Building regs needed?

[Tim W]

Owain wibbled on Saturday 02 January 2010 23:29

Yes - maybe I should get around to tweaking the feet!

[js.b1]

Often quite a bit :-)

Ah... you lucky so-and-so (re easy to find).

That said, I assume it IS the water pipe and you have opened whatever meter "cupboard" and confirmed you are not supplied by the very similar looking Paper Insulated Lead Covered (PILC)? Putting a spade through PILC is not to be recommended, the bang from mother's neighbour doing just that was deafening.

The new pipe I think has to comply with water regulations, which the utility company will inform you of. That means it must go deeper or be run in (very) expensive insulated duct.

do insulated ducting for shallow burial. Authorised plumber is not required, install compliance is.

Interesting, I assume it has been tested ok (ie, not just adopted).

Marmox is the strongest stuff, but needs "something on top". I'm surprised no-one has come up with a "composite insulated floor" for the numerous uninsulated concrete floors out there.

[Pete Verdon]

Last time I went to Turkey, there were lots of buildings with flat concrete roofs with short pillars sticking up and bare rebar sticking out of the ends. Apparently you have to pay a big lump of tax there when your building is finished - so all these buildings were officially "unfinished" awaiting the final storey.

Pete

[Owain]

Or disengage the "Bored housewife" setting ;-)

Next year's model will probably have self-adjusting hydraulic legs.

Owain

[Hugo Nebula]

The Building Regulations are valid for three years from the date of your original application. The time limits are different from Planning.

Count yourself lucky. The council I work for doesn't issue any notices at all, relying on a line on the approval notice saying they automatically expire in three years.

That's not like-for-like. It's a structural alteration. In addition, the replacement of a floor, wall or roof counts as the renovation of a thermal element, and requires notification.

What you have to work out is; would there be any inspection charge to be paid on your original application, and would this be less than the cost of a Building Notice for the work you now wish to do? If it is, you have a couple of options:

1) You could ask whether your original application can still stand. They've already issued a Section 32 notice, so don't hold out much hope for this. 2) Submit a new application. If the plans are still relevant, you can include these, but it's the current requirements that apply, not those that were in force when your original plans were approved.

[Hugo Nebula]

Yes. A 'commencement' needs to be for work to which the regulations apply, so hacking off a small amount of plaster doesn't count. Digging a foundation, insulating a whole wall, or replacing a lintel, etc., would count.

Secondly, if you fail to notify the local Authority before you commence, you are in breach of the regulations. Just claiming, "I put a note in the post" won't wash; if you you were expecting an inspection on a certain date, why didn't you ring when they didn't turn up?

[Steve Walker]

The trouble with that is that if you start work on your own house and then find yourself suddenly unemployed, you may well eat up your funds suporting your family and yourself, while maintaining bill payments etc. It could well be an extended period before you are again established in work and able to build up the required funds again.

SteveW

[Andy Burns]

Sure, but you occasionally see building plots up for sale, with planning permission just about to lapse, so a viable course of action would be to e.g. dig some footings then commence in a couple of years?

Just seems like it makes the "must commence" clauses a bit feeble.

[Jason]

Yes, definitely. The pipe runs directly from the stop-c*ck in the back lane to where it comes up just inside the house through the concrete floor. The electrics and gas all come in the front of the house.

A deep burial yes. I already have some plastic piping left over when a neighbour did their pipe a while ago.

Well, it did test just over the legal limit for lead, which is why the water company replaced their part.