Building Regulations:
When considering the addition of a solid roof to your conservatory the first thing you have to check is the viability of the existing structure. Whilst most existing conservatories will be able to support the increased loads, potential pitfalls include inadequate foundations that could move and cause settlement differences between the conservatory and the existing house, leading to cracks and water leakage and inadequate window and door supports to be able to take the increased loads.
Building Control will inspect the existing conservatory to ensure it can take the additional load of the new roof. If there are no signs of distress then it’s unlikely the new roof will cause a failure of the structure to the conservatory. This should already have been assessed by the surveyor of the company before carrying out any work.
They will also check that the existing door supports contain steel inserts to distribute the roof load down to the foundations. Again, this should already have been assessed by the surveyor of the company before carrying out any work.
Signs of distress may mean that the existing foundations aren’t sufficient to carry the additional loads and so additional requirements are likely to be imposed on you. Your LABC surveyor will also want to ensure that the new roof and supporting structure fully complies with the Regulations and the remainder of the extension should be no worse than before.
Building Control will inspect the existing conservatory to ensure it can take the additional load of the new roof. If there are no signs of distress then it’s unlikely the new roof will cause a failure of the structure to the conservatory. This should already have been assessed by the surveyor of the company before carrying out any work.
They will also check that the existing door supports contain steel inserts to distribute the roof load down to the foundations. Again, this should already have been assessed by the surveyor of the company before carrying out any work.
Signs of distress may mean that the existing foundations aren’t sufficient to carry the additional loads and so additional requirements are likely to be imposed on you. Your LABC surveyor will also want to ensure that the new roof and supporting structure fully complies with the Regulations and the remainder of the extension should be no worse than before.
What are the RULES?You are probably going to receive conflicting advice from each company that visits you, at RE-ROOF we won't give you our opinion, we will deal with the facts!
THE FACTS ARE: New conservatories and porches less than 30m2 in floor area and thermally separated from the main house with external quality doors and windows are exempt from the requirements of the Building Regulations 2010.
CAUTION. The area in the regulations that companies use to suggest that approvals are not required, is because the regulations state that to be deemed as a conservatory the roof must be substantially glazed. Companies use this ambiguity to suggest that you can build a solid roof without requiring consent, by adding some roof windows. This is not the case and is bad advice and could leave the homeowner with future problems and costs in removing or replacing the structure. |
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NOT ALL COMPANIES ARE PROVIDING THE CORRECT COVER
Please be cautious as there are thousands of installations being installed every month without the right cover. One of the key reasons is that one of the conditions of the independent certification process is that the installer must have the frames and foundations independently assessed prior to starting the work.
In most cases this is not done and they use their own internal people to make their assessment. These people are not qualified structural engineers therefore the process is not being fulfilled and customers are not covered in the event of a failure of the frames and or foundations in the future.