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Why comply with the Building Regulations?

It is important to understand how the building regulatory system applies to your situation as you are responsible for making sure that the work complies with the regulations if you are carrying out building work personally. If you are employing a builder, the responsibility will usually be theirs - but you should confirm this at the very beginning, we at AH Builing Contractors' take full responsibility here. You should also bear in mind that if you are the owner of the building, it is ultimately you who may be served with an enforcement notice if the work does not comply with the regulations.

What building work should comply with Building Regulations?

The following types of project amount to 'Building Work' as defined in Regulation 3 of the Building Regulations:

• The erection or extension of a building
• The installation or extension of a service or fitting which is controlled under the regulations
• An alteration project involving work which will temporarily or permanently affect the ongoing compliance of the building, service or fitting with the requirements relating to structure, fire, or access to and use of buildings
• The insertion of insulation into a cavity wall
• The underpinning of the foundations of a building

If you are planning to carry out such work, then it should comply with the Building Regulations.

The works themselves should meet the relevant technical requirements in the Building Regulations and they should not make other fabric, services and fittings less compliant than they previously were - or dangerous. For example, if you replace external windows or doors the building should comply to at least the same degree as it did before or, where it exceeded the standards, not be reduced below the standards in relation to:

• Means of escape from fire
• Air supply for combustion appliances and their flues

Also in this example, the replacement window / door should fully satisfy the requirements for energy conservation and ventilation for health.

The Building Regulations may also apply to certain changes of use of an existing building. This is because the change of use may result in the building as a whole no longer complying with the requirements which will apply to its new type of use, and so having to be upgraded to meet additional requirements specified in the regulations for which building work may also be required.

What the regulations cover

The requirements with which building work should comply are contained in Schedule 1 to the Building Regulations and are grouped under the fourteen 'parts' below:

• Part A - Structure
• Part B - Fire safety
• Part C - Site preparation and resistance to moisture
• Part D - Toxic substances
• Part E - Resistance to the passage of sound
• Part F - Ventilation
• Part G - Hygiene
• Part H - Drainage and waste disposal
• Part J - Combustion appliances and fuel storage systems
• Part K - Protection from falling, collision and impact
• Part L - Conservation of fuel and power
• Part M - Access to and use of buildings
• Part N - Glazing - safety in relation to impact, opening and cleaning
• Part P - Electrical safety

They set out the broad objectives or functions which the individual aspects of the building design and construction should set out to achieve. They are therefore often referred to as 'functional requirements' and are expressed in terms of what is 'reasonable', 'adequate', or 'appropriate'. Not all the functional requirements may apply to your building work, but all those which do apply should be complied with as part of the overall process of complying with the Building Regulations.

The Government publishes guidance on ways of meeting these requirements in what are known as Approved Documents. The guidance in these documents does not have to be followed if you wish to satisfy the requirements in some other way, but it will be taken into account when your building control service is considering whether your plans of proposed work, or work in progress, are to be approved or not.

Buildings and building work exempt from Building Regulations

There are a number of classes of new buildings or extensions of existing buildings that do not need Building Regulations approval - subject to certain criteria on size, construction and position relative to boundaries being met. The following are examples of such buildings and extensions. Please note that they may require planning permission.

• Garden sheds
• Summer-houses
• Domestic garages
• Greenhouses
• Conservatories
• Porches
• Covered way
• Covered yards
• Carports

External walls

If you want to re-render or replace timber cladding to the outside of a house, the Building Regulations do not normally apply. If you want to insert insulation into a cavity wall the Building Regulations will apply.

Garden or boundary walls

If you want to build or alter a garden wall or boundary wall the Building Regulations will not normally need to apply, but you need to make sure the work is done safely to avoid accidents.

Roofing

If you want to carry out some repairs or re-lay flat roofs you will not normally need to submit a Building Regulations application. However if you are making any structural alterations or the likely performance of the new covering in the event a fire will be significantly different to that of the existing covering, you will need to submit a Building Regulations application. If new tiles for pitch roofs are to be the same as the existing ones then an application is not necessary under the Building Regulations. If you choose to change the type of covering and have a significantly lighter or heavier type of tile or slate installed then an application will be necessary.

Rooflights

If you would like to install a rooflight, the Building Regulations are likely to apply.

Underpinning

If you need to underpin all or part of the foundations to your building, the Building Regulations will apply.

Garage conversions

If you want to convert an integral or attached garage to a dwelling into habitable use, the Building Regulations will normally apply. Structural alterations to create new windows and the infilling of an existing garage door will need to comply with the appropriate requirements of Part A and, if the load (weight) of the structure is to be increased significantly, then the adequacy of the existing foundations will also need investigation.

Bathrooms and kitchens

If you want to install fittings such as a bath, toilet, shower, washbasin, or kitchen sink within your home, or any other type of building, the Building Regulations will apply if the installation of the fitting or fittings will involve alterations to, or new connections to, a drainage stack or an underground drain. They will not apply if the work only involves installing a fitting or fittings in the same or a new location which does not involve extensions to the drainage pipe work. If you want to replace your bath with a whirlpool or spa bath the Building Regulations will not apply.

Boilers and heating

The Building Regulations will apply to the following:

• Installing or replacing a hot water cylinder
• Installing, replacing or altering the position of any type of gas, solid fuel or oil appliances (including boilers)
• Installing a fixed, flueless gas appliance

However if you employ a registered installer with the relevant competencies to carry out the work on gas appliances, you will not need to involve a building control service. Find out more about building control services from the link below.

If you want to alter or repair, the construction of fireplaces, hearths or flues, in any way which could affect their safe operation and heat containment; Building Regulations will apply if the work involves the provision of a new or replacement fixtures.

Internal decorations

Any internal decorating such as wallpapering, new skirting boards, or painting will not normally require a Building Regulations application.

Porches and conservatories

A porch or conservatory built at ground level and less than 30m2 in floor area is normally exempt from the regulations provided that glazing and any fixed electrical installation complies with the requirements of the Building Regulations.

Solar panels

If you wish to install a solar panel on your roof then the Building Regulations will normally apply. The adequacy of the existing roof to carry the load (weight) from the panel will need to be checked and proven. If the impact is minimal, this may be something the building control service does as part of their routine inspections. If the potential impact is significant, then you may need to employ an engineer or surveyor to do this for you. You may need to strengthen the roof structure. Other energy efficiency work may also be carried out mostly without the need for Building Regulations approval. One exception to that is the filling of existing wall cavities with insulation material.

Load bearing walls

Care should be taken before removing any internal wall. These walls can have a number of functions that could affect the building and the safety of the occupants within the building. Load bearing walls, for example, support other elements of the building, such as:

• Part of the roof structure which would include the ceiling joists within the loft area
• A wall which sits directly above it
• Floor joists built into or sitting on top of an internal wall

A structural engineer or surveyor can be employed to determine if the wall is load bearing and then design a beam to cater for these loads (weight).

Beams

Beams should be designed to cater for the loads that the wall was originally taking. They then need to be supported on two other walls that are capable of taking the loads to foundations.

When a beam sits on a wall the load should be able to spread across it otherwise one brick could be taking the entire load and could then crack. To avoid this problem, pad stones (an area of dense concrete cast in-situ or pre-cast) are used. The detail of these pad stones can be determined by the engineer/surveyor. The beam should also be protected against the effects of a fire, which normally means it is encased in a material that gives fire resistance such as plasterboard.

Means of escape in case of fire

The impact of removing an internal wall on fire safety should be carefully considered. This is because some walls around stairways (typically in houses three storeys or more) may need to have fire resistance to ensure a fire in one of the rooms off of the stair way doesn't unduly affect the means of escape from other rooms in the house. In other houses (such as in two storey houses) the walls may not need to have any particular fire resistance, but would still give some protection to the stairway by containing the fire and smoke for a period of time.

In two storey houses, removing an internal wall could normally be compensated by having mains-powered interlinked smoke alarms and egress windows from the other rooms off the stairs. However, in houses of three storeys and greater this compensation may not be sufficient. The exact features needed, will vary on a case by case basis.