Should I approach council for Buildings Regulations after completion?

alanyau88

Hi All,

Can someone help me please.  I had just completed on a 1930's property and apart from the vendor leaving the house in a state with lots of junk left behind and locked windows with no keys, I have a dilemma with a side extension.  The garage conversion and summer house side extension which has not gone through building regulations has a single breeze block wall with no insulation.  I want to build timber frame stud walls with 100mm celotex insulation, and 100mm insulation above ceiling, to make it slightly warmer in the winter months.  The floor has already been lifted up to match the level of the main house however I am not sure if I should put in insulation in the floor as I have heard that it needs to breathe due to the natural dampness of the ground.  The problem is I have an indemnity insurance due to lack of building regulations and if I approach the building regulations office, the indemnity insurance will be voided and the council may want the whole side extension to be reverted.  

If I want the side extension to be buildings regulation signed off, how should I go about it?  Should I wait till the work is completed and then go for a regularisation certificate?  If anyone can assist me in how I should approach this, I would be most grateful.  Thank you.

Doozergirl

When was the existing work carried out?

The reality is that building control aren't interested in enforcement but they're particularly not interested in enforcement if someone is trying to improve their substandard home!   They'd have to get a court order which would be counter-logical if you're already doing the work to get it compliant.   In 18 years on these boards I have never seen a thread on enforcement, but thousands on indemnity policies.  

That said, there are Approved Building Inspectors.  These are privately run building control companies that will inspect your work for you.   They do not enforce, only the Local Authority can enforce, so you can employ private building control for what you title 'upgrades to existing garage conversion and side extension' with an additional cushion of no LA building inspector and therefore no fear.  

You then end up with a certificate for the works and no need for indemnity policies when you sell.  

alanyau88

Hi Doozergirl,

Thank you so much for your advice.  I had never thought about private Approved Building Inspectors and that sounds like the best way for me to go to make sure I don't invalidate the indemnity policy and to get buildings certificate sign off. 

The side extension was carried out in 2018 and planning permission was approved but obviously not built according to the plans and therefore no buildings sign off.  How much do you think it will cost me for a single storey side extension area of 8m x 6m?  It's already got a flat roof and raised flooring but will definitely need to strip the rooms down to bare brick and rebuild from there.

Thanks ever so much for your help once again.  It is really really appreciated.  

FreeBear

alanyau88 said: I want to build timber frame stud walls with 100mm celotex insulation, and 100mm insulation above ceiling, to make it slightly warmer in the winter months.  The floor has already been lifted up to match the level of the main house however I am not sure if I should put in insulation in the floor as I have heard that it needs to breathe due to the natural dampness of the ground.

I have my doubts that 100mm of Celotex in the roof would be enough to meet current requirements. I'd be aiming for 150mm.

As for the floor, that too would benefit from a layer of insulation One would normally put down a damp proof membrane (1000 or 12000 gauge plastic sheet) to stop damp coming through. You may need to dig out the existing concrete slab to get enough depth for the insulation. If that is the case, it might be worth looking at installing underfloor heating.

alanyau88

Hi FreeBear,

Thanks for your advice.  I didn't know about the 150mm insulation for the roof so will definitely do that, thanks very much.  Yes, ideally I would like to do a proper job of it (costs allowing) and underfloor heating sounds great.  I've had an independent damp surveyor specialist down to check the property and advised me on numerous things such as installing more brick vents, fans, and digging up the rear to allow for a shingle drainage leading to the drains. However he advised against putting a damp proof membrane in the side extension and instead re-plastering with sharp sand and sulphate resistant cement with the bottom cut out and cover with skirting board that is oiled and waterproofed.  This obviously goes against building regulations but we are mixing modern building methods with old houses that need to breathe.  

I will need to speak to the building inspector to see what can work and what can't which is why I was in a dilemma about approaching the council buildings regulation office to ask.  Maybe I can get to speak to a private one tomorrow who can hopefully assist me.  Many thanks again for your advice.

FreeBear

alanyau88 said:  I've had an independent damp surveyor specialist down to check the property and advised me on numerous things ... However he advised against putting a damp proof membrane in the side extension and instead re-plastering with sharp sand and sulphate resistant cement with the bottom cut out and cover with skirting board that is oiled and waterproofed.

As long as you are aware that cement renders are not "breathable" and should not be used on solid brick walls.. There is a risk that you will trap moisture in the walls which will lead to damage & further expense at some point in the future.

If you used a layer of Celotex or EPS in the floor slab, that would be an effective barrier to moisture in its self.

Section62

alanyau88 said:

The side extension was carried out in 2018 and planning permission was approved but obviously not built according to the plans and therefore no buildings sign off.

In terms of the exterior, how much of a departure from the approved plans is the finished extension?

You should also be past the timeframe where there could be planning enforcement, but if the departure is significant you may want to get advice on the planning situation before doing further building work.

alanyau88

Hi Section62,

Thanks for your input.  I'm not sure is the answer to your question.  I've looked through all the documents in the planning permission portal and it all seems to relate to architect drawings of current house and new house.  It doesn't have the actual details of the walls, floors, and ceilings.  There are letters to show that the planning permission had been approved.  I think the departure must be significant due to the single skinned wall and lack of insulation.  The spotlighting in the rooms seems okay though.

Yes, absolutely agree with you which is why I want to speak to a buildings inspector and my initial dilemma of invalidating the indemnity insurance policy.  

Noneforit999

If the rooms are being used as habitable space and you bought the house on this basis, they should have had building regs. If it was just advertised as a garage which has had the floor raised then they may not have bothered.

Our internal garage is below a bedroom so has insulation and is boarded, the floor is also raised to the level of the house but ultimately its still a garage so you don't need building regs as long as its not habitable space, i.e. used as part of the house. We use it as storage, the same as we would if it were a garage. 

Anyway, you need to speak to your local building regulation people that your council use, they are usually very helpful and they won't be looking to punish you. If you want to put it right then you need to involve them and they will tell you exactly what is needed to rectify, or you can find a reputable builder who can tell you what is needed and quote for doing it.

If the walls are single skin (i.e. no cavity) then you are going to need a decent amount of insulation to meet regulations, you are likely going to need to batten them out, leave an air gap and then insulate and board on top. 

There is no point buying stuff before speaking to BR if you plan to get it signed off as they need to advise exactly what needs to be done. Its not just about insulation, its about fire escape as well. Ceiling needs to meet fire regulations, I recall its 30 minutes.

Lots of things to consider. 

Section62

alanyau88 said:

Thanks for your input.  I'm not sure is the answer to your question.  I've looked through all the documents in the planning permission portal and it all seems to relate to architect drawings of current house and new house.  It doesn't have the actual details of the walls, floors, and ceilings.  There are letters to show that the planning permission had been approved.  I think the departure must be significant due to the single skinned wall and lack of insulation.  The spotlighting in the rooms seems okay though.

The planning drawings wouldn't usually have details of wall construction etc, other than in terms of external finish.

I was thinking of more significant things - for example the drawings showing a flat roof and they've built a pitched one, or there are windows installed in walls that weren't meant to have them.  The potential problem if you start doing alterations now would be proving any work which was in breach of the original planning consent had already been there 'x' years, and not something you had just done.  In effect you could inadvertently restart the 4-year planning enforcement clock at zero, or have difficulty proving that an alteration had been present long enough to be beyond enforcement action.

alanyau88

Thanks everyone for all your input.  Yes, lots of things to consider and think about.  The side extension is currently used as a playroom at the front and storage room and utility room at the back.  I completed on it mainly because the main home is fine and has no structural issues at all and all the walls there are proper cavity brick walls.  I will have to evaluate the costs involved to bring the side extension up to buildings regulation compliance and also the damp surveyors report given that there was a damp problem although I think most of that was due to penetrating damp and poor ventilation.

Thanks for all your help and advice.  It really has given me some real choices to think about and make.