building regulations

HI everyone. Our staircase had no balustrade leading down to a drop down into the hallway. My other half crafted one when we had kids to prevent falls. Now we want to rent the house and I said we should remove it because I doubt it's up to building standards. He thinks we should leave it. It has...

Hi, we are a fair way through the process of buying a house. We have just found out that the loft conversion, conservatory and re-roof were completed without building control approval. Initial applications were put in but the certificates were never obtained. The sellers have lied about this...

We are renovating our ground floor kitchen in Edwardian (1930s) house in London. No extensions/structural/notifiable (as far as we know) work planned, just new flooring and kitchen units. Whilst pulling up the old kitchen and flooring, the builder has highlighted that the current flooring is...

Hello, I'm just wondering how to tell if the joists in your loft are strong enough, whether just for storage or to use as a regular room? I'm partly asking because we would like to eventually board the loft void above the rear part of our Edwardian house to use for storage, after insulating...

Hello i am replacing my garage door with a door and a window. Under the window, there will be a brick wall. I am digging a trench. 600mm wide and 1m down... According to the below image, how deep should (c) be? I would have thought 1m foundation means from ground level to bottom.... Is this...

Hi all, My partner and I are planning a side extension, and were going to get building control done through the local council. However, one of the builders we're gathering quotes from advised against this; apparently in his experience the council will require several visits to the site and will...

Entrance to stairs from angled opening need to complain with building regulations. Hi all. Could you please advise me if the entrance of a stairs (no door needed) needs to complain with certain dimensions wide and high for building regulations?. I have an angled opening to a 1st floor because...

Having recently moved house, I've just managed to access the toilet cistern, which is built into a framework with top access. I don't like what I'm seeing, and wonder whether it actually complies with current, or even recent, building standards - I suspect the pan has been replaced but not the...

Hi Looking to install a log burner. After opening up a fireplace we'd ideally like the oak beam to site close to the opening but all I can read is that there is a minimum of 3 x flue size. Is there a way to reduce this and how would it work?

I'm looking at buying a property that has a single storey flat roof extension out the back. The extension looks in good condition, solid build, well maintained roof. In terms of size it's about 3m square. The searches have just come back and there's no evidence that planning permission or...

Hi, im currently designing my own rear extension with it being permitted development. I was curious to know, would i require a fire door to the opening between the hall and pantry? many thanks

New building regulations came into force in June 2022, via Approved Document L. Paragraphs 4.16-4-17 in L1(a) concerns the ‘continuity of insulation’ in new dwellings, with requirements for insulation to be unbroken and consistent. New dwellings also have U value requirements under paragraph...

Hi all, I wonder if you might know the answer to a question I have. We are having a replacement conservatory built and wish to move the kitchen from its current position to inside it. The sink will be located on the far side of the conservatory and the waste pipe would run from that to the...

We are currently planning and designing a new en-suite in our master bedroom. This is an entirely new room as there is no ensuite already. The ceiling along the back, longest wall is sloped with the lowest point being around 5ft. Is there any regulations regarding minimum height/headspace...

Hello all, New to this forum, hopefully I can contribute in due course! Got a fire regs question if anyone in the know can please advise? Haven’t bought the house (yet) so am not getting designs and submitting building regs approval. I'm keen to get a feel for what could be done. The goal...

Hi, I am in Essex and I would like to build an outbuilding 4.9m x 2.7 meters (approx 13sqm) and 2.8m tall near the neighbour boundary. I would need planning permission because it is above the 2.5m tall permitted development limit. Would I need building regulations approval as well? According to...

I drew up my own drawings for planning permission and got them approved. I'm about 70% of the way through drawing up the building regulations drawings but will like a structural engineer to review and approve before the drawings before i submit. It's a relatively straight forward 2 storey side...

Hi all, As the title suggests, we're looking to have some work done on our 17m2 garage. It's detached, at the end of our garden, and currently just stone inside with three windows, a side door, a garage door, and an asbestos roof. We've got someone lined up to safely remove and replace the...

Hi all, As the title suggests, we're looking to have some work done on our 17m2 garage. It's detached, at the end of our garden, and currently just stone inside with three windows, a side door, a garage door, and an asbestos roof. We've got someone lined up to safely remove and replace the...

I'm considering building a garden room / outbuilding down the bottom of the garden. I'm no builder but I'm toying with the idea of using a SIPs garden room kit as an insulated brick one is expensive. I've seen 6m x 3m design from supersips that we like, it's going to be located within 1m of the...