BUILDING REGULATIONS BASICS. No 1: AN INTRODUCTION TO THE REGULATIONS.
Introduction
Butler & Young building control are the premier building control service provider in the country and are an alternative to using the local authority building control system. We also provide complementary services such as CDMC, Equality Act access audits, fire risk assessments; fire engineering and environmental engineering if you would like to find out more about us visit www.butlerandyoung.co.uk
Butler and Young Building control have produced a series of podcasts aimed at those seeking knowledge into what the building regulations are, how they are applied and how best to use them in the design of the built environment. Future podcasts will look at subjects such as fire safety and thermal compliance in more detail.
This first podcast in the series will focus upon building regulations basics and will introduce the umbrella legislation, the building regulations themselves, the types of construction work that is exempt or controlled and the documents that indicate a path to compliance.
Part One
So, why do we have building regulations and what is the legislation backing the regulations?
The purpose of building regulations is to secure health, safety, welfare, convenience of people in and around buildings, the conservation of fuel and power, the prevention of waste, undue consumption and contamination or misuse of water, furthering the protection or enhancement of the environment, facilitating sustainable development and furthering the prevention or detection of crime.
It is worth noting that building control bodies are obliged to consult other parties such as the fire service for relevant use buildings, relevant use being a place where someone is employed to work or with the water authority when building over or close to a sewer on map of sewers. Consultees have generally 15 working days to reply.
Although the regulations are administered by approved inspectors such as Butler and Young Building Control and local authorities; any enforcement action is carried out by the relevant local authority under The Building Act Section 35 and 36. Failure to comply with the regulations is classified as a criminal offence and can be enforced with the full powers available to local authorities.
The Primary legislation is the Building Act and The Sustainable and Secure Buildings Act 2004 these can be viewed with other legislation at www.Legislation.gov.uk
The Building Act is the primary legislation that provides the legislative structure for building control in England and Wales. The Act is a consolidation of previous legislation that laid down requirements in relation to health and safety in and about buildings. It consolidates items from as far back as the 1875 Public Health Act right up to the 1984 Housing and Building Control Act.
Other associated legislation is The Town & Country Planning Act, Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order, Equality Act and local Acts.
Returning to The Building Act, this is split into five parts:-
One - The Building Regulations
Two - The supervision of building work by alternatives to the local authorities such as Approved Inspectors.
Three - Other provisions such as drainage, defective premises, demolitions and dangerous structures.
Four - The General duties of local authorities including entry to premises and interpretation
Five - Supplementary provisions such as transition arrangements.
Part Two
In this the second part of the podcast we will explore what type of work is subject to control or is exempt under the regulations and briefly look at the requirements of the regulations.
It is difficult to comprehensively list all works subject to building control. A general list that indicates the scope of building control could include building work to building super and sub structures, the provision of new buildings, replacement of thermal elements such as glazing and access to buildings. This list whilst not exhaustive gives a feel for the remit of building control.
Some types of work are exempt from the regulations and these are categorised as buildings controlled under other legislation, buildings not frequented by people, greenhouses and agricultural buildings, temporary buildings, and ancillary buildings, small detached Buildings and some extensions.
Although subject to control some types of specialist work can be self-certified by the installer. Examples of this are gas, oil and solid fuel appliances, ventilation and air conditioning systems, electrical installations, replacement windows doors and roof lights, Installation of bathroom fittings, hot or cold water systems , micro generation and renewable energy systems, cavity wall insulation and finally the re-covering of roofs.
Now we have an understanding of the legislative background what guidance is available to help the designer or constructor of buildings to comply with the building regulations?
The guidance is contained in a series of very useful approved documents. To view the entire range of Approved Documents visit: www.planningportal.gov.uk
The guidance in the Approved Documents is one method of demonstrating compliance, however, it is not the only method. Other guidance documents such as British Standards, CIBSE Guides etc may be used to demonstrate an adequate design to comply with the building regulations.
The Approved Documents are:
•Part A – Structural stability.
•Part B – Fire Safety.
•Part C – Site Preparation and Resistance to Contaminants and Moisture.
•Part D – Toxic Substances.
•Part E – Resistance to the Passage of Sound.
•Part F – Means of Ventilation.
•Part G – Sanitation, Hot Water Safety and Water Efficiency.
•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 -Approved Documents L1A and AD L2A refer to work in new buildings and Approved Documents L1B and L2B refer to work in existing buildings.
•Part M – Access to and Use of Buildings
•Part N – Glazing: Safety in Relation to Impact, Opening and Cleaning
•Part P – Electrical Safety
We also have an Approved Document to support Regulation 7 that tackles Material and Workmanship
The private industry has also issued an Approved Document entitled: Basements for Dwellings. This Approved Document can be found on the Basement Information Centre website at www.basements.org.uk
The Government department for Communities and Local Government provides the infrastructure to the regulations and the website: www.communities.gov.uk provides valuable information on determinations and appeals, competent persons schemes and consultations on future regulations and the future of building control.
Part Three
In our second podcast on building regulations basics we will compare the two systems of building control and provide 10 tips to help secure building regulations approvals.
Butler and Young building control hope that you have found this podcast to be useful and your feedback is valuable to us. If you have any questions regarding this podcast, or you would like to hear a podcast on a subject that is important to you please send an email to podcast@butlerandyoung.co.uk.
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