What Building Regulations Do I Need To Be Aware Of?

It doesn’t seem a coincidence that during what has so far been one of our hottest ever summers we have seen a massive surge of interest in our lifestyle extensions (conservatories, orangeries etc.). We can only guess that people want to submerge themselves in sunny surrounds for as long as it lasts and we don’t blame them!

The moment any customer expresses an interest in a home extension from Clearview we organise an appointment with a consultant who addresses everything involved in the designing and planning of the desired structure. During the appointment, the topic of Building Regulations will be brought up as a home extension should only be built once there is certainty that there is compliance with current Building Regulations.  

We refuse to commence work until this has been determined as you could be faced with a whole heap of problems if after the installation you discover that Building Regulations have been infringed. One possible outcome is that your local authority instructs you to have the extension completely torn down!

So that you stay in the good books of the planners, take note of the rules currently in force:

• At ground level and not exceed 30m2 floor area.
• Glazed to satisfy the requirements of Approved Document K of Schedule 1.
• Physically separated internally from the building it is attached to, for example, by a door.
• Without sanitary appliances.
• Not intended for year round habitable use.
• Used to some extent for the propagation of plants.

To fully put your mind at rest you could always ask your local authority to send you an Exempt Buildings Form. Use this form to extensively outline the plans you have in relation to the extension before returning it to them.

Once received, they will analyse the plans and judge whether they’re happy or not for the installation to proceed, confirming either way in writing. This written confirmation needs to be retained safely if the extension gets the green light as you can use it as proof that the extension satisfies planners’ expectations.

Planning permission is just as important

It may surprise some to discover that Building Regulations and Planning Permission are two entirely different things and should be treated as such.

Planning Permission can be forgotten about if the extension you proposed having built is a “Permitted Development”. You can find out everything you need to know about Permitted Developments here.

Clearview can take care of it all

We are well accustomed to handling everything relating to Building Regulations and Planning Permission when anyone orders a home extension from our company. We can do the same for you after supplying you with a FREE quote.