Building Regs & Structural Engineer

paddy07

We are in the process of knocking through a couple of walls to make a kitchen diner. The walls are the original back and part side wall of the garge and is masonry. The garage has already been converted to a internal room by the previous owners for which we have the building regs, it's just that there is no natural light in there so we wanted to open it up. The floor joists span across the back wall but sit on the internal front room wall and external wall and do not require additional support. The trimming joist however currently only sits on the back wall that is being removed. The guy that is obtaining the building regs for us and completed the drawings whilst i was at work arranged for a structural engineer to come round. He was only around for half an hour, however I now have a bill for over £200 on my hand. Was this actually required to obtain the building regs?

Thanks

Paddy.

roger56

If your builder ("the guy"?) was unsure, he did the right thing and took the advice of the structural engineers.
However, he should have asked you first, unless you had already agreed for some expenses as part of his work in "obtaining the building regs".
Also, you should get the structural report in writing, along with the name and qualifications of the structural engineer. Building control will need to see his opinion in writing and also any relevant calculations.

Until you get something properly in writing and confirm it is what building control want, I would delay any payment.

If you want more info, download Part A of the building regs for free from here:
http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/england/professionals/en/1115314110382.html

Part A is for structure

All the others you may need are on the page also.