Building regulations drawings
Planning establishes what you can build. The technical package determines how well it is built: structure, fire safety, energy, ventilation and drainage, drawn with the junctions and details that matter, so building control can approve it and contractors price the same building.
- Needed for
- Extensions, loft conversions, basements, conversions, new builds
- Approval routes
- Full plans or building notice
- Approved by
- Council building control or a registered building control approver
- On completion
- A completion certificate
Who this is for
Owners and developers building an extension, loft conversion, basement or new home, or converting a building into flats. We also prepare technical packages for projects where another practice obtained planning permission.
What the package includes
- Plans, sections and elevations with construction details
- Structural layout coordinated with the engineer's calculations
- Fire safety strategy: escape routes, fire doors, alarms and separation
- Thermal performance and energy calculations where needed
- Ventilation and drainage layouts
- A written specification of materials and standards
How the process runs
- Review the approved scheme. We check the planning drawings and any conditions that affect construction.
- Coordinate the structure. Beams, foundations and openings are resolved with the structural engineer, so they sit where the design needs them rather than where they fall.
- Detail and specify. Drawings and specification prepared to meet the Approved Documents, with the details that carry the design.
- Submit. A full plans application to your chosen building control body, and responses to any queries.
- Tender. The same package goes to contractors, so quotes can be compared like for like.
- Site queries. We answer questions from the contractor and building control inspector during construction.
Related requirements
Building over or near a public sewer needs a build-over agreement from the water company, and work on or near shared walls needs party wall notices. We flag both while preparing the drawings, so neither holds up the start on site.
Common questions
Full plans or building notice: which should we use?
With full plans, building control checks detailed drawings before work starts and issues an approval, so problems are caught on paper. With a building notice, work can start sooner but is checked only on site. For anything beyond simple work we recommend full plans, and contractors price more accurately from them.
If the work doesn't need planning permission, does it still need building regulations approval?
Yes. The two are separate. A permitted development extension or loft conversion still needs building regulations approval.
How detailed is the package?
It covers structure, fire safety and means of escape, thermal insulation and energy, ventilation, drainage, stairs and guarding, and sound insulation where relevant, each set by the Approved Documents. On private houses we generally go further than building control requires, detailing the junctions and finishes that decide quality, so the tender reflects the house you have designed rather than a contractor's allowance.
Who does the structural engineering?
A structural engineer. On our projects that is usually our sister practice Green Code Engineering, so the calculations and drawings are coordinated from the start.
Can you take on a project that another practice took through planning?
Yes. We review the approved drawings and conditions first, and flag anything that will be difficult to build as approved before the technical design is developed.
Why does the completion certificate matter?
Buyers' solicitors ask for it. Without it, a sale can be delayed or need retrospective approval.