Building control - inpections
Inspections - when do i need to notify the Building Control
Officer?
The Building Regulations require you to notify Building Control
at certain stages of the building work. This notification
gives the Building Control Officer the opportunity to inspect the
work before you continue building. It may be necessary to
inspect the work at other stages of the construction. This
will depend on the type of work and one of our Building Control
Officers will tell you or your builder what else requires
inspection when we visit.
Commencement of work
You must notify Building Control 48 hours before you commence
work.
Foundation excavation
One issue that continually causes problems between builders and
customers is foundation work.
On large building projects it is normal practice for the
developer to undertake a site investigation whereby a trial
excavation of some type is undertaken so that the type of
foundation necessary can be designed and the cost estimated.
For domestic extensions and alterations many builders assume a
traditional foundation will be applicable and quote accordingly to
the house owner. If the subsequent excavation inspection
reveals that a deeper or special foundation is needed you may find
the cost of your building project exceeds your budget. It is
therefore important to discuss this with your builder. Ask
him to conduct a trial excavation before work commences. If a
special foundation is needed you can discuss what is required and
assess the cost before you commit to the work commencing.
Oversite concrete and damp proof course
For new buildings and extensions you must notify Building
Control when your building work reaches damp proof course
level. This is normally when the brickwork is just above
ground level and before any ground floor concrete is laid.
Drains
Any new drainage and drainage connections must be inspected
before they are covered over. It is important to agree with
the Building Control Officer that any connection to an existing
drain will be permitted prior to making the connection. A
test of the drains may be required at completion stage.
Pre-plaster
This is not a statutory notification stage. However, it is
often a very important stage so that Building Control Officers can
inspect structural beams, structural timbers and possible
electrical work.
Completion and occupation
You must notify Building Control as soon as the work is
completed, or in the case of new buildings or extensions when they
are occupied, whichever comes first.
Approval of works already carried out
In some cases, where work has been carried out without approval,
providing this occurred on or after the 11 November 1985, it may be
possible to apply for retrospective approval known as
Regularisation.
A Regularisation Certificate enables home owners and others to
submit an application to regularise the position where building
work has been carried out without building regulation approval.
An owner is under no obligation to make an application for a
Regularisation Certificate and the local authority is under no
obligation to accept it or to issue one if the work cannot be
determined as complying with the Building Regulations.
A Regularisation Application involves a higher than normal fee
to be paid to us and one of our Building Control Officers will
survey the work. This often involves you opening up or
removing part of the work for inspection or providing additional
information such as structural calculations. This can be
expensive and the Building Control officer will not approve work
unless he can inspect sufficient parts of the work to be sure
it complies with the regulations
Inspecting the work
Typical examples of requests include:
- Exposure and/or testing of drains
- Exposure of foundations and/or other elements of structure
(steel beams, floor joists)
- Calculations or other details to prove that structural work is
satisfactory
- Other details of specifications that are considered
appropriate
Please note if you choose not to alter work required to permit
the issue of a Regularisation Certificate, the fee paid is not
refundable.