Do I need building regs?

[howardsmith]

So I am planning to pay a builder to take out a structural wall (ground floor supporting floor above)...

I have a had a builder come in and quote up for the work... When I mentioned building regs to him he asked how long we were planning on staying in the house... I told him we will be here for a long time (this is a family home and we plan to stay here for 30ish years)... He said to not bother with building regs as after a certain period it simply won't be an issue...

Does anyone know what is what in this department...

He did tell me if we wanted to do all the work officially we would need to get a structural engineer in to do a calculation for the required steel and also inspectors for after the work has been done... I am not 100% on what the cost is for this...

Anyone?

 

[howardsmith]

Just to also add... I am in the UK...

 

[^woody^]

If you are planning to stay there for 30 years, then you might want to ensure that it wont fall down on you and the family before that.

It should have b/regs approval. It may also need the steel beam to be calculated by an engineer, but that's not always the case as the councils can approve and advise on the correct steel beam size.

If you don't implicitly trust the builder (and know him personally to know his stuff) then someone needs to check that what he is doing is correct - and that's the building inspector.

 

[noseall]

Plus, the onus and the fall-out will be with the home owner should the issue of the alterations ever crop up.

 

[nortonj]

I would add around 1000.00 to get relevant calculations and building regs

 

[DaveHerns]

If the unforeseen happens and you move in a few years , you're in trouble. I expect your builder is saying to not bother with VAT and pay cash. Sounds like a cowboy to me. Is he going to guess what size steels you need ?

 

[wessex101]

Building Regs application fee about £250, Structural Engineer £150 to £500.

Personally I agree with the builder but if you are asking the question I would suggest you play it safe and go down the official route for the sake of £750.

 

[oldbutnotdead]

And if your house is conventional (brick walls, foundations, no sign of movement) then you may not even need calcs if you go with a manufactured lintel rather than a lump of RSJ, depends on how familiar BCO is with the housing stock in their area

 

[^woody^]

I expect your builder is saying to not bother with VAT and pay cash. Sounds like a cowboy to me

A cash job has no relation to a builder's competance.

The builder seems to have given the OP correct information too

 

[bernardgreen]

When I mentioned building regs to him he asked how long we were planning on staying in the house

That stinks of a cowboy builder. Stay clear, if he messes up and the house collapses or suffers from any erros he makes then sure as hell he will do all he can to avoid paying compensation. If there is no sign off from Building Control then your buildings insurance is unlikely to be deemed invalid, if you need to claim for anything they will be unlikely to ay the claim.

If you are not a detached house then any movement or collapse might affect the attached house(s) whose owners will claim on your insurance,

EDIT CORRECTION If there is no sign off from Building Control then your buildings insurance is very likely to be deemed invalid

 

[TheVictorian]

If you are living there for 30 years then the extra £30 a year to do the job properly would seem like a no brainer.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

An SE could maybe be about £100 if you search around and give them all the relevant info to avoid a site visit, BC fee should be about £200, it shouldn't be anything like £750.

 

[tony1851]

I would add around 1000.00 to get relevant calculations and building regs

Far too much.

 

[londoner1]

Bit of a quandry, if you want a piece of mind get full calcs from SE who will specify details of beam required for submission to BC.

I had my loft done with beam specs (no calcs) and submitted to BC, however beam spec and location were changed and new plans were NOT submitted to BC, BCO visited as per normal over stages and after build completed, certificate of completion was submitted by council.

Sometimes calcs are not required if its a straightforward job, but if you are a worrier with family and want to play it safe, do it by the book but it will be more costly.

 

[garyo]

And you still need to trust your builder. LABC aren't quality control. If you see the speed that they inspect a job site, I'd be surprised if they take in more than 10% of what's there. Don't view them as a safety net that's going to magically prevent you from being screwed over, even if they do sign the job off.