Outdoor & Garden
81 sources in the library on outdoor & garden, 5 on this page cited in a published note. Each one says what the document covers and what it is good for. Name a source to see which document it is and where to read it. One at a time. Page 2 of 3.
- good RN-K71YBV cited
Property Care Association
The Property Care Association's guidance on the three BS 8102 waterproofing types. It says they can be used alone or combined by risk, and that Type C is now the most common.
Cited in Basement & Cellar Conversions: Cost, Basement Conversion Cost & Feasibility (UK), DPC Injection vs Membrane for Rising Damp, How to Convert Cellar.
- good RN-07ZOM4 cited
Temporary Works forum and Association of Specialist Underpinning Contractors (ASUC)
The specialist good practice guide behind traditional mass concrete underpinning, and the source of the bay dimensions that explain why underpinning is slow and expensive. Paragraph 6.1 limits an underpin bay to 1.50m in length, and paragraph 6.3 requires a hit and miss numbered bay sequence rather than a continuous excavation (Figure 5). Paragraph 6.4 gives a typical access pit plan size of the width of the underpin, 1 to 1.50m, by 1.50m. Paragraph 6.10 sets a minimum underpin depth of 1.0m and paragraph 6.11 a minimum underpin wall or stem thickness of 450mm (Figure 8). Paragraph 6.12 allows 24 hours for the underpin concrete, and paragraph 6.13 covers the dry pack gap between the top of the underpin concrete and the underside of the existing foundation. Section 5.2 notes the likely need for a Party Wall award and movement monitoring of affected structures, and the guidance stresses site investigation covering stratigraphy and water levels before design. It sits under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations, first introduced in 1995, for the management and control of temporary works.
Cited in Underpinning: When You Need It & Cost.
- good RN-CV5OHA cited
The Steel Construction Institute
SCI Advisory Desk note reproducing the horizontal line loads from Table NA.8 of the UK National Annex to BS EN 1991-1-1:2002, which is the table Approved Document K points to for guarding and barrier loading. Category A, areas for domestic and residential activities: (i) all areas within or serving exclusively one dwelling including stairs, landings etc, characteristic horizontal load qx = 0.36 kN/m; (ii) residential areas not covered by (i), 0.74 kN/m. States these values replace those in Table 6.12 of BS EN 1991-1-1:2002 and should be treated as leading or accompanying variable actions combined per BS EN 1990 expression 6.10 or 6.10a/6.10b. The clean readable source for the single most misquoted number in domestic balustrade notes: 0.74 kN/m belongs to flats and communal areas, not to a house.
- supplier figure RN-VD9G6A cited
Kingspan Insulation
Kingspan's introduction brochure for its TEK structural insulated panel system. It states the 142 mm panels achieve whole wall and roof U-values of 0.20 W/m2K or better without extra insulation, lower with an insulated lining.
- supplier figure RN-NXRPCK cited
Platinum Chemicals
A damp-proofing supplier's product page for a compact twin-pump basement sump station, priced at £595 ex VAT and £714 including VAT. Equipment only, no installation.
Cited in Basement & Cellar Conversions: Cost.
- very strong RN-JHFWQB
World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe
Published 15 October 2009, ISBN 9789289041737, the health-based benchmark for night-time noise that a soundproofing or acoustic glazing note can cite for what level of quiet is worth achieving. Using Lnight,outside as defined in the Environmental Noise Directive 2002/49/EC, it sets an Lnight,outside of 40 dB as the target of the night noise guideline to protect the public including the most vulnerable groups, named as children, the chronically ill and the elderly. It recommends an Lnight,outside of 55 dB as an interim target for countries that cannot achieve the guideline in the short term and adopt a stepwise approach. The guidelines were agreed by a working group of experts with industry, government and non-governmental stakeholders in December 2006, and extend and update the WHO Guidelines for community noise of 1999.
- very strong RN-FHMXFY
GOV.UK
The starting point for the vehicle crossing a new driveway needs, and the page that settles who the applicant deals with. A dropped kerb allows vehicles to cross the pavement from the road to a driveway, and the application is made to the local council found by postcode, not to a national body. The service is explicitly available in England and Wales only, so a note aimed at Scottish or Northern Irish readers must point them elsewhere. Use this to support the point that the dropped kerb is a separate consent from planning permission for the hardstanding itself, and that its cost and conditions are set locally.
- very strong RN-YP8R7O
HM Revenue and Customs
The five conditions that must all be met for a sale to be free of Capital Gains Tax under Private Residence Relief, two of which renovation choices can break. You must have one home and have lived in it as your main home for the whole period of ownership; you must not have let part of it out, though having a lodger does not count; you must not have used part of the home exclusively for business purposes, and using a room as a temporary or occasional office expressly does not count as exclusive business use; the grounds including all buildings must be less than 5,000 square metres, just over an acre; and you must not have bought it just to make a gain. Where all apply the relief is automatic and no tax is due; where any fails there may be tax to pay. Married couples and civil partners can only count one property as their main home at any one time. The exclusive-business-use point is what a dedicated garden office or converted consulting room can trigger.
- very strong RN-0VXMQM
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
The government guidance and template notices for the Act that governs basement digs, underpinning and work to a shared wall. It groups the notifiable work into three sections: section 1, building new on or at the boundary between properties; section 2, work to existing party walls or structures including cutting into a party wall, altering its height or depth, removing chimney breasts and rebuilding the wall; and section 6, excavation near a neighbouring building's foundations, for which the page supplies both a 3 metre notice and a 6 metre notice template. Notice periods differ by type: a section 2 party structure notice needs at least 2 months, while a line of junction notice and an excavation notice need at least 1 month. Where the adjoining owner dissents, the Act provides a dispute resolution mechanism through surveyors who settle the matter by an award. The templates are the practical value here: a note can link the exact notice a homeowner has to serve.
- very strong RN-3CP0P9
nidirect (Northern Ireland Government)
The Northern Ireland position, which the book otherwise lacks entirely and which differs from the English GPDO. It states that planning permission must be applied for to add to or extend a flat or maisonette including those converted from houses, to divide part of your house for use as a separate home, to use a building or caravan in your garden as a separate residence, to build a separate house in your garden, or to build something not allowed under the original planning permission. That third item is the one an annexe or garden room note needs, because in Northern Ireland using a garden building as a separate residence needs permission outright. Permitted development rights cover certain minor alterations such as fitting an alarm or building walls and fences below a certain height, subject to conditions including dimension restrictions on extensions, but the page does not publish the dimensions and directs readers to the local planning office. Permitted development rights are limited for a listed building, in a conservation area and in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
- very strong RN-5P9VIS
Planning Portal
The Planning Portal reading of GPDO Class E for sheds, garages, garden rooms and summerhouses. Outbuildings and garages must be single storey with a maximum eaves height of 2.5 metres and a maximum overall height of 4 metres with a dual pitched roof or 3 metres for any other roof. Maximum height is 2.5 metres for a building, enclosure or container within 2 metres of a boundary of the curtilage of the dwellinghouse. No more than half the area of land around the original house may be covered by additions or other buildings. No outbuilding is allowed on land forward of a wall forming the principal elevation. On designated land, buildings, enclosures, containers and pools at the side of properties require planning permission, and within the curtilage of a listed building any outbuilding requires planning permission.
- very strong RN-ITGAHZ
Scottish Government
Scotland's equivalent of the Approved Documents, and the handbook a Scottish reader needs because Scotland has no Part A to Part R lettering. The domestic technical handbook supports the Building (Scotland) Regulations for houses and flats and is organised into sections 0 General, 1 Structure, 2 Fire, 3 Environment, 4 Safety, 5 Noise, 6 Energy and 7 Sustainability, with Appendix A defining terms and Appendix B listing the standards and other publications it relies on. That structure matters when translating an English reference: fire is section 2 rather than Approved Document B, sound is section 5 rather than Part E, and energy is section 6 rather than Part L. Cite the handbook, and the relevant numbered section, whenever a note gives a building regulations figure and claims to cover the whole UK.
- very strong RN-NDHDXT
Scottish Government (gov.scot)
The Scottish Government's 2024 circular and the definitive class list a Scottish reader needs, because Scotland does not use the English Class A to H lettering at all. Section 4 covers dwellinghouses, meaning detached, semi-detached and terraced houses but not flats, which are dealt with in section 5. Enlargements are Class 1A single storey ground floor extensions, Class 1B ground floor extensions of more than one storey, Class 1C porches and Class 1D roof enlargements. Improvements that are not enlargements are Class 2A access ramps and Class 2B alterations within a one metre bubble. Development within the curtilage runs Class 3A ancillary buildings such as sheds, garages and greenhouses, Class 3AA storage buildings of limited dimensions such as bike sheds, Class 3B building, engineering, installation or other operations, Class 3C hard surfaces, Class 3D decking and Class 3E gates, fences and walls. Paragraph 4.3 gives the working definition of enlargement as any development increasing the internal volume of the original dwellinghouse, including an attached canopy or roof with or without walls but excluding a balcony, so a car port is an enlargement and a balcony is not.
- very strong RN-EKQKEC
Scottish Government (gov.scot)
The Scottish permitted development classes for domestic microgeneration, which a garden building or garden energy note needs because Scotland's class numbering is entirely its own. Section 6 covers ground and water source heat pumps at Classes 6D and 6E, air source heat pumps at Class 6H, free-standing wind turbines at Class 6G, roof-mounted wind turbines on detached dwellinghouses at Class 6HC, solar panels on a dwelling at Class 6HA, solar panels on a building within the curtilage of a dwelling at Class 6HB, and flues for biomass heating systems at Class 6C and combined heat and power at Class 6F. Paragraph 6.2 is the one a garden note needs: free-standing solar panels within the curtilage of a dwellinghouse are covered by Class 3B, not by the section 6 classes. Paragraph 6.4 confirms that Classes 6D and 6E permit installation, alteration or replacement of a ground or water source heat pump and any associated pipes or apparatus within the curtilage of a dwellinghouse or a building containing a flat, with no additional restrictions on those rights. Paragraph 6.3 stresses that every limitation in a class must be met for the right to apply.
- very strong RN-CCULY8
The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk)
The commercial sibling of Class Q, and the route a barn owner takes when the building will not work as a dwelling. Class R permits change of use of an agricultural building and land within its curtilage to a flexible use falling within Class B2 general industrial, Class B8 storage or distribution, Class C1 hotels, Class E commercial, business or service, or Class F.2(c) outdoor sport or recreation, or for the provision of agricultural training. The current wording was substituted with effect from 21 May 2024 by SI 2024/579 articles 1(b) and 4(2). Paragraph R.1 sets the limits: the building must have been used solely for agriculture as part of an established agricultural unit on 3 July 2012, or when last in use if it was in use before but not on that date, or for at least 10 years before the development begins if brought into use after 3 July 2012; and the cumulative floor space changing use under Class R within an established agricultural unit must not exceed 1,000 square metres. It extends to England and Wales. Cite it alongside Class Q so a barn conversion note distinguishes residential from commercial conversion rights.
- very strong RN-FTUHBF
The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk)
The companion instrument to SI 2021/1391 that created Part S, infrastructure for the charging of electric vehicles. Regulation 1 brings it into force on 15 June 2022 immediately after SI 2021/1391, extending to England and Wales and applying in England. Regulation 2(2) adds requirement S2 to the list in regulation 6(1)(a) of the Building Regulations 2010, so an EV charge point duty is triggered by a material change of use creating dwellings, alongside the existing P1 electrical safety duty. Regulation 2(3) inserts a new Part 9B with regulations 44D and 44E. Regulation 44D sets the cost cap for new residential buildings with associated parking: the number of charge points to be installed is the maximum possible at an average connection cost of GBP 3,600 or less per charge point, and where the cap bites, cable routes must instead be installed in the parking spaces that would otherwise have needed charge points. Regulation 44D(4) sets out how covered car parks are treated, with different rules above and below a threshold of 10 associated parking spaces. Regulation 44E applies requirement S2 to a building undergoing a material change of use into one or more dwellings, where the work touches a car park within the site boundary or the electrical infrastructure serving it, and subject to whether a charge point per dwelling can be accommodated within the incoming supply without upgrading its capacity.
- very strong RN-QCJKXJ
The National Archives, Find Case Law
The High Court judgment that settles whether a basement dig-down is permitted development. Camden had granted a certificate of lawful development for a single storey basement under an existing house, reasoning that the engineering operations were necessary to the basement and so fell within Class A. Cranston J quashed it: an activity can be a separate activity of substance, and so need its own permission, even where it is necessary to and integral to the development a permitted development right covers.
- very strong RN-MZWVT0
Valuation Office Agency, HMRC (GOV.UK)
Published 22 January 2016 and last updated 15 June 2026, applying to England and Wales, this is the authority that corrects two common claims. First, on rebanding after an improvement: bands are based on the open market price on 1 April 1991 in England and 1 April 2003 in Wales, and if a property has increased in size since it was first assessed it may move to a higher band when it is next sold, so an extension does not trigger an immediate rebanding of the current owner. Second, on Council Tax during works: if the property is occupied the band will not be deleted even if significant repair or renovation works are underway, and only where the property is unoccupied and either beyond repair or undergoing major works making it uninhabitable can the owner apply to have the band removed. Reproduces the full band tables: England Band A up to 40,000 pounds through Band H over 320,000 pounds; Wales Band A up to 44,000 pounds through Band I over 424,000 pounds, Wales having nine bands to England's eight. Assessments are based on size, layout, character, location, change of use and the 1991 or 2003 value, and the Valuation Office does not use property price indexes.
- very strong RN-2M3CAU
Welsh Government (GOV.WALES)
The Welsh Government's position on garage conversions, which settles the question a garage conversion note is always asked. It states that converting a garage, or part of a garage, into habitable space will normally require approval under the Building Regulations, so the common claim that a garage conversion needs no approval because it is an existing building is wrong in Wales. It then lists the work sections normally engaged by such a conversion: doors and windows, drainage, electrics, external walls, internal walls and roofs. That list is the practical scope of a conversion quote, because each of those elements has to be brought up to current standards rather than left as built for a garage. Pair it with the Welsh building regulations outbuildings page, which covers the detached garage and shed exemptions by floor area.
- very strong RN-9N3RD6
Welsh Government (GOV.WALES)
The Welsh building control thresholds for garden buildings and garages, expressed as floor areas a note can quote directly. Building regulations do not normally apply to a small detached building such as a garden shed or summerhouse with a floor area under 15 square metres and no sleeping accommodation. Between 15 and 30 square metres approval is not normally required provided the building contains no sleeping accommodation and is either at least one metre from any boundary or constructed of substantially non-combustible materials. A new garage attached to an existing home would normally need building regulations approval, while a new attached carport open on at least two sides would not normally require approval if under 30 square metres. A detached garage follows the same 15 and 30 square metre pattern as a shed. Converting an integral or attached garage into habitable use will normally require approval. The sleeping accommodation exception is the point a garden room note must make, because a garden bedroom takes the building out of exemption entirely.
- very strong RN-4LOKE7
Welsh Government (GOV.WALES)
The Welsh householder extension limits, which differ from the English Class A allowances and from the prior approval route England uses. Across all extensions: nothing may be built in front of the principal elevation; no more than half the land around the original house may be covered; the extension cannot exceed the height of the highest part of the existing roof, nor the height of the existing eaves; within 2 metres of a boundary the eaves height cannot exceed 3 metres and the extension cannot exceed 4 metres in height; and materials must match the existing house as far as possible. Verandas, raised platforms, roof terraces and balconies are not permitted, though a Juliet balcony is allowed if it has no platform, projects no more than 300mm, is not within 10.5m of the side boundary and is not on the principal elevation. A single storey rear extension must not extend beyond the rear wall by more than 4 metres and cannot exceed 4 metres in height. A rear extension of more than one storey is limited to 4 metres at ground floor and 3 metres at upper floor beyond the rear wall, must leave at least 10.5 metres between the extended rear wall and the rear boundary, and any upper floor side window must be obscure glazed and non-opening unless it is 1.7 metres above floor level.
- strong RN-KS3QTV
BSI (British Standards Institution)
The standard a local planning authority will require an arboricultural report against whenever a garden building, extension or driveway goes in near a tree, and the reason a tree survey appears as a line in a landscaping quote. BS 5837:2012 was published on 30 April 2012, and is current but under review. It gives recommendations relating to tree care with a view to achieving a harmonious and sustainable relationship between new construction or existing structures and their surrounding trees, following a logical sequence of events with tree care at the heart of the process when a project is planned. It is the source of the tree survey, tree categories, root protection area and tree protection plan terminology that planning conditions use. Cite the catalogue page for the number, title and status; the detailed method sits behind the paywall, so a note should not quote a root protection area formula from a secondary source without checking the standard itself.
- strong RN-XKXB9S
BSI (British Standards Institution)
STATUS: WITHDRAWN on 27 March 2025, superseded by BS 7533-102:2025. BS 7533-3:2005+A1:2009 was published 20 October 2005 and gave the recommendations for constructing flexible pavements using precast concrete blocks to BS EN 1338 and clay pavers to BS EN 1344, for roads, industrial areas and other paved surfaces under all categories of static and vehicular loading and pedestrian traffic, covering both conventional and permeable construction. It is the standard behind the laying course depth, jointing and compaction advice in every block paving driveway note, so the March 2025 withdrawal is a live correction: those notes should now cite BS 7533-102:2025 for installation and BS 7533-101:2021 for structural design. Catalogue page confirms number, title, publication date, withdrawal date and scope.
- strong RN-7KAKIH
BSI (British Standards Institution)
Part 1 of the BS 8300 pair, covering the external environment rather than the building. Paywalled, so only the catalogue page is public; it confirms BS 8300-1:2018, published 31 January 2018, status Current. Scope covers key external features within the curtilage of or associated with a building or group of buildings, specifically parking provision, setting-down points, access routes to and around buildings and the approaches to entrances, plus wider external environment matters including street design, landscaping, way-finding and information, horizontal and vertical movement and public facilities. Its named audience is built environment professionals in planning, design and management of the external environment, particularly local authority planners in highways, street enhancement and open space departments, and the page notes it is used in producing Local Development Frameworks, client briefs and contract documents.
- strong RN-0R0Q22
BSI (British Standards Institution)
STATUS: WITHDRAWN on 15 December 2021. BS EN 12320:2012 was published 31 October 2012 and specified performance and other requirements for the strength, security, durability and corrosion resistance of mechanical padlocks and padlock fittings for buildings and general use. Its classification is the part a note actually needs: one category of use, two durability categories, six corrosion resistance categories and six security grades, the grades set by performance tests simulating attack, with a limited amount of manual attack testing included because machine testing alone cannot replicate every known attack method. Because it is withdrawn, a note recommending a CEN grade 4 or grade 6 padlock to BS EN 12320:2012 for a shed or bike store is quoting a withdrawn edition and should cite the current one. Catalogue page confirms number, title, publication date, withdrawal date and scope but does not name the replacement.
- strong RN-TPW4A7
BSI (British Standards Institution)
STATUS: WITHDRAWN on 18 December 2024. BS EN 12978:2003+A1:2009 was published 5 June 2003 and specified requirements and test methods for the safety devices that detect a person near an electrically powered door, gate or barrier in commercial, industrial, residential and public settings, applying both to standalone protective devices and to those integrated into a power operated installation, and to rolling shutters and grilles used as personnel access. It defines the sensitive protective device as one that gives a change in the output signal switching device to protect a person at risk during normal operation. Because it is withdrawn, a note stating that an automated driveway gate must have safety edges and photocells to BS EN 12978 should be checked: the gate and door safety family now sits with BS EN 12453 (safety in use of power operated doors) and BS EN 13241, and the withdrawal is recent enough that installers still quote the old number. Catalogue page confirms number, title, publication date, withdrawal date and scope but does not name the replacement.
- strong RN-GRZKQJ
BSI (British Standards Institution)
STATUS: CURRENT (marked Under Review). BS EN 1340:2003 was published 25 April 2003 and covers unreinforced, cement bound precast concrete kerb units, channels and complementary fittings for use in trafficked paved areas and roof coverings, specifying materials, properties, requirements and test methods along with product marking and evaluation of conformity. It deliberately does NOT prescribe cross sections, shapes or dimensions beyond tolerances, and it does not deal with kerb tactility or visibility, so a note about a dropped kerb crossover cannot take the kerb profile from this standard: profiles come from the highway authority's own specification. It is the concrete counterpart to BS EN 1341 for natural stone slabs and BS EN 1338 for concrete block paving. Catalogue page confirms number, title, date, status and scope; the requirement tables are paywalled.
- strong RN-TI1F34
BSI (British Standards Institution)
STATUS: CURRENT. BS EN 1341:2012 was published 28 February 2013 and supersedes BS EN 1341:2001, which is withdrawn. It specifies the performance requirements and test methods for natural stone slabs used in external paving for pedestrian and trafficked areas and outdoor squares, and it is the standard behind the declared values quoted for imported sandstone, limestone and granite paving: breaking load, water absorption, slip resistance and freeze thaw resistance. It explicitly EXCLUDES natural stone slabs for interior floors and stairs, which are covered by BS EN 12058, so a note should not cite BS EN 1341 for an internal stone floor. The 2012 revision aligned test methods with those of CEN/TC 246, clarified that declared values are lower expected values, and added usage specific safety factors. Companion standards are BS EN 1342 for setts and BS EN 1340 for concrete kerb units, with laying to the BS 7533 series. Catalogue page confirms number, title, date, status, supersession and scope.
- strong RN-9GB5I7
United Utilities
A sewerage undertaker setting out its own build-over process, which is the practical authority for the consent a homeowner actually needs (the Water UK Sewerage Sector Guidance covers adoption, not build-over). The page states that United Utilities approval is required for building works within 3 metres of a public sewer or lateral drain. On access, it requires sufficient access points to the affected sewer, meaning manholes and rodding points; states that ideally buildings and extensions should not be sited where they would remove an existing point of access; and requires access points to be easily accessible and visible for use in an emergency. Where ground conditions are poor, the developer must arrange special design and construction plans so the pipe is protected from any risk of damage. On the route through building control, it explains that building control inspectors operating under the United Utilities Protocol agreement can approve build-overs that meet set criteria, and that where a proposal does not fit those criteria the inspector escalates it so United Utilities can deal with the developer directly, which is why a homeowner may find the sewer question handled inside their Building Regulations application rather than as a separate approach to the water company.
- strong RN-T4F6YC
Water UK
The Water UK page indexing the Sewerage Sector Guidance, captured on the Wayback Machine because water.org.uk returns 403 to scripted fetches. Page date published 21 April 2023. The document set comprises the main SSG (approved version 2.2, 29 June 2022, later v2b) plus Appendix B Procedures, Appendix C Design and Construction Guidance, Appendix D Minimum Information, Appendix E Model Sewer Adoption Agreement, Appendix F Levels of Service and Reporting, Appendix G Terms of Reference approved by Ofwat, and a transitional principles document, along with published local practice notes from Anglian Water, Southern Water, Thames Water and Wessex Water on sewage pumping stations and, for Thames Water, on easements. Section 1.1 of the SSG states that it is the guidance which companies holding an instrument of appointment as sewerage undertakers under sections 6 or 7 of the Water Industry Act 1991 recommend Ofwat enables under its Code for Adoption, which came into effect on 13 November 2017, and that it contains a draft Model Sewerage Adoption Agreement. Sections 1.2.1 to 1.2.3 confirm sewerage companies are obliged by the Code to comply once Ofwat approves it, that failure may result in investigation and sanction by Ofwat, that it applies to infrastructure covered by a section 104 Water Industry Act agreement, and that it applies to companies operating wholly or mainly in England. IMPORTANT SCOPE POINT: the SSG governs the ADOPTION of new sewerage assets, not the separate build-over-a-sewer consent a homeowner needs, so do not cite it as the authority for a build over agreement.
- strong RN-UNPP5R
WaterRegsUK (Water Regulations Advisory Scheme)
The rules for feeding a WC or washing machine from harvested rainwater, greywater or a borehole, and the reason a direct connection is never permitted. An alternative supply must never be directly connected to the mains drinking water; the only compliant arrangement is a break tank with a Type AA unrestricted or Type AB weir spillover air gap, the mains supply pipe kept outside the tank, discharging at a higher level and maintaining a minimum clearance of twice the internal diameter of the supply pipework (2D) or 20 mm, whichever is the greater, with no contact between the tank water and the mains inlet. The regulators rate a Type AB air gap as suitable protection against both back siphonage and back pressure at the highest contamination risk, fluid category 5. Whatever fluid is being conveyed, all pipework above or below ground should be marked in accordance with the latest version of BS 1710, and servicing valves should be labelled. Type AB installations should be inspected, cleaned and maintained as necessary every 6 months, per BS EN 806-5. Where premises have both a mains supply and an alternative source such as rainwater, a borehole or recycled water, the owner must notify the water undertaker.
- good RN-NWBGX4
CIRIA (Construction Industry Research and Information Association)
The reference for what happens when an excavation goes below the water table, which is the hidden cost driver in basement digs and deep foundations on wet ground. CIRIA C750, Groundwater control: design and practice, second edition, published April 2016, 205 pages, ISBN 978-0-86017-755-5, authors Preene, Roberts and Powrie. Paywalled at GBP 110 excluding VAT (GBP 55 for members) with a minimum order of five copies, so only the catalogue page and a PDF excerpt are public. The page states the core proposition plainly: whenever an excavation is made below the water table there is a risk that it will become unstable or flood unless measures are taken to control groundwater in the surrounding soil. Scope covers the potential effect of groundwater on construction works, groundwater control and dewatering techniques as temporary works, safety management and contractual matters, legal and environmental issues, site investigation requirements, and design methods for groundwater control schemes.
- good RN-5DEQ2D
CIRIA (Construction Industry Research and Information Association)
The reference work behind every soakaway, permeable driveway and garden drainage decision in the UK, and the document local authority drainage officers work from. CIRIA C753, The SuDS Manual, published December 2015, 964 pages in PDF, ISBN 978-0-86017-759-3, authors Woods Ballard, Wilson, Udale-Clarke, Illman, Scott, Ashley and Kellagher. It is free to CIRIA members and GBP 25 excluding VAT to non-members, so the full text is behind a login but the catalogue page confirms scope and status. It replaced the 2007 SuDS Manual (C697), and the page states expressly that in delivering SuDS there is a requirement to meet the framework set out by the government non-statutory technical standards, which C753 complements while going further to support cost-effective delivery of multiple benefits. It covers planning, design, construction, management and maintenance of SuDS. Cite it as the technical authority when a note explains why a permeable or drained-to-a-soakaway driveway avoids the planning consequence of an impermeable one.
- good RN-BTTT08
CIRIA (Construction Industry Research and Information Association)
The standard reference a structural engineer uses to design an embedded retaining wall, which is what a basement dig or a deep terraced garden retaining structure actually needs. CIRIA C760, Guidance on embedded retaining wall design, published February 2017, 471 pages, ISBN 978-0-86017-764-7, authors Gaba, Hardy, Doughty, Powrie and Selemetas. It is paywalled at GBP 170 excluding VAT (GBP 85 for members) with a minimum order of five copies, so only the catalogue page and a PDF excerpt are public. Scope confirmed on the page: selection and design of VERTICAL EMBEDDED retaining walls to satisfy the Eurocodes, covering temporary and permanent cantilever, anchored, single-propped and multi-propped walls embedded in soft soils, stiff clays, other competent soils and soft rocks. The page also states it clarifies areas of ambiguity and common misunderstandings in applying the Eurocodes to embedded retaining walls and sets out an unambiguous method for applying the Observational Method. Note the scope limit: this is not the reference for a low garden gravity or masonry retaining wall.
- good RN-F4L7WS
CIRIA (Construction Industry Research and Information Association)
The UK code of practice for making an existing home resistant to and recoverable from flooding, and free to download after sign-in, which makes it unusually accessible for a CIRIA title. The C790 project produced four outputs a note can name separately: C790A, the Code of practice for property flood resilience, Edition 2, which sets six standards specifying what should be achieved; C790B, Guidance on the code of practice, explaining how each of the six standards should be met across the stages of a property flood resilience delivery process; C790C, Making your property more flood resilient, written for households and businesses; and C790D, Guidance for local authority planners. The code draws the distinction a renovation note should use: resistance measures reduce the amount of water entering a building, and recoverability measures limit the damage caused once water is inside, with the aim of reducing damage and speeding up recovery and reoccupation.
- good RN-G9N1TL
Interpave, the Precast Concrete Paving and Kerb Association (British Precast Concrete Federation)
The construction detail behind a permeable driveway build-up, useful wherever a note quotes depths. It sets a 50mm laying course of angular aggregate beneath the blocks, over the permeable sub-base, with an optional upper geotextile above the sub-base and a lower geotextile or an impermeable geomembrane at the formation depending on whether the system infiltrates (System A), is partially drained (System B) or is fully tanked with a controlled outflow (System C). Table 5 gives required permeable sub-base thickness for attenuation storage: with M5-60 rainfall of 20mm and a runoff coefficient of 0.3 that is 140mm for a 1 in 30 year event, 190mm for 1 in 100 year and 240mm for 1 in 100 year plus 20 per cent climate change; for M5-60 of 14mm and 0.3 the equivalents are 90mm, 130mm and 170mm. The thicknesses assume a sub-base voids ratio of 30 per cent and a limited discharge rate of 7 litres per second per hectare on a level site. It also warns against contamination of the sub-base during construction and sets out maintenance to keep the surface porous.
- good RN-PX1R6W
Interpave, the Precast Concrete Paving and Kerb Association (British Precast Concrete Federation)
The trade association explanation of concrete block permeable paving as a sustainable drainage (SuDS) technique, and the document that sets out why the permitted development rules changed. It records that permitted development rights have already been taken away from new or replacement paving around many existing buildings unless the paving is permeable or retains or infiltrates runoff on the property, which is the background to the 5 square metre front garden rule. It explains that in concrete block permeable paving water passes through enlarged joints formed by spacer nibs and filled with angular aggregate, not sand, and into an underlying permeable sub-base aggregate specifically designed to accommodate storage, unlike a conventional road construction. It covers the statutory framework including the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 and the National Standards for SuDS, the planning process, long-term performance, costs and adoption, and rates permeable pavements as having two treatment stages with high removal of total suspended solids.
- good RN-NEBXE4
MPA The Concrete Centre
The industry design guide behind a reinforced concrete basement, and the document that shows why a basement is an engineered structure rather than a big hole. Published in 2012 by MPA The Concrete Centre, ISBN 978-1-908257-05-5, sold as a £40.00 download or a £70.00 hard copy with the PDF included. It covers the design and construction of reinforced concrete basements in accordance with the Eurocodes, and states that its aim is to assist designers of concrete basements of modest depth, meaning not exceeding 10 metres, while also being relevant to designers of other underground structures. It brings together the salient features for the design and construction of water-resisting structures and is written for generalist structural engineers with a basic understanding of soil mechanics. Cite it in a basement conversion note to support the point that a chartered structural engineer, not a contractor's standard detail, sets the design, and pair it with BS 8102 for the waterproofing grade.
- good RN-H2X81X
Water UK, with the 10 wastewater companies in England and Wales
The industry guide that explains the build-over consent most garden building and extension notes forget to mention. It was produced by Water UK with the 10 water companies in England and Wales responsible for collecting wastewater, and covers work built over or within 3 metres of a sewer pipe. It distinguishes three pipe types: a private drain, the system within your boundary serving only your property; a public lateral drain, the section connecting your property to the public sewer network located outside the boundary, for example in a neighbour's garden or the highway; and a public sewer, a wastewater pipe joining more than one property. There are just under 450,000km of sewer pipes in England and Wales. The key point for a note is that planning permission, building regulations approval and permitted development rights give no automatic consent to build over or close to a sewer, and conservatories, car ports and porches that escape building regulations still need it. Where a project meets the water companies' agreed standard conditions it will be approved; a company may refuse on site-specific knowledge only if it tells you within 14 days of receiving the application. A project that does not meet the conditions normally needs a formal build-over agreement with the wastewater company. Building over or near a clean water main is generally strictly forbidden. Sewer locations can be traced via an inspection or manhole cover, the property's legal documentation, the water company (which may charge) or www.digdatconnect.com.
- fair RN-NMZL58
British Geological Survey
The national dataset a surveyor or insurer actually consults on ground movement risk, and a better citation than a generic statement that clay shrinks. BGS GeoSure covers Great Britain at 1:50,000 as GIS polygon data and gives potential ground movement or subsidence information across six themes: shrink-swell, landslides including a debris flow model, soluble rocks, collapsible deposits, compressible ground and running sands. It is premium data with published unit prices, all six themes at £0.91 per square kilometre, shrink-swell at £0.35, landslides including the debris flow model at £0.35, soluble rocks at £0.18, collapsible deposits at £0.06, compressible ground at £0.23 and running sands at £0.23, each subject to number of users, a licence fee and a data preparation fee. It also underpins the BGS Natural Ground Stability GeoReport, which is the report form a homeowner or conveyancer would receive. A companion GeoSure 5 km hex grid gives a generalised overview, and a shrink-swell subsurface layer identifies hazard hidden beneath another solid formation.