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While it’s important to get the design and installation of the pile foundations right first time, one thing you may not have considered are the documents you need to submit to ensure the foundations are approved by building control.
To help minimise any delays you need to ensure your paperwork…
This is a photo looking down at the floor to a patio door opening and is a relatively common detail where the concrete carries over the internal blockwork to close the cavity.
Using damp proof membranes correctly
The damp proof membrane (DPM) has been cut too short to extend across the cavity…
A photo sent in recently by one of our building control surveyors highlighted a common problem found when the right drainage pipe fittings aren’t to hand on site and deadlines need the work doing right away:
In this instance, it’s surface water drainage from a house and detached garage that…
Whilst correct design, specification and detailing of cavity wall ties is important; correct and quality installation is just as critical to ensure performance of a wall throughout the life of a building.
This is particularly important as the need to construct masonry walls with wide cavities is…
Roofing is a high-risk activity. Working at height, sometimes with fragile materials, means roofers make up nearly a quarter of all workers killed in falls from height at work. Some of these accidents occur because of sub-standard roof battens.
In a bid to improve safety, a requirement to grade…
Severe driving rain is a common occurrence in the UK and these days even sheltered locations may be subject to high levels of deluge. Flashings and cavity trays offer a way around this problem, but should they be provided to canopy roofs?
Site-formed canopies
Where a site-formed canopy is…
E7 Intermediate floor between dwellings (in blocks of flats) E7MCFF4
This is another horizontal junction for intermediate floors between dwellings where sound and fire are also important considerations. Again, a fire stop is needed to compartment the dwellings and this, as with the Party Wall…
We’ve now seen the housing white paper "Fixing our broken housing market" which is principally focused on dealing with the slow planning system.
It remains to be seen if local planning authorities will still be able to override the new options proposed for brownfield and green belt land and…
Did you submit a building regulations application before 15 June 2022 in terms of the new FLOS requirements.
At the end of 2021, the government published new Approved Document F (covering ventilation) and L (covering energy efficiency). Both were in two volumes with 1. dealing with…
The drive towards more energy efficient buildings continues to bring innovative products onto the market, such as insulated roof panels. These are an easy-to-fit, quick-to-install, low-maintenance roofing option that also offers thermal performance. Long length panels also reduce the number of end…