Kitchens
83 sources in the library on kitchens, 24 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 1 of 3.
- very strong RN-5CL50F cited
Building Control Northern Ireland
The index of Northern Ireland's Technical Booklets, the devolved equivalent of England's Approved Documents, and the place to check which NI booklet answers a question. The booklets run B materials and workmanship, C site preparation and resistance to contaminants and moisture, D structure, E fire safety, F1 conservation of fuel and power in dwellings (2022 edition) and F2 for buildings other than dwellings, G sound, H stairs ramps and guarding, J solid waste, K ventilation, L combustion appliances and fuel storage, M physical infrastructure for high speed electronic communications networks, N drainage, P sanitary appliances and unvented hot water storage, R access to and use of buildings, and V glazing. Amendment booklets AMD7 (amends B, C and E), AMD8 (amends R) and AMD9 (amends E and R) carry the live changes, so the base 2012 booklets must be read with them.
- very strong RN-81EIUN cited
GOV.UK
The government's own list of alterations that need building regulations approval, and the page to cite when a reader asks whether a bathroom or kitchen refit is notifiable. Works listed as needing approval include installing a bathroom that will involve plumbing, changing electrics near a bath or shower, replacing a fuse box and connected electrics, replacing windows and doors, replacing roof coverings, installing or replacing a heating system, adding radiators to an existing heating system, and installing fixed air conditioning. Emergency repairs to a boiler or heating system do not need approval in advance, though specific rules then apply. Approval may be obtained from a local authority building control department, a private registered building control approver, or, for higher-risk residential buildings, the Building Safety Regulator. The page states the practical consequence bluntly: without approval you will not have the certificates of compliance you may need when you want to sell your home. Note that a like-for-like bathroom refit with no new plumbing, no drainage change and no work in the electrical zones is not on the list.
Cited in Replace Shower Pan Cost: 2026 UK Price Guide, Replacing Windows: Process, FENSA & Cost.
- very strong RN-DNUV4Q cited
Health and Safety Executive
HSE guidance aimed squarely at worktop installers. It states that respirable crystalline silica is present in most rocks, sands and clays and in products such as bricks, tiles and concrete, and that breathing stone dust containing RCS causes silicosis, lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The controls it names are water suppression, or on-tool extraction with a shroud and dust collector attached to an M-class vacuum, and it warns against dry sweeping dust and debris or anything else that makes dust go airborne. For respiratory protection it specifies a face mask such as an FFP3 with an assigned protection factor of at least 20, meaning it reduces the dust inhaled by a factor of 20. Cite it when a note tells a reader what to ask a worktop fitter about site cutting.
Cited in Kitchen Worktops Compared: Quartz, Granite, Laminate.
- very strong RN-VEGC3Y cited
Health and Safety Executive
HSE's stoneworking FAQ gives the workplace exposure limit for respirable crystalline silica as 0.1 mg/m3, and notes that reducing exposure below the WEL alone may not amount to adequate control in most cases. It gives silica content by stone type: limestone usually, but not always, below 2 per cent; marble typically below 5 per cent although it can be as high as 30 per cent; and engineered or artificial marble may be as high as 30 per cent. This is the citation for why cutting and shaping an engineered stone worktop on site is a controlled activity and why a fabricator should be cutting wet rather than dry.
Cited in Kitchen Worktops Compared: Quartz, Granite, Laminate.
- very strong RN-G9LT14 cited
Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
The HSE's guidance on engineered stone specifically, which matters because quartz worktops carry a far higher crystalline silica content than granite or laminate. It defines engineered stone as artificial stone manufactured from crushed natural stone or minerals bonded with resin, and notes that cutting or drilling it creates dust, the respirable fraction of which is respirable crystalline silica. The control steps it lists for cutting, grinding and polishing engineered stone with powered handheld rotary tools are: work with stone containing the lowest crystalline silica content available; use powered air purifying respirators with an assigned protection factor of at least 20 when processing, cleaning or maintaining machinery; and provide health surveillance for workers regularly exposed to RCS dust where there is a reasonable likelihood that COPD or silicosis may develop. It points to COSHH essentials for stoneworkers sheet ST3A for the detailed guidance. This is the citable basis for advising a reader to ask a fabricator about silica content and wet cutting rather than treating quartz as a purely aesthetic choice.
Cited in Kitchen Worktops Compared: Quartz, Granite, Laminate.
- very strong RN-QD1SFF cited
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Table 1.1 sets minimum intermittent extract rates: kitchen with a cooker hood extracting outside 30 l/s, kitchen without one 60 l/s, utility room 30 l/s, bathroom 15 l/s, sanitary accommodation 6 l/s. Extract terminals and fans other than cooker hoods should be as high as practicable and no more than 400mm below the ceiling; a cooker hood should sit between 650mm and 750mm above the hob if the manufacturer gives no figure. Table 1.7 requires background ventilators of at least 8000mm2 equivalent area in habitable rooms and kitchens for a dwelling, 10,000mm2 for a single-storey dwelling. Background ventilators should be at least 1700mm above floor level and at least 500mm from a fan in the same room. On replacement windows, paragraph 3.14 says new windows must carry background ventilators no smaller than the originals, and paragraph 3.15 gives the fallback minimums where the old size is unknown: 8000mm2 habitable rooms, 8000mm2 kitchen, 4000mm2 bathroom. Paragraph 3.32 confirms that replacing an extractor fan or cooker hood on existing cabling is not notifiable.
Cited in Adding an Ensuite: Cost, Layout & Plumbing, Annexe & Granny Flat: Cost, Planning & Rules, Basement & Cellar Conversions: Cost, Bathroom Remodel Cost: 2026 UK Price Guide and 44 more.
- very strong RN-NUBKZ8 cited
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
The 2026 edition of Approved Document F Volume 1, supporting Requirement F1 and regulations 39, 40C, 42 and 44. It takes effect on 24 March 2027 in England for building work not connected with higher-risk building work, and on 24 September 2027 for work in connection with higher-risk building work, with transitional arrangements in Circular Letter 01/2026. The extract rates are unchanged from the 2021 edition: paragraph 1.13 requires extract to outside in kitchens, utility rooms, bathrooms and sanitary accommodation, and Table 1.1 keeps 30 l/s for a kitchen with a cooker hood extracting outside, 60 l/s where there is no hood or the hood does not extract outside, and 30 l/s for a utility room. Paragraph 1.16 keeps extract terminals within 400 mm of the ceiling and 1.17 keeps the cooker hood 650 to 750 mm above the hob. Paragraph 1.11 states background ventilator sizes are given as an equivalent area in mm2, not free area, measured to BS EN 13141-1, and 1.12 requires that equivalent area to be marked visibly from inside.
Cited in Trickle Vents & Background Ventilation.
- very strong RN-YAW64M cited
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Requirement G3(4) states the hot water supply to any fixed bath must be designed so the water delivered to that bath cannot exceed 48 degrees C; paragraph 3.65 says this is achieved with an in-line blending valve or other temperature control device with a maximum temperature stop, and 3.66 accepts valves to BS EN 1111:1999 or BS EN 1287:1999 that fail safe. G3(3) requires unvented storage vessels to prevent stored water exceeding 100 degrees C and to convey safety discharge somewhere visible and safe. Regulation 36 and Requirement G2 cap potential consumption in a new dwelling at 125 litres per person per day, or the optional 110 litres per person per day where a planning condition specifies it; G2 applies only to dwellings erected or formed by material change of use. Sections G4 sanitary conveniences, G5 bathrooms and G6 food preparation areas set scale of provision.
Cited in Boiler Replacement & Central Heating Costs (UK), Reseal Bath Cost: 2026 UK Price Guide.
- very strong RN-XH6E39 cited
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
The standard that decides whether a loft ladder is legal and when a raised deck needs a balustrade. Published 3 January 2013, it covers protection from falling, collision and impact including stairs, ladders, ramps, guarding and vehicle barriers. Paragraph 1.31 states that retractable ladders must not be used as a means of escape. Paragraph 1.32 permits a fixed ladder, with fixed handrails on both sides, only for access in a loft conversion containing one habitable room, and only where there is not enough space without altering the existing space for a compliant stair, which is the rule that catches most loft ladder installations. Paragraph 1.29 restricts alternating tread stairs to loft conversions. For a private stair the maximum pitch is 42 degrees (Table 1.1 note 1), the normal relationship between rise and going is twice the rise plus the going between 550mm and 700mm, and for dwellings external tapered steps forming part of the building need a going of at least 280mm. Paragraph 3.1 requires guarding wherever it is reasonably necessary for safety at the edge of a floor, gallery, balcony, roof, light well, basement or similar sunken area. Paragraph 3.2 requires guarding to be at least the height in Diagram 3.1, allows any wall, parapet or balustrade to serve as guarding, and requires it to resist the loads in BS EN 1991-1-1 with its UK National Annex and PD 6688-1-1, with BS 6180 for barrier and infill panel design. Handrails should be positioned 900mm to 1000mm from the pitch line or floor.
Cited in All You Need To Know About Double Glazing Repairs, Basement & Cellar Conversions: Cost, Bifold Doors: Cost, Sizes & Alternatives, Blown Window Repair Cost: 2026 UK Price Guide and 41 more.
- very strong RN-5IVIKF cited
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Paragraph 1645 of the M4(2) guidance requires a minimum 1,200 mm clear space in front of and between all kitchen units and appliances in living, kitchen and eating areas. Wall switches, socket outlets, stopcocks and controls must have their centre line between 450 mm and 1,200 mm above floor level (Diagram 1.5), consumer units are mounted with switches 1,350 to 1,450 mm above floor level, and boiler timer controls and thermostats between 900 mm and 1,200 mm. Communal approach routes and flights need a minimum clear width of 1,200 mm and every landing a minimum 1,200 mm clear of any door swing. Handrail guidance is measured 450 mm above the pitch line of the treads.
Cited in Bathroom Layouts & Planning, Bathroom Storage Solutions, Bathroom Tiles: Types, Cost & Layout, Choosing Paint Colours: A Practical Guide and 12 more.
- very strong RN-JYJ3I5 cited
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
The document that decides what electrical work a homeowner may legally do themselves, and the exact list of notifiable jobs. Regulation 12(6A), reproduced at paragraph 2.5, makes only three things notifiable: the installation of a new circuit, the replacement of a consumer unit, and any addition or alteration to existing circuits in a special location. Regulation 12(9) defines special location as, in a room containing a bath or shower, the zone extending vertically from finished floor level to 2.25 metres (or the shower head position if higher) and horizontally 600mm from the edge of the bath tub or shower tray. Paragraph 2.7 states that all other electrical installation work is not notifiable, namely additions and alterations to existing installations outside special locations, and replacements, repairs and maintenance anywhere. Paragraph 2.8 gives worked examples: a built-in cooker is not notifiable unless a new cooker circuit is needed, and connecting an electric gate or garage door to an existing isolator is not notifiable but running a new circuit from the consumer unit to that isolator is. Paragraph 2.2 confirms Part P reaches outdoor work including fixed garden lighting, pond pumps and outbuildings such as sheds, detached garages and domestic greenhouses. Notifiable work must be certified by self-certification by a registered competent person, third-party certification, or a building control body (paragraph 3.1), with the compliance certificate issued within 30 days (paragraph 3.4). Note that Approved Document P is a source of guidance rather than a ban: non-notifiable work still has to comply with BS 7671.
Cited in Adding an Ensuite: Cost, Layout & Plumbing, Adding Plug Socket Room Cost: 2026 UK Price Guide, Annexe & Granny Flat: Cost, Planning & Rules, Bathroom Layouts & Planning and 76 more.
- very strong RN-HL3VRN cited
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
The landing page for Part H of the Building Regulations in England, and the citation for which edition governed a drainage alteration. It hosts the 2015 edition, 1.23 MB, with the guidance first published to GOV.UK on 4 December 2010 and earlier editions held at the National Archives. The stated scope of the current edition is foul water drainage both above and below ground, pipe sizes, protection of pipes, and manholes and inspection chambers, which are the parts of Part H that bite whenever a bathroom or kitchen is moved rather than replaced in place. The full requirement set runs H1 foul water drainage, H2 wastewater treatment systems and cesspools, H3 rainwater drainage, H4 building over sewers, H5 separate systems of drainage and H6 solid waste storage, so a project that touches a shared or public sewer engages H4 and a build-over agreement as well as the pipe sizing in H1. The trap seal depths, minimum branch diameters, branch lengths and gradients themselves are inside the linked PDF.
Cited in How to Fit a Bathroom Suite.
- very strong RN-IKLPS9 cited
The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk), UK Statutory Instrument 1999/1148
The exact list of plumbing work that must be notified to the water undertaker, with its consent obtained, before it begins. Regulation 5(1) requires notice, consent not to be unreasonably withheld, and compliance with any conditions. The Table item 4 covers installing: (a) a bath over 230 litres measured to the centre line of overflow; (b) a bidet with ascending spray or flexible hose; (c) a single shower unit of a type specified by the regulator connected directly or indirectly to a supply pipe; (d) a pump or booster drawing more than 12 litres per minute connected directly or indirectly to a supply pipe; (e) reverse osmosis; (f) a water treatment unit producing waste water; (g) an RPZ valve or other device for fluid category 4 or 5; (h) a garden watering system not operated by hand; (i) any water system laid outside a building less than 750mm or more than 1350mm below ground. Item 5 covers construction of a pond or swimming pool over 10,000 litres designed to be replenished by automatic means from a water undertaker's supply. Regulation 5(2) exempts approved contractors for items 2, 4(b) and 4(g).
Cited in Pond Fibreglassing Cost: 2026 UK Price Guide, Rain Shower Price Cost: 2026 UK Price Guide.
- very strong RN-4MRYEN cited
The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk), UK Statutory Instrument 1999/1148
The substantive requirements every water fitting in England, Wales and Northern Ireland must meet, and the source of several hard numbers. Paragraph 25(d) caps a single flush from a WC flushing device at 6 litres (7.5 litres under the transitional wording at paragraph 25 as originally applied). Paragraph 17 requires safety devices on every unvented water heater other than an instantaneous heater of 15 litres capacity or less, and on every secondary coil in a primary system. Paragraph 23(1) requires a temperature relief valve or combined temperature and pressure relief valve on every unvented hot water storage vessel with a capacity greater than 15 litres. Paragraph 5 requires every fitting to withstand an internal pressure of not less than 1.5 times its maximum design pressure. Water efficiency limits are also fixed here: 27 litres per kilogram of washload for domestic horizontal axis washing machines on a standard 60 degrees C cotton cycle, 48 litres per kilogram for washer driers, and 4.5 litres per place setting for domestic dishwashers.
Cited in Outdoor Kitchens: Cost & Planning.
- very strong RN-KXCXCY cited
Welsh Government (gov.wales)
WALES. First published 3 April 2017, last updated 7 April 2026. Wales publishes its own Approved Document F, and the page carries the current volume 1 for dwellings (910 KB PDF) and volume 2 for buildings other than dwellings, plus replacement volumes that TAKE EFFECT ON 4 MARCH 2027, the same changeover date as the Welsh Approved Document L and distinct from England's 24 March 2027. Welsh Part F diverged from England's when England issued its 2021 edition alongside Part L and Part O, so extract rates and background ventilator provisions for a Welsh bathroom, kitchen or loft conversion should be taken from this document rather than from England's Approved Document F.
Cited in Trickle Vents & Background Ventilation.
- strong RN-TL1I4R cited
BSI
BS EN 12004-1:2017, published 28 February 2017, committee B/539, prepared by CEN/TC 67 Ceramic tiles, current; it supersedes BS EN 12004:2007+A1:2012. The scope covers three types of ceramic tile adhesive: cementitious for internal and external installations, and dispersion and reaction resin for internal installations only, on walls and floors. It gives the terminology for the products, working methods and application properties, specifies the performance requirements and the appurtenant test methods, the assessment and verification of constancy of performance, and the classification, designation and marking of tile adhesives, which is where the C, D and R type letters and class numbers on a bag of adhesive come from. It expressly does not provide criteria or recommendations for the design and installation of ceramic tiles, which is BS 5385. It notes tile adhesives may also be used for natural and agglomerated stones if they do not adversely affect the material. BS EN 12004-2:2017 gives the test methods.
Cited in Bathroom Tiles: Types, Cost & Layout, Grab Adhesive & Construction Adhesives, How to Tile a Wall or Floor, Wet Room Tanking & Waterproofing.
- strong RN-0BO72H cited
BSI Knowledge
Published 15 September 2000 and current. This is the standard behind soil and waste pipe sizing and layout inside a house, and the document that replaced the withdrawn BS 5572 code of practice for sanitary pipework on the same date. It applies to wastewater drainage systems operating under gravity in dwellings and in commercial, institutional and industrial buildings, and sets out the principles to be followed for both layout and calculation of sanitary pipework, with only limited provisions for trade effluent and pumped fluids. It sits alongside BS EN 12056-1 for general and performance requirements, -3 for roof drainage, -4 for wastewater lifting plants and -5 for installation, testing and maintenance. Cite it, with Approved Document H, when a note gives soil stack or branch waste pipe diameters, trap seal depths or branch gradients.
Cited in Install A Macerating Toilet Cost: 2026 UK Price Guide.
- good RN-5MTP2P cited
British Woodworking Federation
BWF guidance on timber durability and specification. States that where national requirements and end use are not available, the moisture content of the timber shall not exceed 13% for heated buildings or 16% for use in unheated buildings. Useful as the ceiling figure against which the common trade rule of thumb of 8 to 12% kiln-dried moisture content for kitchen worktops and interior joinery can be sanity-checked.
Cited in Butcher Block Countertop Cost: 2026 UK Price Guide, Timber Cladding: Species, Treatment & Cost.
- supplier figure RN-QOH38R cited
AKG Surfaces
AKG Surfaces publishing its own price guidance for this work. A trade supplier writing about what it charges is evidence of the market rate and not a quotation, and the cost book treats it as one figure among several rather than on its own
Cited in Kitchen Islands: Sizes, Cost & Services, Kitchen Worktops Compared: Quartz, Granite, Laminate.
- supplier figure RN-PDZJFO cited
Cawdor Worktops
Cawdor Worktops publishing its own price guidance for this work. A trade supplier writing about what it charges is evidence of the market rate and not a quotation, and the cost book treats it as one figure among several rather than on its own
Cited in Butcher Block Countertop Cost: 2026 UK Price Guide, How Much Does a New Kitchen Cost in 2026? (UK), Kitchen Worktops Compared: Quartz, Granite, Laminate, Splashbacks: Glass, Tile & Stone Options.
- supplier figure RN-S3514M cited
DIY Kitchens (Ultima Furniture Systems Ltd)
the retail price DIY Kitchens (Ultima Furniture Systems Ltd) publishes for Base - Kitchen Units, which is the supply figure the cost book records for this item
Cited in How to Fit Flat-Pack Kitchen Units.
- supplier figure RN-RVCGHU cited
Royal Marble
a stone fabricator publishing its own granite pricing, cited as a market figure for supplied and fitted stone rather than as a quotation
Cited in Kitchen Worktops Compared: Quartz, Granite, Laminate.
- supplier figure RN-FBUIE5 cited
Wickes
the retail price Wickes publishes for Wickes Calcutta Marble Matt Laminate Worktop 600 x 38 x 3000mm, which is the supply figure the cost book records for this item
- supplier figure RN-2SEPU1 cited
Worktop City
the retailer's published size options and prices for a 12 mm Fenix NTM solid compact laminate worktop, including the 3000 x 645 x 12 mm sheet at GBP 577.12 and the 4100 x 645 x 12 mm sheet at GBP 930.20, which are two of the four published sheet prices the cost book divides by their stated lengths to get a rate per linear metre
Cited in Butcher Block Countertop Cost: 2026 UK Price Guide.
- very strong RN-6M8Z15
Department of Finance (Northern Ireland)
Northern Ireland's Part L guidance, October 2012, and the clearest published table on how much permanent ventilation a gas cooker needs. Table 4.1 sets the ventilation for flueless gas appliances. For a cooker, oven, hotplate or grill or any combination of them, with no maximum rated heat input: a room, space or internal space under 5 cubic metres needs a permanently open air vent of 10,000 square millimetres free area; 5 to 10 cubic metres needs 5,000 square millimetres, and none at all if the room has a door opening directly outside; over 10 cubic metres needs no permanently open vent. A flueless instantaneous water heater may not be installed at all in a room under 5 cubic metres, needs 10,000 square millimetres from 5 to 10 cubic metres and 5,000 square millimetres over 10 up to 20 cubic metres. Flueless space heaters are limited to 0.045 kW net per cubic metre of room volume, or 0.090 kW net per cubic metre in an internal space such as a hallway or landing. Note 5 makes clear these permanent vents are additional to the openable elements and, for kitchens, the extract ventilation required by Part K. Regulation 54 onwards also covers hearths, flue and chimney design and the durable notice plate required when a hearth, fireplace, flue or chimney is provided or extended.
- very strong RN-S4JZCY
Department of Finance, Northern Ireland (Building Control NI)
Northern Ireland's ventilation guidance, the devolved counterpart to Approved Document F, and a clean source for extract rates because its Table 2.1 sets them out room by room. Intermittent extract minimum rates: kitchen 30 litres per second adjacent to the hob or 60 litres per second elsewhere, utility room 30 litres per second, bathroom 15 litres per second, sanitary accommodation 6 litres per second. Continuous extract minimum high rates: kitchen 13 litres per second, utility room 8, bathroom 8, sanitary accommodation 6. The whole-dwelling ventilation rate should not be less than 0.3 litres per second per square metre of internal floor area, and where a greater level of occupancy is expected an extra 4 litres per second per occupant should be added. It describes System 1, background ventilators with intermittent extract fans, as the common domestic strategy. The 30 versus 60 litres per second split is the figure that decides whether a cooker hood can sit above the hob or must be sized up when placed away from it, for example over an island.
- very strong RN-2PCYXZ
Drinking Water Inspectorate
The regulator's account of lead pipework, useful for any period-property or plumbing note. States that before 1970 lead pipework was commonly used to connect properties to the mains, that its use has since been banned, and that a home built before 1970 may have lead pipes while one built after 1970 is unlikely to. Gives a homeowner identification test at the internal stop tap: unpainted lead appears dull grey, often with a swollen joint next to the tap, and is soft enough that a gentle scrape with a coin shows shiny silver metal beneath, with disposable gloves worn and dust not inhaled; contrasts copper as bright, hard and dull brown, iron as dark, very hard and possibly rusty, and plastic as typically blue, or grey or black if older. Explains that lead dissolves while water stands in the pipe, with concentration depending on standing time, pipe condition, temperature (more dissolves in summer and autumn) and water hardness, since harder water forms a protective scale. Notes that water companies dose with orthophosphate where a risk exists, and that a less common cause is the illegal use of lead-based solder on copper pipe, lead solder remaining permitted only in closed central heating systems. Warns lead accumulates in the body, with infants including unborn babies and children most at risk of effects on mental development, and adults at risk of kidney, heart and circulatory harm.
- very strong RN-IA2JVZ
Health and Safety Executive
The figure that governs any dry cutting of a quartz or engineered stone worktop, and the one a fabricator should be asked about. INDG463, published 05/24. The Workplace Exposure Limit for respirable crystalline silica is 0.1 mg per cubic metre of respirable dust averaged over 8 hours, and control measures must be effective in keeping exposure below it. The leaflet tabulates crystalline silica content by material: artificial or engineered stone up to 95 per cent depending on the stone pieces or minerals used, sandstone, gritstone and quartzite above 70 per cent, mortar and concrete 25 to 70 per cent, shale 40 to 60 per cent, china stone up to 50 per cent, granite 20 to 45 per cent and typically 30 per cent, slate 20 to 40 per cent, ironstone up to 15 per cent. Employers must assess the risk, record it in writing where they employ more than five people, consider substituting a lower-silica material, control exposure by engineering means first, supply RPE only where engineering controls cannot do the job, face-fit test tight-fitting RPE on clean-shaven wearers, monitor to confirm the WEL is not exceeded, and arrange health surveillance where appropriate.
- very strong RN-YD2EE9
Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
The specific HSE control sheet for cutting and polishing engineered stone with powered hand-held rotary tools, which is exactly what happens when a quartz worktop is trimmed on site. Issued under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002, it describes good control practice for respirable crystalline silica and how to keep exposure below the relevant workplace exposure limits. The named controls are: work with stone containing the lowest crystalline silica content; use on-tool water suppression; control the mist generated by water suppression because the mist itself contains crystalline silica, for example with a water wall local exhaust ventilation booth; use powered air purifying respirators with an assigned protection factor of at least 20 when processing, cleaning or maintaining machinery; and provide health surveillance for workers regularly exposed. On water it requires an adequate supply of clean water and, where water is recirculated, testing and monitoring of the water system and replacing or treating contaminated water per the supplier's instructions, because silica building up in the water degrades both the tooling and the effectiveness of the suppression. Following the guidance is not compulsory unless stated, but doing so will normally be enough to comply.
- very strong RN-DJ961A
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
The canonical landing page for Part G of the Building Regulations 2010 in England, hosting the 2015 edition, 56 pages, 677 KB, with amendments in force from 1 March 2016 and from 1 October 2024, the document itself first published 3 March 2010. Its stated scope is the standards required for cold water supply, water efficiency, hot water supply and systems, sanitary conveniences and washing facilities, bathrooms, and kitchens and food preparation areas, which map to requirements G1 to G6. The page carries the version history so a reader can see which edition applied on a given build date, and links the current PDF plus the superseded versions. Use it as the citation when the question is which edition of Part G governs a project rather than what a specific clause says; the clause detail, including the 125 litres per person per day water efficiency calculation and the G3 unvented hot water storage rules, is inside the linked PDF.
- very strong RN-LFIIEJ
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
the nationally described space standard, which sets the minimum gross internal areas, bedroom sizes, built-in storage and, at paragraph 10(i), the minimum floor to ceiling height of 2.3m over at least 75% of the gross internal area that a local plan may require of new homes
- very strong RN-W3L96O
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
An 87 page field study published 1 October 2019 measuring what installed ventilation actually delivers, and its numbers demolish the assumption that a new or upgraded system performs as designed. Of 25 homes visited with continuous mechanical extract, only one met Approved Document F guidance on both extract fan air flow rates and trickle ventilator provision, with whole dwelling extract flow rates in normal low-rate mode ranging from 85 per cent below to 8 per cent above the recommended rate. Only half the homes met the minimum trickle ventilator areas, ranging from 60 per cent below to 107 per cent above the recommended area. On two of three dMEV development sites trickle ventilators had been fitted in the same rooms as the extract fans, contrary to ADF guidance, which can stop fans drawing air through the whole house. On air quality: 11 per cent of the limited monitoring sample had a room where weekly average relative humidity exceeded the recommended monthly average, always the bedroom, and condensation or mould was reported in each such room; 30 per cent exceeded the derived carbon dioxide guideline in the bedroom; and 60 per cent of the detailed monitoring sample exceeded the ADF total volatile organic compound performance standard. Ventilation was found adequate for nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide but not for moisture, body odour and VOCs. Notes that Part F 2010 introduced a legal requirement to test and commission installed fans and for the installer to notify the building control body of commissioning and air flow rates.
- very strong RN-RR0BKS
Scottish Government
The Scottish rules that fix how small a kitchen may lawfully be, which have no direct English equivalent. Standard 3.11 requires a kitchen to have space for a gas, electric or oil cooker, or a solid fuel cooker designed for continuous burning, plus kitchen storage of at least 1 cubic metre. Manoeuvring space within the kitchen must be a 1.5 m by 1.5 m square or an ellipse of 1.4 m by 1.8 m, with a clear entry space 1.1 m long by 800 mm wide and access at least 800 mm wide to controls. Activity spaces need at least 1.8 m headroom. An enhanced apartment must be at least 12 square metres with both length and width at least 3.0 m. Drying provision is 1.7 m of outdoor clothes line per bedroom where reasonably practicable, or an indoor space of at least 1 cubic metre with no dimension less than 700 mm. Sanitary fittings themselves are counted under standard 3.12, not here.
- very strong RN-L5ETV2
Scottish Government (gov.scot)
Scotland's sanitary provision and accessibility rules, which go further than England's Approved Document G and are the ones a Scottish bathroom project must meet. Clause 3.12.1 requires every dwelling to have at least 1 water closet or waterless closet, 1 wash hand basin per WC, 1 bath or shower and 1 sink, normally in the kitchen, and requires a wash hand basin close to every WC either within the toilet or in the adjacent space forming the sole means of access to it. Clause 3.12.3 requires a dwelling to have at least 1 accessible WC and wash hand basin and at least 1 accessible shower or bath, with unobstructed access at least 800 mm wide to each sanitary facility and unobstructed height of at least 1.8 m above each activity space and above any bath or shower. Where side transfer is allowed a small wall-hung wash hand basin may project up to 300 mm into the activity space in front of the WC, and a projecting basin rim may reduce a route to another facility to not less than 700 mm. A hand-rinse basin may only be installed in a toilet where a full-size wash hand basin exists elsewhere in the dwelling. Clause 3.12.5 applies the accessibility guidance to alterations and extensions: a first new facility of its type on the principal living level or entrance storey must meet clauses 3.12.3 and 3.12.4, alterations must follow 3.12.3 as far as reasonably practicable, existing compliant accommodation must at least maintain its level of compliance after alteration, and may only be removed or relocated where at least equivalent facilities remain.
- very strong RN-LIQ6ZI
Scottish Government (gov.scot)
Scotland's ventilation guidance under the Building (Scotland) Regulations 2004, and the source for extract rates north of the border. Clause 3.14.3 sets mechanical extraction of at least 30 litres per second intermittent above a hob, or at least 60 litres per second intermittent if elsewhere, for a kitchen; at least 30 litres per second intermittent for a utility room; at least 15 litres per second intermittent for a bathroom; and at least 3 air changes per hour for a toilet. Clause 3.14.1 states there is no need to ventilate a room with a floor area of not more than 4 square metres, expressly excluding a domestic sized kitchen or utility room. Clause 3.14.5 covers spaces designated for drying washing, which need either mechanical extraction of at least 15 litres per second intermittent with the fan connected through a humidistat set to activate when relative humidity is between 50 and 65 per cent, or a passive stack system. Trickle ventilator areas assume infiltration of 5 to 10 m3/h/m2 at 50 Pa; below 5 the tabulated areas may not suffice and an alternative strategy is needed, and where a trickle ventilator is ducted the recommended areas should be doubled. Where an extract fan is fitted in a building containing an open-flued combustion appliance, extract rates should be reduced, referring to Standard 3.17 and OFTEC Technical Book 3.
- very strong RN-IYN8CO
The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk)
The regulation that makes a badly fitted gas hob or cooker a criminal matter rather than a workmanship dispute. Regulation 26(1) prohibits any person installing a gas appliance unless it can be used without constituting a danger to any person. 26(2) requires a flued domestic appliance to be connected by a permanently fixed rigid pipe. 26(3) bars the installation of a second-hand appliance without first verifying its safety. 26(4) requires compliance with all other applicable safety legislation. 26(5) prevents an installer leaving an appliance connected unless it is safe or has been sealed off. 26(6) requires a means of shutting off the gas at the appliance inlet unless impracticable. 26(8) forbids removing or defacing any marking showing compliance with safety requirements. 26(9) requires that immediately after any work the person examines the effectiveness of any flue, the supply of combustion air, the operating pressure or heat input, and the operation of the appliance to ensure safe functioning, and reports any defect at once to the responsible person or the owner of the premises.
- very strong RN-CE1U3B
The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk)
SI 1999 No. 1148, in three Parts: Part I Preliminary (regulations 1 to 2), Part II Requirements (regulations 3 to 6), Part III Enforcement (regulations 7 to 14). Regulation 4 requires water fittings to meet the standards set out in Schedule 2; regulation 5 sets the notification procedure requiring the water undertaker's consent before certain installations. Schedule 1 establishes the five fluid risk categories used to size backflow protection. Schedule 2 carries the detailed requirements on materials, watertightness, resistance to internal pressure, backflow prevention, hot water services, WC flushing devices, taps and appliances, including paragraph 7 that no water fitting shall be embedded in any wall. Schedule 3 revokes the former water byelaws.
- very strong RN-UT542M
The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk)
The regulation that decides whether a tap, cistern, shower or appliance may lawfully be installed. Regulation 4(1) requires every water fitting to be of an appropriate quality and standard and suitable for the circumstances in which it is used, and requires it to satisfy at least one route: an appropriate CE marking under the Directive, conformity with an appropriate harmonised standard or European technical approval, conformity with an appropriate British Standard or another EEA national specification giving an equivalent level of protection, or conformity with a specification approved by the regulator. Regulation 4(2) requires every water fitting to comply with the requirements of Schedule 2 so far as they apply to it. Regulation 4(3) requires the work to be carried out in a workmanlike manner, satisfied by following a relevant British Standard or European technical approval, a specification approved by the regulator, or a method approved by the water undertaker. This is the statutory hook behind WRAS approval and the WaterRegsUK directory of approved products.
- very strong RN-E58072
The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk)
The statutory backflow duty that sits behind every check valve, tap gap and pipe interrupter in a house. Paragraph 15 requires that every water system shall contain an adequate device or devices for preventing backflow of fluid from any appliance, fitting or process. A device is adequate only if it conforms to a specification approved by the regulator for the purposes of the Schedule. The device fitted must be appropriate to the highest applicable fluid category to which the fitting is subject downstream before the next such device, which is the rule that forces a category 5 air gap on a bath or bidet with a flexible hose rather than a check valve. Backflow prevention is also required on supply or distributing pipes to prevent backflow between separately occupied premises, and wherever the water undertaker gives notice that it is necessary. The exemption is narrow: it does not apply to a water heater or vented storage vessel where the water temperature does not exceed 25 degrees C and expanded water can flow back into a supply pipe or cistern.
- very strong RN-MAUR12
The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk)
The legal source of the rule that the kitchen cold tap must be mains fed, and the exception people rely on when it is not. Paragraph 27 states that a drinking water tap shall be supplied with water from a supply pipe, a pump delivery pipe drawing water from a supply pipe, or a distributing pipe drawing water exclusively from a storage cistern supplying wholesome water. The third route is the important one: a tank-fed drinking tap is lawful only where the cistern itself supplies wholesome water, which in practice means a cistern meeting the lid, screen, material and maintenance requirements elsewhere in Schedule 2, and that is why a loft cistern of the traditional open type disqualifies the tap it feeds. Read it with paragraph 15 on backflow and with the WaterRegsUK guidance on drinking water taps, which recommends the tap be fed direct from the mains and not through any fitting that stores, treats or filters the water, and which is the reason a water softener installation leaves one tap unsoftened.