Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 14
BUILDING REGULATIONS
It would be very unusual for your strawbale
house, extension, studio, etc. not to meet
current Building Regulation requirements in
relation to the strawbale element. We have
worked on so many now we have lost count,
and have never experienced any problems
that couldn't be overcome by discussion! It's
important to understand that buildings are
'regulated' in order to make sure that they
do not pose a threat to anyone or anything
in terms of health and safety, so regulations
are very useful when thinking about good
practice. They include requirements to make
sure that fuel and power is conserved and
that people with disabilities can use buildings
too. The procedures for dealing with the
Building Regulations are different in Ireland
and in the UK.
for instance, or your building firm may have
designated its own person.The local authority
may come to inspect your building at any
time, but may not.
In the UK, the planning department and the
Building Regulations department are separate
and require different information, although
it is usual for all information to be contained
on one set of drawings, submitted to both
departments. Ultimate responsibility for
ensuring compliance lies with an Approved
Inspector, who may work for the local
authority but may instead work for one of
the independent Approved Inspector com-
panies, set up under new laws a few years
ago. These inspectors will insist on visually
making sure that certain aspects of the
construction are built as agreed: for instance,
they will want to see that any low-impact
foundation designs that have no cement or
plastic in them are built according to plan, or
that specified damp-proof courses are
actually in place before concrete is poured,
and so on. You are required to pay a fee for
this service, and it can be very helpful to
have the inspector on site if you want to ask
any questions.
In Ireland the plans, which may or may not
include all relevant Building Regulation
information, are submitted for approval to
the local planning authority, and everything
is dealt with by them. The responsibility for
ensuring compliance with the Regulations
lies with the person who has overall respon-
sibility for the design and its practical
implementation, and who oversees the
quality of work. It is expected that this will
be an architect, but it doesn't have to be.
You may have submitted your own plans,
The Building Regulations for both Ireland
and the UK are contained in a number of
