Changes to the building regulations - amendments to Approved Documents A and C (England)

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To:

The Chief Executive

Unitary, Metropolitan, District and London Borough Councils in England

County and County Borough Councils in Wales

The Town Clerk, City of London

The Clerk, Council of the Isles of Scilly

The Sub-Treasurer, Inner Temple

The Under Treasurer, Middle Temple

The Head of Building Control

Unitary Metropolitan, District and London Borough Councils in England

County and County Borough Councils in Wales

City of London

Council of the Isles of Scilly

Approved Inspectors cc: The Chief Executive:

County Councils in England

National Park Authorities in England & Wales

The Chief Fire Officer: Fire Authorities in England and Wales

30July 2013

Dear Sir/ Madam

CHANGES TO THE BUILDING REGULATIONS - AMENDMENTS TO APPROVED DOCUMENTS A (STRUCTURE) AND C (SITE PREPARATION AND RESISTANCE TO CONTAMINANTS AND MOISTURE)

I am writing to inform you that the Department for Communities and Local Government has published changes to the Building Regulations regime which will be delivered through amendments to the statutory guidance in Approved Documents A (Structure) and C (Site preparation and resistance to contaminants and moisture). The changes will take effect from 1 October 2013.

Scope of this Circular Letter

The changes to Approved Documents A and C apply to buildings and building work in England, and also to excepted energy buildings, buildings of statutory undertakers

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and Crown buildings in Wales. A copy of the amendments accompanies this Circular Letter and consolidated versions of both Approved Documents will be available to download free of charge shortly on the Planning Portal.

Changes to Approved Document A (Structure)

There is no change to Part A of Schedule 1 to the Building Regulations 2010 (as amended).

The main change to Approved Document A (Structure) has been updating of the references to structural design standards, so these refer to the current British Standards for structural design, replacing references to standards withdrawn by the British Standards Institution (BSi) on 31 March 2010. The current British Standards are based on a suite of common European design standards, the Eurocodes, which provide a unified approach to structural design across the European Union.

It is likely that structural designs will continue to be completed using the withdrawn British Standards for some years. This approach is considered appropriate given the functional nature of Building Regulations. Building Control Bodies assessing compliance with the Building Regulations will need to consider the use of standards on a case by case basis. Where the use of the withdrawn British Standards is proposed, it should be remembered that whilst BSi might not be maintaining withdrawn British Standards, typically a British Standard is only subject to review and revision every five years. The use of withdrawn standards may therefore continue to remain acceptable for the foreseeable future, particularly for smaller, less complex designs. It would be appropriate to refer to the relevant guidance in the 2004 edition of Approved Document A where the use of recently withdrawn standards is proposed.

Building Control Bodies will need to be aware of the safety risk of designs inappropriately mixing structural designs based on both the new and the withdrawn British Standards.

Additional minor changes to the Approved Document A guidance have been made to align it with these new design standards, to reflect common practice for strip foundations in shrinkable clay soils, and on re-covering of roofs.

Annex A provides a list of the new structural design standards referred to in Approved Documents A and C, and the corresponding British Standards which are withdrawn. Further information is also available from BSi at:

www.bsigroup.com/en/Standards-and-Publications/Industry-Sectors/Eurocodes/

Changes to Approved Document C (Site preparation and resistance to contaminants and moisture)

There is no change to Part C of Schedule one to the Building Regulations 2010 (as amended).

The main change to Approved Document C (Site preparation and resistance to contaminants and moisture) is amendment to reflect the latest 2007 radon mapping by Public Health England (PHE) (formerly the Health Protection Agency) and the British Geological Survey (BGS). This is to ensure that the requirement for radon protective measures is targeted at the right areas. This includes updated references

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to the BRE publication BR211 ‘Radon’, to the PHE and BGS radon website addresses, and to guidance on radon in the workplace. Attention, in particular, is drawn to the revised guidance in paragraph 2.40 which is intended to inform Building Control Bodies and applicants of how using alternative radon risk reports provides a more accurate assessment of whether radon protection is necessary and if needed the level of protection that is appropriate.

Additionally, Approved Document C guidance has been amended with reference to the new structural design British Standard for geotechnics in the site investigation section, to reflect current guidance on contaminated land, (including the deletion of Annex A), and with updated references on flooding, condensation and mould growth guidance.

Enquiries

E-mail enquiries should be sent to enquiries.br@communities.gsi.gov.uk.

Yours faithfully

R J Ledsome Deputy Director

Building Regulations and Standards

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List of British Standards for structural design referenced in Approved Document A and Approved Document C and the corresponding withdrawn British Standards

BS EN 1990: Basis of structural design	Withdrawn BS corresponding to BS EN
BS EN 1990:2002+A1:2005 Basis of structural design	_
Note: Some sections of BS EN 1990 correspond with BS 5268-1, BS 5628-1, BS 5950-1, BS 8110-1, BS 8110-2, BS 8118-1 and BS 8118-2. BS 5400-1 which is not referred to in Approved Document A (Structure) also has some content that corresponds to BS EN 1990.
BS EN 1991: Actions on structures	Withdrawn BS corresponding to BS EN
BS EN 1991-1-1:2002 Actions on structures. General actions. Densities, self-weight, imposed loads for buildings	BS 6399-1, BS 6399-3, BS 648*
BS EN 1991-1-2:2002** Actions on structures. General actions. Actions on structures exposed to fire	_
BS EN 1991-1-3:2003 Actions on structures. General actions. Snow loads	BS 6399-3
BS EN 1991-1-4:2005+A1:2010 Actions on structures. General actions. Wind actions	BS 6399-2, BS 5400-2*
BS EN 1991-1-5:2003 Actions on structures. General actions. Thermal actions Note: Some sections of EN 1991-1-5 relating to bridges correspond to BS 5400-2*.	BS 5400-2*
BS EN 1991-1-6:2005 Actions on structures. General actions. Actions during execution	_
BS EN 1991-1-7:2006 Actions on structures. General actions. Accidental actions	Minimal guidance in BS 6399-1. Some sections of EN 1991-1-7 correspond with parts of BS 6399-1, BS 5268-1, BS 5628-1, BS 5950-1, BS 8110-1, BS 8110-2, BS 8118-1, BS 8118-2 and BS 5400-3*.
BS EN 1991-3:2006 Actions on structures. Actions induced by cranes and machinery	_
BS EN 1991-4:2006** Actions on structures. Silos and tanks	_

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BS EN 1992: Design of concrete structures	Withdrawn BS corresponding to BS EN
BS EN 1992-1-1:2004 Design of concrete structures. General rules and rules for buildings	BS 8110-1, BS 8110-2, BS 8110-3
BS EN 1992-1-2:2004** Design of concrete structures. General rules. Structural fire design	BS 8110-1, BS 8110-2
BS EN 1992-3:2006** Design of concrete structures. Liquid retaining and containing structures	BS 8007*
BS EN 1993: Design of steel structures	Withdrawn BS corresponding to BS EN
BS EN 1993-1-1:2005 Design of steel structures. General rules and rules for buildings	BS 5950-1, BS 5400-3*
BS EN 1993-1-2:2005** Design of steel structures. General rules. Structural fire design	BS 5950-8*
BS EN 1993-1-3:2006 Design of steel structures. General rules. Supplementary rules for cold-formed members and sheeting	BS 5950-5, BS 5950-6, BS 5950-9
BS EN 1993-1-4:2006 Design of steel structures. General rules. Supplementary rules for stainless steels	_
BS EN 1993-1-5:2006 Design of steel structures. Plated structural elements	BS 5950-1, BS 5400-3*
BS EN 1993-1-6:2007 Design of steel structures. General. Strength and stability of shell structures	_
BS EN 1993-1-7:2007 Design of steel structures. Plated structures subject to out of plane loading	BS 5400-3*
BS EN 1993-1-8:2005 Design of steel structures. Design of joints	BS 5950-1. BS 4604-1, BS 4604-2, BS 5400-3*
BS EN 1993-1-9:2005 Design of steel structures. Fatigue	BS 7608, BS 5950-1, BS 5400-10
BS EN 1993-1-10:2005 Design of steel structures. Material toughness and through-thickness properties	BS 5950-1, BS 5400-3*

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BS EN 1993-1-11:2006 Design of steel structures. Design of structures with tension components	_
BS EN 1993-1-12:2007 Design of steel structures. Additional rules for the extension of EN 1993 to steel grades S700	_
BS EN 1993-3-1:2006** Design of steel structures. Towers, masts and chimneys. Towers and masts	BS 8100-1, BS 8100-2, BS 8100-3, BS 8100-4
BS EN 1993-3-2:2006** Design of steel structures. Towers, masts and chimneys. Chimneys	BS 4076*
BS EN 1993-4-1:2007** Design of steel structures. Silos	_
BS EN 1993-4-2:2007** Design of steel structures. Tanks	_
BS EN 1993-4-3:2007** Design of steel structures. Pipelines	_
BS EN 1993-5:2007 Design of steel structures. Piling	BS 5950-1
BS EN 1993-6:2007 Design of steel structures. Crane supporting structures	BS 5950-1
BS EN 1994: Design of composite steel and concrete structures	Withdrawn BS corresponding to BS EN
BS EN 1994-1-1:2004 Design of composite steel and concrete structures. General rules and rules for buildings	BS 5950-3.1, BS 5950-4
BS EN 1994-1-2:2005** Design of composite steel and concrete structures. General rules. Structural fire design	_
BS EN 1995: Design of timber structures	Withdrawn BS corresponding to BS EN
BS EN 1995-1-1:2004+A1:2008 Design of timber structures. General. Common rules and rules for buildings	BS 5268-2, BS 5268-3, BS 5268-6.1, BS 5268-6.2, BS 5268-7.1, BS 5268-7.2, BS 5268-7.3, BS 5268-7.4, BS 5268-7.5, BS 5268-7.6, BS 5268-7.7*

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BS EN 1995-1-2:2004** Design of timber structures. General. Structural fire design

BS 5268-4.1*, BS 5268-4.2*

BS EN 1996: Design of masonry structures	Withdrawn BS corresponding to BS EN
BS EN 1996-1-1:2005+A1:2012 Design of masonry structures. General rules for reinforced and unreinforced masonry structures	BS 5628-1, BS 5628-2
BS EN 1996-1-2:2005** Design of masonry structures. Structural fire design	BS 5628-3
BS EN 1996-2:2006 Design of masonry structures. Design considerations, selection of materials and execution of masonry	BS 5628-1, BS 5628-2, BS 5628-3
BS EN 1996-3:2006 Design of masonry structures. Simplified calculation methods for unreinforced masonry structures	_
BS EN 1997: Geotechnical design	Withdrawn BS corresponding to BS EN
BS EN 1997-1:2004 Geotechnical design. General rules	BS 8002, BS 8004, BS 8081* (Partially replaced)
BS EN 1997-2:2007 † Geotechnical design. Ground investigation and testing	_
BS EN 1998: Design of structures for earthquake resistance	Withdrawn BS corresponding to BS EN
BS EN 1998-1:2004+A1:2013 Design of structures for earthquake resistance. General rules. Seismic actions and rules for buildings	_
BS EN 1998-3:2005** Design of structures for earthquake resistance. Assessment and retrofitting of buildings	_
BS EN 1998-4:2006** Design of structures for earthquake resistance. Silos tanks and pipelines	_
BS EN 1998-5:2004 Design of structures for earthquake resistance. Foundations, retaining structures and geotechnical aspects	_

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BS EN 1999: Design of aluminum structures	Withdrawn BS corresponding to BS EN
BS EN 1999-1-1:2007+A1:2009 Design of aluminium structures. General structural rules	BS 8118-1, BS 8118-2
BS EN 1999-1-2:2007** Design of aluminium structures. General. Structural fire design	_
BS EN 1999-1-3:2007+A1:2011 Design of aluminium structures. Structures susceptible to fatigue	BS 8118-1
BS EN 1999-1-4:2007+A1:2011 Design of aluminium structures. Cold-formed structural sheeting	BS 8118-1
BS EN 1999-1-5:2007 Design of aluminium structures. Shell structures	_
Note: ** These standards are not directly, or are not currently referenced in Approved Document A (Structure) 2004 as amended 2013. Some are cross- referenced in the Standards referred to. * These standards were not directly referenced in Approved Document A (Structure) 2004. Some were cross-referenced in the Standards referred to. Some were not applicable to that Approved Document such as BS 5400 for bridges. † This standard is also referenced in Approved Document C (Site preparation and resistance to contaminants and moisture) 2004 as amended 2013.