No building regulation compliance certification for conservatory

skm1981

The house we're buying has a conservatory on the back which is 6.17m x 2.92m.  It is all glass and I think classed as a lean-to.  My solicitor has today told me that the sellers are unable to provide a buildings regulation compliance certificate for this and that we should rely on our searches, which aren't due back until the end of December.  Does a conservatory require a building regulation certificate?  I just always thought that it didn't.  Hopefully the link below works, which is a picture of the conservatory.
https://freeimage.host/i/FNFiAP
https://freeimage.host/i/FNKxJ2

AdrianC

Whether it does or it is a bit immaterial, really, unless it's very newly erected.

The more relevant question is whether it looks like it was assembled properly.

Surrey_EA

https://www.planningportal.co.uk/info/200130/common_projects/10/conservatories/3

Conservatories are normally exempt from building regulations when:

• They are built at ground level and are less than 30 square metres in floor area.
• The conservatory is separated from the house by external quality walls, doors or windows.
• There should be an independent heating system with separate temperature and on/off controls.
• Glazing and any fixed electrical installations comply with the applicable building regulations requirements

skm1981

I don't know when it was erected.  The house is 15 years old, so it would be less than that as it wasn't built with a conservatory.  I've added some links which hopefully work to my first post to show pictures of it.  I mean to me, it looks fine when I viewed and looked fine in person, but that's just my opinion. I have no knowledge of conservatories whatsoever.

Davesnave

No radiator, external grade doors between house and conservatory, so the person who had it erected almost certainly didn't need building regs. What's more, there's no way that structure could have met the regs.

skm1981

Why would it have not met building regs?

Davesnave

skm1981 said:

Why would it have not met building regs?

It's unlikely to have compliant foundations as there isn't even a dwarf cavity wall visible. but the main thing is that the walls and roof are all glass/plastic and not able to reach the required insulation values. It's not necessary to go further than that, but the standard floors laid in an independent conservatory wouldn't normally be adequately insulated either.

Silvertabby

It'll be bitterly cold in winter.

Jeepers_Creepers

It does appear to sit on a raised plinth and, to be honest, the whole thing looks very well finished - clearly a fair bit of money has been spent on it. 

That's no guarantee it's been done properly, of course, but it makes it much more likely that it has. I'd ask your solicitor to try and get some evidence from the sellers of the prep work carried out (ie, mainly the founds, but ideally also what the floor slab has in it) - most folk take photos, for example, of the stages of the build, just out of future interest or to show their families by email or facebook, for example. 

They should really have some invoices too - and this might be detailed enough to show insulation sheets, a ton of concrete, etc... 

davidmcn

skm1981 said:

I don't know when it was erected.  The house is 15 years old, so it would be less than that as it wasn't built with a conservatory.

The conservatory is visible on the Google Street View images from October 2008, so before then anyway.

Davesnave

I'm not implying that it's a shoddy build, just that it probably has all a glass and plastic box needs in the way of support. If either foundations or the floor was inadequate, you'd see it by now. Often, badly built conservatories move away from the house a little and any gap will be easily spotted.