No building regulations... help!

JAMES6789

We extended our property around 5/6 years ago using a builder who handled everything but has now gone bust.

We applied for planning permission but it was approved under permitted development up to 6m so this was approved at that time, however, no building regulations were applied for!

I have never had any problem with the extension. It looks fine to me but I read that it can cause problems when I come to sell it in the future.

The extension was a single-storey L shaped extension.

What options do I have? Do I need to tear it down and re-build it?

Edit; I forgot to add, the builder just used 9-inch blocks as walls on either side of neighbors without any insulation. I guess this alone with fail retrospective buildings control?

davidmcn

If you have no immediate plans to sell then you can worry about it when the time comes. The more historical an alteration is, the less buyers are likely to worry about the paperwork. And the council aren't going to come knocking on the door.

Buyers would however be likely to worry about it being shoddily-built, if there have been obvious shortcuts taken.

Doozergirl

Sounds like a great builder. No insulation in this decade?!

The indemnity policy seems to be the default method of employment.

Buyers will be concerned by the lack of paperwork; some will walk away but most will not be and probably just accept the indemnity policy if their survey comes back clear. The surveyor may not notice the thin walls if there are no windows and there's no access to the side.

The lack of insulation is shoddy. You'll be susceptible to condensation on those walls.

JAMES6789

davidmcn wrote: »

If you have no immediate plans to sell then you can worry about it when the time comes. The more historical an alteration is, the less buyers are likely to worry about the paperwork. And the council aren't going to come knocking on the door.

Buyers would however be likely to worry about it being shoddily-built, if there have been obvious shortcuts taken.

Thank you very much for your response David. We have no plans to sell this property anytime soon.

The work was done to ok quality in my opinion as I have not had a single issue for the past 6 years. But obviously, now I realize they did take some short cuts i.e. not put any insulation on the walls.

do you think it is worth applying for BCA in this case? maybe I can just add an internal wall and put insulation in between? roof will probably need to come off and redone.

Doozergirl

JAMES6789 wrote: »

Thank you very much for your response David. We have no plans to sell this property anytime soon.

The work was done to ok quality in my opinion as I have not had a single issue for the past 6 years. But obviously, now I realize they did take some short cuts i.e. not put any insulation on the walls.

do you think it is worth applying for BCA in this case? maybe I can just add an internal wall and put insulation in between? roof will probably need to come off and redone.

You could just add proper quality insulated plasterboard to the affected walls. It's actually possible it could meet regs by adding a sensible thickness, but I certainly wouldn't call out building control now.

Better to lose one buyer than your trousers, imho.

JAMES6789

Doozergirl wrote: »

You could just add proper quality insulated plasterboard to the affected walls. It's actually possible it could meet regs by adding a sensible thickness, but I certainly wouldn't call out building control now.

Better to lose one buyer than your trousers, imho.

Thanks, I did not think about this.

If I use the insulated plaster board and want to install kitchen units, I guess the nails would need to go all the way to go main wall as the plasterboard itself wouldn't have sufficient strength to hold it?

Doozergirl

JAMES6789 wrote: »

Thanks, I did not think about this.

If I use the insulated plaster board and want to install kitchen units, I guess the nails would need to go all the way to go main wall as the plasterboard itself wouldn't have sufficient strength to hold it?

Yes.

You could install solid insulation without the plasterboard, with batons between and then board with ply, then plasterboard. You can use rockwool, but its thermal properties aren't so good and you'll need more.

You'd use two thinner layers of insulation, with each set of batons perpendicular to each other if you were using belt and braces from an insulation point of view, but I don't think many people do that!

JAMES6789

Doozergirl wrote: »

Yes.

You could install solid insulation without the plasterboard, with batons between and then board with ply, then plasterboard. You can use rockwool, but its thermal properties aren't so good and you'll need more.

You'd use two thinner layers of insulation, with each set of batons perpendicular to each other if you were using belt and braces from an insulation point of view, but I don't think many people do that!

I will keep that in mind. In the future. If I can get away with just doing that then I may not need to take the roof down. I know the roof already has insulation.

Do you recommend that I contact BC before I plan to start the work or after I carry out remedial work?

and Do you recommend I go through the council or private?

Doozergirl

I would not contact them.

Do what's right by the house and future residents, but don't open that can of worms unless you need to. What's done is done.

Private building control will be a bit more creative but I won't be using private until their insurance situation is resolved. You could be throwing good money after bad.

FreeBear

Doozergirl wrote: »

You could install solid insulation without the plasterboard, with batons between and then board with ply, then plasterboard. You can use rockwool, but its thermal properties aren't so good and you'll need more.

Or you could use an aerogel insulation blanket - Much more expensive, but a lot thinner than even Celotex/Kingspan type foam boards. At the end of the day, it boils down to how much space you are prepared to lose compared to how much you want to spend.

Slithery

JAMES6789 wrote: »

Thanks, I did not think about this.

If I use the insulated plaster board and want to install kitchen units, I guess the nails would need to go all the way to go main wall as the plasterboard itself wouldn't have sufficient strength to hold it?

You're planning on fixing kitchen units to the wall with nails :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: