|
Is Building Regulation
consent required? |
| Some
conservatories can be added to an existing
house (or other building) and do not
require consent. To be exempt they must
meet all the following criteria: |
| |
| • |
Must
be single storey |
 |
| • |
Must
be situated at ground level |
|
| • |
Must
be less than 30m2 in floor area
(measured internally) |
|
| • |
Must be separated from the original
house (or other building) by a
combination of window(s), door(s)
or walls. (See Example 1) So that
they can be closed off from the
original house when not in use |
|
| • |
Must
have at least half the area of
the walls formed of windows |
|
| • |
Must
have at least three quarters of
the area of the roof formed of
glazing, polycarbonate sheets
or similar translucent material
|
|
| |
Providing
all of the above can be met then an
application, under Building Regulations,
to build the conservatory is currently
not required and neither will the building
control department of your local council
need to inspect it. (See
Diagram 1).
Please note – building regulations
is a separate issue from Planning Permission.
You should always check to see if planning
permission is also required before going
ahead and building a conservatory. More
Details may be found at http://www.planningportal.gov.uk
NOTE: There has been discussion about
making all conservatories subject to
building regulations, it could be that
in the next 2 – 3 years ALL conservatories
will be subject to building regulations. |
| |
| If
Building Regulation consent is required,
what regulations apply? |
| The
most common situation where Building
Regulation consent is required is shown
in Diagram 2
above. With a layout such as
this, the “conservatory”
is not separated from the house and
under the regulations has to be considered
as an Extension. Clearly, heat and energy
will be more rapidly lost from the building
with this arrangement. Because the UK
Government is committed to reducing
energy consumption and carbon emissions
at UK power stations, Building Regulations
now place limits on the amount and type
of glazing in extensions (and also new
buildings). |
| |
| |
 |
| To
meet the Regulations in this case, there
is a choice: |
| 1 |
To
provide your local building control
department with calculations that
show the amount of glazing in
the windows, doors and roof of
the conservatory/extension, together
with the amount of glazing in
the windows, doors and any roof
lights in the original house,
do not exceed 25% of the floor
area of the conservatory and all
floors of the house added together.
The new windows and doors in the
Conservatory/ extension will need
to meet the current U values.
See Diagram
1 below |
|
| 2 |
To
provide Building Control with
calculations or plans that show
the amount of glazing in the windows,
doors and roof of the ‘conservatory’/extension
do not exceed 25% of the floor
area of the ‘conservatory’/extension.
Often, this can be difficult to
achieve. The new windows and doors
in the ‘conservatory’/
extension will need to meet the
current U values. See
Table 1 for examples of glazing
which will meet U values. |
|
| |
| Table 1 |
| Material
of the frame to the Window, door
or roof light |
|
U
Value |
|
Example
which meets
Regulations |
| Wood |
|
2.0 |
|
Double
glazing with low E glass
and 12mm air gap |
| PVC-u |
|
2.0 |
|
Double
glazing with low E glass,
Argon gas fill and 16mm air gap |
| Metal
(e.g. aluminium, steel) |
|
2.2 |
|
Triple
glazing with low E glass
and 12mm air gap |
|
| |
| Structural Alterations |
| Building Regulation
approval will always be required where
it is necessary to form a new or wider
opening in the original house wall.
This is because carrying out this type
of work is a structural alteration and
your local building control department
need to check that the beam or lintel
that is used to support the wall above
the opening is of adequate size and
properly fire protected. |
| |
| Safety Glazing |
| Glazing in
some of the windows and doors will need
to be either toughened or laminated
safety glass to meet British Standard
6206. Generally, the locations, which
need safety glass, are doors and side
panels and also where the glass in windows
is within 800mm of floor level. For
more information on safety glass see:
http://www.double-glazing-uk.co.uk/Safety_glass.asp |
