What do you think of this internal roof work??

[^woody^]

I'm not so sure I agree with you about this non-requirement for straps, either...

A senior BCO I worked with told me that they would not take a company to court for lack of straps on a new house roof because they would not win, and could not prove that the construction was contrary to Part A. I subsequently asked the question to some other LA BCO's and whilst they would put forward various arguments, they did acknowledge that in a typical domestic property or extension, the lack of straps would have negligible effect, and if pushed they could probably not insist on their use.

And what of the roofs built up until recent times with no straps - do they come off in a bit of wind? There lies the answer me thinks.

They are an optional item and not a necessity

 

[Shytalkz]

Trussed roofs come off - especially on the coast and with large overhangs. Had to deal with one that did have ties on the plate, only they weren't long enough so there was insufficient dead load to hold the roof down. Biiiig horizontal cracks in all the top floor rooms, right at the end of the straps. Woops.

Cut roofs are heavier, so it's not often a problem, for sure.

Interesting comments from the BCOs though, thanks for that.

 

[mikric]

There are no regulations for straps.

Not to sure here either Woody , will ask my principal BCO about this tomorrow and look it up in the approved documents if I get time . Am sure there is some regs on this and the spacings etc,and are actively looked for by our inspectors. Will come back to you with my findings .

 

[Shytalkz]

Part A para 2C36 and diagram 16. There are requirements for eaves straps in some circumstances.

 

[IJWS15]

In Pic 1 are those concrete bricks or are they the same material as the other internal blocks?

What was specified here and will it meet the insulation requirements?

BTW the last extension I put up under BCO supervision had a cut hipped roof and they did not ask to see the roof structure at all. Was in '95.

 

[mikric]

Yep as Shytalkz said before they are clearly defined in part A. Local authorities will only pursue and prosecute in extreme structural or safety issues ,or they can choose to complete and not issue a certificate because of
...... etc.

 

[^woody^]

Yes straps are in there. But the gist of the conversation which I mentioned was to do with much of the Approved docs being essentially a "dummies guide" to building. And as such, they are really designed for the benefit of everyone building to the lowest common denominator - and this makes it easy for the BCO's to check.

There are many things in the approved docs, and especially part a which are way over spec'd and when added to the fact that the approved doc are not the building regulations and just a way to achieve "pre-approval", then we have a situation where its possible to do work differently to the approved doc's and still conform to the b/regs.

But. as many newer/younger BCO's don't have the experience or knowledge of "building" then its very difficult for them to know what is and is not structurally sound, and departing from the approved docs is a no-no in their minds .

So we have situations where the BCO wont accept things which are outside of the approved documents, and yet a particular method would be acceptable and safe. The BCO may ask for proof, and not accept a common sense explanation or demonstration. But if the applicant digs his heels in, then its hard to prove non-compliance, and even if the LA withholds a completion certificate, then they risk losing any subsequent claim from the applicant

 

[mikric]

I get your point Woody . Personally the only use I found for them was to hold the blockwork up and stop it from blowing over also never really seen the point in joist straps either

 

[Shytalkz]

Mik, are you talking about the horizontal ones at floor level?