moving bathroom

[tkmax]

I fully agree with Paul_C on this.

If the government want something done to a particular standard or method then it has to be written into the legislation not the approved document.

 

[hotrod]

I would say that "The requirements of this part do not apply to {....} a material alteration of a dwelling"

I think you're getting confused Paul and misinterpreting the SI.

 

[Paul_C]

"The requirements of this part do not apply to ..... a material alteration of a dwelling."

How many ways can that be interpreted?

 

[ban-all-sheds]

FMT, it's very simple.

Close the Approved Document and don't refer to it again.

Show us where the law says what you claim.

 

[MrsTaraPlumbing]

Hello Bint,
I am going to ignore the argument going on here!

We frequently convert rooms into bathrooms and the work we do frquently requires us to liaise with building control department.

You do not need planning permission - usually - but you do need building reg.s Contact them and discuss.
They want to know about drainage, soil pipes, ventilation and your windows. They also need to know about all electrical work in your new bathroom - your qualified electrician should take care of that.

 

[MrsTaraPlumbing]

I fully agree with Paul_C on this.

If the government want something done to a particular standard or method then it has to be written into the legislation not the approved document.

In some parts of the building regs they refer to the approved docs as compulsory.
eg the current legal requirements about designing cenral heating systems MUST comply with the approve doc.
They are not even spelt out in the law.

BUT on the other hand - throughout building regs AND the approved docs it repeatedly gives get out clauses telling us that there might be other ways to achieve the same result.

eg Manufacturers instructions carry more weight than building regs.

Again eg heating - we could NOT comply with the very strict design rules in the heating approve doc IF we can demonstrate that our alternative system is just as energy efficient.

And in large part no one checks what you do anyway. So if you take out your downstairs loo after any work for new bathroom is signed off there is no one going to tell you to put it back.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

In some parts of the building regs they refer to the approved docs as compulsory.

If you know whereabouts in here: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2010/2214/contents/made those places are could you point them out to us?

So if you take out your downstairs loo after any work for new bathroom is signed off there is no one going to tell you to put it back.

Ironically we're planning some major work to the house, partly because we want to add a downstairs loo....

 

[MrsTaraPlumbing]

Ban All Sheds - I love your name!

Going through Building Regs is really a trawl and I think ulitmately you need to remember as said they are not the law but
they are suppposed to be guidelines on current best practice - can be thought of as almost binding unless you can provide evidence that you can do somethhing else.

eg This may have changed but it used to be Building rEg said you couldn't fit a durgo outside.
But some are made for out doors so if you had manufacturers instructions/ certificate then this was more important than building regs.

Recently the rules on fitting new central heating sysyems changed - as written out in building regs - but the actual law never changed.

Sorry I am not answering your actual question but if you say what exactly you want to do that that might not meet building regs then I could look.

 

[Paul_C]

Going through Building Regs is really a trawl and I think ulitmately you need to remember as said they are not the law but they are suppposed to be guidelines on current best practice - can be thought of as almost binding unless you can provide evidence that you can do somethhing else.

I think you're getting mixed up somewhat there. The Building Regulations are a Statutory Instrument passed by parliament, which makes them statutory legislation. These are the current Building Regulations:

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2010/2214/made

It is the Approved Documents which are issued to give guidance on how compliance with the very broad requirements set out in Schedule 1 of the Building Regulations might be achieved:

http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/buildingregulations/approveddocuments/downloads

As the introduction to each of the Approved Documents points out:

Approved Documents are intended to provide guidance for some of the more common building situations. However, there may well be alternative ways of achieving compliance with the requirements. Thus there is no obligation to adopt any particular solution contained in an Approved Document if you prefer to meet the relevant requirement in some other way.

Many of the statutory requirements set out in Schedule 1 of the Building Regulations are broad to the point of being almost vague, wrapped in rather non-specific terms along the lines of "Reasonable provision shall be made," which clearly leaves room for a lot of interpretation.

But when it comes to other aspects of the Building Regulations, it's really much clearer. The wording in Part P makes it clear that the requirements apply only where a dwelling is involved in some way and do not apply to wholly commercial premises, for example. And the wording in Part M makes it clear that while the requirements of that part apply to a new dwelling, they do not apply to an extension of or a material alteration of a dwelling, the latter being defined explicitly in regulation 3(2).

In some parts of the building regs they refer to the approved docs as compulsory.

Again, I think you might be getting a little mixed up there. There might be references in the Approved Documents to things which the Building Regulations make compulsory, e.g. indicating that certain jobs are notifiable. But nowhere do the Building Regulations (i.e. the statutory legislation, or "the law") state that you must do anything contained within the Approved Documents. The latter are merely issued as guidance on how compliance with the statutory requirements might be achieved, and in some cases, such as the one which started this thread, that guidance contradicts what the actual legislation says.