form where it asks, ‘estimated cost of work’ you would be inclined to insert £15,000. The Building Control office has no clue at that point the extent of the work so will accept your figure. The fee you pay is based on a scale relevant to the cost of the work.
However, there are large elements to the £15,000 that are not ‘Relevant works’ meaning that some of the work to be undertaken in the project does not need to comply with the Approved Documents, for example, kitchen units, utility room units, tiling, doors etc.
In effect the work that you are undertaking to which the BCO is interested in may only equate to £5,000, therefore the fee applicable will be lower.
So, before you make your application, look closely at your costs and include only the cost of the work that relates to the Parts listed above.
Building Regulations services are offered by Approved Independent Inspectors or practices, however, they still need to serve a notice to the Local Authority that they are administering the Building Control Services to you. I have used Independent Building control services in the past, but tend only to use them on new builds.
Mike’s Top Tip!
Always state at the application stage that you wish to receive a Completion Certificate on completion of the works, this will be required by your buyer’s solicitor.
Why not check out the new edition of my book which has a complete section on building regulations and some great real-life case studies.?
Get your copy here http://www.propertyexpertpartnership.com/book
Watch out for my upcoming events on all things property. A great chance to ask your questions and network!
Thanks for reading!
