BRs has got me worried now! I just checked the list of notifiable works on the LA BC website again. Nothing 'structural' is being touched (apart from chasing structural brickwork here and there). There is nothing 'new' apart from a large cupboard between l/r and bedroom, which replaces a built-in w/drobe, & which I'll do according to your specs for the k/b studwall partition.
With the exception of "renovation of thermal elements" ie replacement of existing 25mm polystyrene & 18mm chipboard floors with 5mm impact mat under 20mm marmox + addition of electric u/f heating under laminate/ceramics in hall, k &b , and "altering existing electrical installation" ie replacing CU, adding u/f heating & moving some switches and sockets etc, nothing else I am doing seems to require notification. I thought using a qualified sparks would avoid the need for notification of electrics and that would also handily cover the flooring aspect.
Using qualified trades may not remove the need to notify (if it’s necessary) or guarantee the work they do will comply with the regs. although it definitely should. The onus is on you to notify works to LABC & ensure it complies with current BR’s; LABC may then want to inspect to make sure it does! Using a Part P spark will avoid you getting involved with LABC but they are still notified by whatever body your spark is registered with; & make sure he is as there are some real cowboys around. On completion of the work, sparky completes a form with the description of the work & the test results obtained to his registered body, they then issue a compliance certificate to you & a copy to your LABC who keep it on their file; so they are going to know what you’re up to!
This web site will help if you haven’t already seen it;
http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/england/genpub/en/1115315273728.html
The only way you’re going to know for certain is to ring your LABC or go & see them, explain what you’re doing & see what they say; it’s better to be safe than sorry! They can be really helpful & I think your worrying over nothing
The work in the bathroom was started about 4 years ago, when the bath was removed to install shower and laundry cupboard instead. The shower tray is now being replaced with a smaller one and lowered 50mm (+ small work involving strap bosses on soilstack by plumber), the laundry cupboard is being fitted now, and the WC and wash basin are being moved back 600mm with the new partition we've been discussing here. That is a replacement of existing, which is a x3 pb laminate structure, albeit moved about 600mm into the kitchen to absorb the redundant cupboard (in which WC and basin are going), and will conform to current acoustic & electrical specs.
You’re forming a new room with new connections to a soil stack; the installation or extension of a service or fitting which is controlled under the regulations is, strictly speaking, notifyable work. In your case, they may not be interested in submission or inspection; I notified all the work I was doing here but the BI who came to inspect some new window openings just had a quick glance at a new utility room I’d formed & the pipe runs & connections to an existing stack; that was it.
I'll be installing some acoustic insulation in the form of resilient bars (fixed through impact mat to existing concrete plank ceiling) with sound block ceiling throughout. I'm gaining 10mm on floor and losing between 25 and 35mm on ceilings - maybe slightly under 7' 6" here and there. Present floor to ceiling is just about 7' 6".
I doubt they will be interested in that.
Maybe I should get a surveyor to take a look around just to be sure. I wouldn't want to find problems in future when trying to sell or extending kitchen. Would I need certs for a 2 bed l/h council flat when selling? Who would ask/know/be able to tell when anything was done? At this stage, I have only stripped d & d pb from k & b for rendering and tiling, taken up k & b flooring and am generally preparing for works to commence, eg chasing, and waiting for EDF to come and move the main electrical connection and meter board from the existing partition onto the new, ready to disappear into a kitchen cupboard with the new CU.
The work you’re doing is really quiet minor & you don’t need to go to the expense of getting a surveyor in. You will need a certificate of compliance for the electrical work (which a PROPERLY qualified & registered spark will give you) &, possibly, the other elements of the work that need to comply with BR’s. The type & size of the property, ex council flat or mansion, has nothing to do with it.
Who would ask; well any future buyer’s solicitor for a start, they issue a standard form which you have to complete. It would also have come under HIPS as well at one stage but that appears to have been watered down & then there is the buyers surveyor who, remember, is acting on behalf of whatever establishment is advancing the loan to your buyer; unless they have paid for a separate survey, they are not acting for the buyer! If you don’t have the necessary bits of paper, the only option you have is to lie & then you could end up in a civil court if you get found out.
How would they be able to tell: as I said earlier, they aren’t stupid & if they are in any doubt, the onus will be on you to prove when the work was done not for them to prove it wasn’t!
If I do need to notify, how long would the whole process take before I could get underway? My wife is away with her family in Istanbul and due back 19th August. I'd really like to have things nearing completion by then.............. LOL!
You can submit a Building Notice, pay the fee & start work either 24 or 48 hours later, I can’t remember; you can even do it on line now! But talk to your LABC first, they may say you don’t need to submit & they don’t want to inspect, in which case you can just carry on!
