Building Regulations – What I Need To Know

There’s something about the sunshine that makes people want a conservatory or orangery to fully enjoy the weather in as we have received so many enquiries recently for our stylish lifestyle extensions.

Once we receive an enquiry from a customer, we then set-up an appointment with them so that one of our consultants can talk them through everything involved in making their chosen extension a reality. This will include some discussion about building regulations as the proposed extension must comply with these before any work commences as they set the standard for the design and construction of buildings.

You mustn’t proceed with a conservatory or orangery installation without checking current building regulations first as ignoring them could be disastrous in the long-term. We say that as there is the possibility of your local authority ordering you to completely knock down your precious structure. Imagine the embarrassment and financial heartache that would cause!

We refuse to let that happen to anyone, so we always abide by all of the following enforced building regulations:

• At ground level and not exceed 30m2 floor area.
• Glazed to satisfy the requirements of Approved Document K of Schedule 1.
• Physically separated internally from the building it is attached to, for example, by a door.
• Without sanitary appliances.
• Not intended for year round habitable use.
• Used to some extent for the propagation of plants.

To get a definitive decision on whether any proposed conservatory or orangery satisfies building regulations you / we can contact your local authority and ask for them to send out an Exempt Buildings Form.

The full project should be outlined in detail on this form before it is returned to the local authority. They will assess the plans and decide if they’re happy for it to go ahead, writing to you to confirm their judgement. If they give a favourable verdict, you should keep this written confirmation safe somewhere so that you can pass it on as evidence that your extension complies with building rules to the next occupier of your house.

There’s planning permission to think about too!

Don’t confuse building regulations with planning permission as they’re not the same thing. Planning permission requires formal permission from a local authority for the erection or alteration of buildings.

You may automatically have planning permission if the proposed extension is a “Permitted Development”. All the info you need to know about Permitted Developments can be found here.

Put this all in the hands of Hazlemere

Building regulations, planning permission and anything else to do with home extensions can be taken care of by Hazlemere. Book an appointment with us to move a significant step towards getting your dream extension.