Homebuilding & Renovating

How to get Building Regs approval

‘‘The advantage of following a ‘full plans’ application is that you’ll know before work starts whether the house meets the requirements of the regs”

Securing planning consent for your new home doesn’t mean you’re clear to start building — you’ll also need to satisfy the requirements of Building Regulations first. The Building Regs are largely objective, so compliance is generally straightforward and also offers some reassurance that your home will be built properly.

Quite surprisingly, the Building Regs are brief and set out the objectives that buildings must meet. A series of Approved Documents (listed overleaf) offer guidance on how to meet the objectives of the regulations and are often confused with the regulations themselves.

The intention of the Approved Documents is to provide general guidance and additional information with practical examples of how to comply for many of the more common building situations. It’s important to note that following the advice given in the Approved Documents is not the only way of demonstrating compliance with the regulations but it is by far the easiest, and only the brave choose to go

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from Homebuilding & Renovating

Homebuilding & Renovating7 min read
Self-build for beginners PART 11 BRINGING SERVICES TO SITE
Talk to anyone who’s built a home and they’ll probably have a few scare stories relating to the connection of the mains services. From a professional point of view, dealing with the service providers (network operators) is frustrating as you have lit
Homebuilding & Renovating1 min readArchitecture
In Natural Harmony
The original concept for the rear extension to this ground-floor flat within a conservation area in Hampstead, north London, was based on the reinterpretation of the decorative bay windows of the Victorian building’s front façade. The existing flat h
Homebuilding & Renovating3 min readArchitecture
Loggias & verandas
The word loggia originates from the Italian for ‘lodge’ and is an architectural term used for an outdoor corridor with a roof and outer wall built into the structure of the building but open to the elements. They were introduced by the Romans to prov

Related