Building control has my mates worried

[kiwipaul]

Good friends of mine are undertaking some work on their two bedroom masionette. Basically they've taken a fireplace out, moved a toilet from one side of the house to the other and changed the layout of the kitchen and bathroom. They rang the council who told them they did not need planning permission. So the work went ahead and they're nearly at the the plastering stage. The plumbing was finished a couple of days ago when suddenly the woman who lives below them started complaining that sewerage was flowing across her lawn. Now building control have been contacted and are investigating the situation. The plumbers suspect that there is a blockage in the thames water pipe and it has nothing to do with the work they are doing, this dispute continues...

This building control guy is making them pay 250 pounds for a report to be written and is making all sorts of noises about proper certificates being written for the plumbing and electrical and they are getting alittle worried. Does anyone have any advice for dealing with the council in this type of situation? They are also about to have a baby in 2-3 weeks time so it's a heck of a stressful time for them both. Any advice would be really appreciated.

Paul

 

[noseall]

planning generally deal with the environmental impact of a building,i.e. how mutch light it obscures from neighbours, issues of parking problems, wether the building is listed or in a conservation area, how the building looks an wether its in keeping with its surroundings etc.
building control deal with the nuts and bolts of a building and how its put together i.e. foundations, wall and roof structure, drainage, electrics, steel lintel bearings and strengths etc.
so, yes its nowt to do with planning, but everything to do with building control. the customer should have applied for a building notice, and the people doing the job should have definitely advised upon it, or insisted upon b.c. inspection.
retro applications are not at all liked by building control for obvious reasons!

 

[peca27]

yep agree with noseall

Should've applied for building control approval. The plumbing + electrical sub-contractors should be registered (eg Corgi etc) + issued certification upon completion. You can't go around changing the layout of a building without any approval cos of the structural, plumbing + electrical changes required.

As for the Thames causing the drainage problem

I'd say they're scr***d, they are gonna have to do alot of sweet talking to Building Control.........good luck