Building compliance certificate help

hypochondriac

Good afternoon I'm hoping someone can give me some advice. I am looking to sell my house and the buyers solicitors haslve raised an issue. The chimney breast at the back of my house has been removed downstairs but not on the first floor. They have requested a copy of the building compliance certificate for this work but it's historic work as far as I am aware and I do not have the relevant certificates. My uncle is a builder and I've got him to come and have a look at it and he confirmed that the work whilst probably safe would not at the moment be able to be signed off by anyone. 

Next week my uncle has offered to come and secure the chimney breast in my attic and then remove the remainder of the chimney breast in the room above. I am happy for him to do this but I have some questions prior to the start of the work:

1) what certification should I be looking to obtain for the work? I've read about a regularisation certificate but that seems to me to be retrospectively applying for compliance for work whereas I'm not sure that the current work that has been done is compliant so my uncle's business will be fixing the work that should have been done at the time. Is a regularisation certificate still sufficient in this case or will I require something else? 

2) If I organise a site inspection, should this be done prior to the completion of the work or during it?

3) is my uncles company even allowed to complete the work in order to get it signed off or will I require someone directly from the council? Are the council likely to require drawn up plans etc or is it enough to obtain photographic evidence of the work and to book a site visit for someone to come and inspect the work whilst it's going on?

Any assistance much appreciated 

DevilDamo

It’s a structural alteration of which a Building Regulation application should have been submitted. Building Control’s requirements on what information they need varies with some wanting to see structural engineers’ details/calculations while others will advise on what supports would be suitable. Your best bet is to speak to Building Control first.

As the works have been completed without a BR application, the formal way of them being able to deal with and sign off the works is via a Regularisation Certificate application.

A competent builder can carry out the works and Local Authority Building Control would need to inspect and sign off the works.

hypochondriac

DevilDamo said:

It’s a structural alteration of which a Building Regulation application should have been submitted. Building Control’s requirements on what information they need varies with some wanting to see structural engineers’ details/calculations while others will advise on what supports would be suitable. Your best bet is to speak to Building Control first.

As the works have been completed without a BR application, the formal way of them being able to deal with and sign off the works is via a Regularisation Certificate application.

A competent builder can carry out the works and Local Authority Building Control would need to inspect and sign off the works.

Thanks so much that's incredibly helpful. So would you apply. For a regularisation certificate prior to the work starting or would you get it all sorted now and then apply for it afterwards? I noticed as well that the regularisation certification process was asking for the date that the work was completed originally but I have no idea whereas if the work is done next week I can put that date down for the work? 

DevilDamo

Even with a Regularisation Certificate application, they can ask for alterations to be carried out in order to meet that BR’s. It’s probably an idea to submit that first, have them inspect what has been done to date and what remedial works are needed. As for the date, just provide an approximate.

Your best bet is to explain the situation to Building Control and see what they suggest.

Mickey666

DevilDamo said:

Even with a Regularisation Certificate application, they can ask for alterations to be carried out in order to meet that BR’s. It’s probably an idea to submit that first, have them inspect what has been done to date and what remedial works are needed. As for the date, just provide an approximate.

Your best bet is to explain the situation to Building Control and see what they suggest.

Agreed. 
The risk with applying when the work has been completed is that it then makes inspection more difficult.  Eg, imagine everything has been done, plastered over, re-decorated etc, - a building inspector would be hard-pressed to see what has been done so it would be difficult to sign-off without some destructive investigation.  OK, extreme example, but you get the gist.

Best to get them involved before the work is done.  They can then approve the proposed work (or not, so you change the design), at which point you've got them on your side.  You then do the work they've already agreed, allowing them to inspect as it progresses, and you have basically zero risk that they won't sign it off.
They're really not the enemy that some people make them out to be.

Jeepers_Creepers

I don't think you are trying to 'regularise' the work that's already been done, are you? What are the chances of the existing work having been done to current standards? Not high, I doubt, so they ain't going to hand over a retrospective cert. (For example, the use of 'gallows' for this sort of job was common, but I've been told on here they are no longer approved.)

So if your uncle is offering to remove the breast in the upstairs room and make good the remaining stack to current standards, that is surely the way to go - assuming the bedroom will benefit from this removal? This would then, I understand, involve the application for a Building Cert ('minor works' - or something like that) which'll cost £onehundredandsomething and the BCO will come out to confirm it's been done properly. Your uncle will probably have to tell them beforehand what their intention is - how to retain the rest of the stack.

hypochondriac

Jeepers_Creepers said:

I don't think you are trying to 'regularise' the work that's already been done, are you? What are the chances of the existing work having been done to current standards? Not high, I doubt, so they ain't going to hand over a retrospective cert. (For example, the use of 'gallows' for this sort of job was common, but I've been told on here they are no longer approved.)

So if your uncle is offering to remove the breast in the upstairs room and make good the remaining stack to current standards, that is surely the way to go - assuming the bedroom will benefit from this removal? This would then, I understand, involve the application for a Building Cert ('minor works' - or something like that) which'll cost £onehundredandsomething and the BCO will come out to confirm it's been done properly. Your uncle will probably have to tell them beforehand what their intention is - how to retain the rest of the stack.

Thanks very much that makes things clearer for me. Just had a chat with my uncle and made some notes about what he plans to do so I'll submit that this week and hopefully that will be sufficient:

9x4 steel beam from external wall in attic through to bedroom party wall 4 metres long by 225 by 100 on concrete padstones either end with two concrete lintles going from the steel beam into the party wall to support the sides of the chimney breast.

Jeepers_Creepers

That sounds pretty hefty :-)  

When sis-in-law submitted an app for a Building Cert to have an internal - structural - wall opened up, the BCO came out to have a look at the situation, told her what would be needed - calcs for the beam from an SE - and then came back afterwards to see it had been done properly. All very sensible.

Hopefully you won't need the calcs bit, but I'm sure your uncle will know an SE who'd do this very quickly and cheaply if needed. I think sil only paid around £85 for the SE's bit.