Search
All eight members of the building control team at Swansea City Council have successfully passed LABC's Fire Safety Specialist validation, making them the first such team to get a 'full house'.
The rigorous assessment is independently verified by the Institution of Fire Engineers and a pass in…
Changes in 2015 to the Building Regulations Approved Document Part M, which contains guidance on access, introduced some new standards for new-build dwellings. The base standard is fairly similar to the old Part M; M4(2) is a higher standard that designs new dwellings so that they're more…
LABC has partnered with NFCC to give fire safety regulators and fire engineers access to dedicated training materials through a new learning portal.
LABC’s award winning Learning and Development team’s Virtual Learning Environment can now be securely accessed to upload training materials for…
On 29 April the Fire Safety Bill received Royal Assent and became law in England and Wales.
The Act amends the RRO (Fire Safety Order) 2005 to clarify that the order applies to the building’s structure, external walls and common parts and all doors between domestic premises and common…
Getting the design of a level threshold right can be tricky. Convenience and accessibility are the main focus, but this can cause water penetration or damp.
The external landing should be large and level enough for easy wheelchair access, but there’s a risk of standing water or surface water…
Today, LABC released independent research that, amongst other things, looks at the number of interventions local authority building control teams are making in the pre-commencement plan assessment stage of construction. The research, carried out by Lychgate Projects Ltd, involved 42 local…
High winds are an ever present risk, often leaving a trail of destruction on properties and construction sites. Average wind speeds are increasing and ‘storm force’ winds are more common.
Site hoarding, roofs, and unsecured or unbraced masonry walls in a temporary condition on construction sites…
When replacing internal doors in a house, it is important to consider if they perform the function of a fire door, assist with good circulation of air around the house or provided thermal separation between an exempt conservatory or porch.
In most new 2-storey houses, doors between internal…
You might not be aware that in April 2016 DCLG issued new editions of the Approved Document L series that cover the energy efficiency requirements of the building regulations as set out in Part L of Schedule 1 to the Building Regulations and in a number of specific building regulations.
The…
On 27 April, building industry stakeholders gathered at the Energy Technology Centre of Nottingham University where the long-awaited new air tightness testing (also known as air pressure testing) technology, the PULSE unit, made its first appearance.
Build Test Solutions (BTS) is an exciting new…