What is in it for me?

The Basics

The quick answer to this is that we will ensure your building works comply with the Building Regulations and we will give you a certificate at the end of the work to prove it.

This may be only little comfort when you are paying your fee. We all know we have to comply with regulations of all descriptions these days, but it is much better if you can feel that this is to your own benefit, and will have gained an advantage as a result of compliance with the regulations.

Practical Regulations

The Building Regulations deal with a wide range of issues related to buildings. Many of these provisions are based on very old bye-laws and regulations, which deal with such items as drainage, structure of the building, and fire. These types of regulation are based on practical experience; they are not dealing with a theoretical risk, and have been developed and improved over many years. The government does also review the regulations and any that are felt to be inappropriate in today's world are removed. Examples of this are minimum ceiling heights of rooms, which was originally introduced to ensure that the foul air from gas lamps was not breathed by people in the room. The requirement to have a lobby between a room and a WC has now been removed, although a wash hand basin has to be available and suitable ventilation provided to the WC.

Regulations for the new millennium

Some regulations introduced in more recently deal with welfare matters; an example of this would be regulations dealing with access for the disabled and conservation of fuel and power.

There are benefits for the building user however in cheaper fuel bills, more comfortable environment etc.

The point of this is that the regulations should be viewed as ensuring that your building is safe, healthy to occupy and comfortable. Many years of experience and input from experts in their respective fields have been used to formulate these regulations. So take advantage of all this information and use the regulations for your own benefit.

Professional staff

Inspection of building work is carried out by building control surveyors on site. The surveyors visiting your site will be very experienced, highly qualified and probably both. Most of our surveyors are members of the RICS, have degrees in building construction or surveying and may have qualifications in fire safety.

The inspections they carry out are on your behalf, to ensure that health and safety issues that exist in and around your buildings have been properly addressed.

Use your surveyor

Your surveyor can also be a useful source of information in many aspects of your building work from advice on differing types of foundation design to the merits of insulating your roof at ceiling or roof level.

Local knowledge that your surveyor has is also very important, for example knowing where ground conditions may be a problem.