RenovationNotes

References

Loft Conversions

102 sources in the library on loft conversions. 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.

  1. very strong RN-GMSJMF

    Planning Portal (MHCLG and TerraQuest)

    Planning Portal's statement of the permitted development limits for a loft conversion, which fall under Schedule 2, Part 1, Class B of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 as amended, covering the enlargement of a dwellinghouse by an addition or alteration to its roof. Class C governs any other alteration to the roof and Class AA governs additional storeys. Permitted development does not apply where the building contains flats or is a flat, where additional storeys have already been added under permitted development, where the house was created from a non-residential use or built as a new dwellinghouse under permitted development, or on Article 2(3) designated land. The limits are: materials similar in appearance to the existing house; total enlargement including any previous enlargement not exceeding the original roof space by more than 40 cubic metres for terraced houses or 50 cubic metres otherwise; not exceeding the height of the existing roof; not extending beyond the existing roof slope on the principal elevation where it fronts a highway; no verandas, balconies or raised platforms; no installation, alteration or replacement of a chimney, flue or soil and vent pipe; and side-facing windows obscure-glazed and, if opening, 1.7m above the floor.

  2. very strong RN-YBOAP5

    Scottish Government

    What has to happen where a party wall meets the roof, which is the first thing exposed when a loft is opened up for storage or conversion in a terrace or semi. Standard 2.2 requires separation between a dwelling and any other dwelling in different occupation, and between a dwelling and common space, to have at least a medium fire resistance duration, with a short fire resistance duration for a garage; the actual periods in minutes are set in Annex 2.A rather than in the text. Where a separating wall forms a junction with a roof it must maintain that fire resistance, and where the roof substrate is combustible the wall should project through the roof to at least 375 mm above the top surface of the roof. A separating wall of combustible construction must contain no pipes, wires or other services, so a run of cable or a loft light fed through the party wall defeats it. A roof space above a garage need not be separated from the dwelling where the garage ceiling itself serves as a separating floor with the appropriate fire resistance. Cite it before anyone boards across a party wall line or cuts into it for storage.

  3. very strong RN-NBV4MJ

    Scottish Government

    The Scottish equivalent of English competent person self-certification, and it works differently in ways every England-written note misses. Scotland uses a building warrant system under the Building (Scotland) Act 2003, with roles split between verifiers, approved building professionals (approved bodies and approved certifiers), local authorities and building owners. Certification in Scotland is optional, not the default, and covers design or construction, applying only where the work requires a building warrant; the works that can be certified are listed on the Scottish Government Certification Register, and the Scottish Government maintains the only authoritative list of registered approved building professionals. The benefit stated is that the work is certified by qualified building professionals as complying with regulations. Related guidance includes the Certification Handbook, Procedural Guidance on Certification covering what to submit with a building warrant application, and Modern methods of construction guidance for verifiers and certifiers. Applications for building warrants and completion certificates are submitted online through the eBuildingStandards.scot portal via an eDevelopment account.

  4. very strong RN-O86CR8

    Scottish Government (gov.scot)

    SCOTLAND. Paragraph 3.1.3 confirms the fee is payable at the time of application and that the verifier agrees with the applicant what drawings, specifications and other information are needed. Paragraph 3.1.4 requires a building warrant for a conversion as defined in schedule 2 of the building regulations even where no building work is proposed, which catches change of use jobs that England would treat as a material change of use under the Building Regulations 2010. Paragraph 3.1.5 requires an amendment to the warrant BEFORE work starts on any construction that departs from the approved drawings or specifications, and unamended changes can attract a building warrant enforcement notice. Offences can be reported to the Procurator Fiscal, though a building warrant enforcement notice under section 27 of the Act is the normal route, and it can only be served on the relevant person, so a builder working for a client cannot be served with one. Section 3.2 provides for pre-warrant meetings and customer agreements.

  5. very strong RN-69H4L9

    Scottish Government (gov.scot)

    The in-force Scottish handbook, 13.6 MB PDF, applying from 6 April 2026. Figures a note on Scotland needs: Standard 4.6 requires a dwelling to have at least 4 thirteen-amp socket outlets in each apartment, 6 in the kitchen of which at least 3 above worktop level in addition to any for floor standing or built-in appliances, and a further 4 anywhere in the dwelling including at least 1 in each circulation area per storey, with no equivalent requirement in England. Clause 4.6.1 requires at least one lighting point in every circulation space, kitchen, bathroom, toilet and any space of 2 m2 or more; clause 4.6.2 sets 100 lux on stair flights and landings and 50 lux elsewhere in common circulation areas. Table 3.11 sets background ventilator equivalent areas of 12,000 mm2 per apartment and 10,000 mm2 for a kitchen, utility, toilet, bathroom or shower room, doubled where ducted, with part of the ventilator at least 1.75 m above floor level. Table 3.12 sets intermittent extract rates of 30 l/s over a hob, 60 l/s elsewhere in a kitchen, 30 l/s utility, 15 l/s bathroom or shower, 6 l/s WC, with fan and background ventilator at least 0.5 m apart. Table 6.2 sets maximum U-values of 0.17 wall, 0.15 floor, 0.12 roof, 1.4 windows, roof windows and doors, 2.1 rooflights, with a Window Energy Rating or Doorset Energy Rating of B or better as an alternative for units in an existing building; for 1 or 2 matching replacement windows the frame may be disregarded if the centre pane U-value is 1.2 W/m2K or less, secondary glazing should reach about 3.5 W/m2K, and total glazed area should not exceed 25 per cent of dwelling floor area. Clause 4.8.2 requires glazing to BS 6262-4:2018 within 800 mm of floor level, in a door leaf, or within 300 mm of a door leaf and within 1.5 m of floor level, with manifestation between 850 mm and 1.0 m and between 1.4 m and 1.6 m above floor level. Clause 4.8.3 requires any window or rooflight more than 4 m above adjacent ground or floor to be cleanable safely from inside per Clause 8 of BS 8213-1:2004, from a loadbearing surface, or from a mounted access system, sets safe reach limits of 610 mm downward and an 850 mm radius arc from a point not more than 1.3 m above floor level, and bars ladder access to glazing more than 9 m above the ladder's footing.

  6. very strong RN-8T0SVC

    Scottish Government (gov.scot)

    Scotland's equivalent of the Approved Documents, and the reason a note that quotes only English rules is wrong for a fifth of the UK. This edition is in force from 6 April 2026 and applies to building warrants submitted on or after that date and to work not requiring a warrant commenced from that date. It gives guidance on achieving the standards set in the Building (Scotland) Regulations 2004, arranged in sections rather than parts: section 3 environment (ventilation, drainage, condensation), section 4 safety (electrical safety and installations, glazing and danger from accidents, including clause 4.13 which invokes PAS 24 for security), section 6 energy (U-values for windows and doors) and section 7 sustainability. Scotland uses a building warrant and a completion certificate rather than a building notice, and has no Part P competent person scheme equivalent, so electrical work is covered by the warrant system instead.

  7. 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.

  8. very strong RN-GFMJD9

    Scottish Government (gov.scot)

    SCOTLAND. The Scottish Government's authoritative plain-language guide to householder permitted development rights, published 28 May 2024, ISBN 9781836013143, with an errata of 20 June 2024 correcting the legislation tables for Class 1A section d on PDF page 21, Class 4B sections b and c on page 51, and paragraph 7.6 on page 73. It is the Scottish counterpart to England's Permitted Development Rights for Householders Technical Guidance and interprets the classes of Schedule 1 Part 1 of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Scotland) Order 1992. Paragraph 2.1 makes the owner liable for remedial action up to demolition and restoration where work fails to comply, paragraph 2.2 notes rights are disapplied or limited in conservation areas, World Heritage Sites, National Scenic Areas and National Parks, and paragraph 2.3 explains Scotland's narrow prior notification and prior approval route.

  9. very strong RN-84BHGV

    Scottish Government (gov.scot)

    SCOTLAND, and the numbering has no England equivalent: Scotland puts escape under Standard 2.9, not Approved Document B. Clause 2.9.4 requires an escape window in every apartment on an upper storey not more than 4.5 metres above the adjacent ground, and in every inner room at that height, unless there is an alternative route of escape. The escape window must have an unobstructed openable area of at least 0.33 square metres and be at least 450 mm high and 450 mm wide, with the bottom of the openable area not more than 1100 mm above the floor; the route through may be at an angle. Above 4.5 metres an escape window is not accepted and clause 2.9.5 requires every apartment to have direct access to a protected enclosure with self-closing short fire resistance duration fire doors leading to an exit door. Above 7.5 metres clause 2.9.6 requires an alternative exit. Text verified identical in the April 2026 PDF handbook.

  10. very strong RN-ONL4C3

    Scottish Government (mygov.scot)

    SCOTLAND, last updated 24 November 2025. Scotland has no building notice or full plans choice and no private registered building control approvers: a building warrant must be obtained from the local council's building standards department BEFORE work starts, and starting work without one when required is an offence punishable by a fine. A warrant is needed for building a new home, extending a home, building or removing load-bearing walls, changing roofs, external walls or other structural elements, converting a loft or garage into a room, and demolition. Applications go through the eDevelopment portal, and the page lists all 32 Scottish councils plus their building standards departments as the verifiers. This directly contradicts an England-based note that offers a retrospective regularisation route or a choice of approved inspector.

  11. very strong RN-ERB4SL

    The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk)

    SCOTLAND. Part 1 was substituted wholesale on 6 February 2012 by SSI 2011/357 and is the Scottish householder permitted development code, materially different from England's Class A. Class 1A allows a single-storey ground floor extension but not forward of the principal elevation or a road-fronting side elevation, not more than 3 metres beyond the rear wall for a terrace or 4 metres otherwise where any part is within 1 metre of the curtilage boundary, eaves not over 3 metres, height not over 4 metres, resulting ground coverage not more than twice the original dwellinghouse, front or rear curtilage coverage not over 50 per cent, and NOT AT ALL within a conservation area. Class 1B allows a multi-storey ground floor extension only where no part is within 10 metres of the curtilage boundary and the height does not exceed the existing house. Scotland has no 6 metre or 8 metre larger home extension prior approval route.

  12. very strong RN-LBAKH4

    The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk), Northern Ireland Statutory Rules

    NORTHERN IRELAND, and Class A differs from England, Wales and Scotland alike. A single-storey rear extension may extend beyond the rear wall of the original dwellinghouse by no more than 4 metres for a DETACHED house or 3 metres for any other, must not exceed 4 metres in height, and must not come within 3.5 metres of a curtilage boundary with a ROAD opposite the rear wall. An extension of more than one storey is limited to 3 metres beyond the rear wall and must be at least 7 metres from the boundary opposite the rear wall, against Wales's 10.5 metres. Eaves must not exceed 3 metres within 2 metres of any boundary. A side extension must not exceed 4 metres in height or half the width of the original dwellinghouse. Class A expressly excludes ANY alteration to the roof, any deck, balcony, veranda or raised platform, any basement, any chimney, flue or soil and vent pipe, and any microwave antenna, so a Northern Ireland dormer or rooflight is not permitted development under this class. In a conservation area, World Heritage Site, AONB or National Park, cladding in stone, artificial stone, pebbledash, render, timber, plastic or tiles is excluded, as is any extension of more than one storey or over 4 metres or beyond a principal or side elevation. Condition A.3(b) requires any upper floor side-elevation window within 15 metres of a neighbouring curtilage boundary to be obscure glazed and non-opening below 1.7 metres above floor level. Northern Ireland has NO larger home extension prior approval route.

  13. very strong RN-T7W376

    The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk), Scottish Statutory Instruments

    SCOTLAND. The instrument that sets Scotland's building standards, made under the Building (Scotland) Act 2003, and the reason England's Approved Documents do not apply north of the border. Regulation 3 exempts certain buildings and services, regulation 5 introduces the descriptions of work not requiring a building warrant, regulation 8 covers fitness and durability of materials and workmanship, regulations 9 to 12 set the building standards for construction, demolition, services and conversion, and regulation 16 provides for relaxations. Schedule 1 lists exempted buildings, Schedule 3 the warrant-exempt work and Schedule 5 the mandatory building standards that the Technical Handbooks expand.

  14. very strong RN-GZLT9O

    The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk), Scottish Statutory Instruments

    SCOTLAND, and these figures contradict the England fees. Made 3 February 2026 and in force from 1 April 2026, amending SSI 2022/50. Category 2 of Table 1 sets the householder planning fee for the enlargement, improvement or other alteration of an existing dwelling at £371 for one dwelling and £742 for two or more, against England's £548 householder fee from the same date. Category 3 charges £371 for an outbuilding or other operation within the curtilage of an existing dwellinghouse ancillary to its enjoyment, and £371 for gates, fences, walls or other means of enclosure along a curtilage boundary. Regulation 3 raises the flat fee from £357 to £371, regulation 4 raises the discretionary fees from £238 to £247 and from £119 to £124, and paragraph 9(1) from £714 to £742. New dwellings are £742 each for the first 10, then £557, then £310 above 49, capped at £185,524.

  15. 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.

  16. very strong RN-MY15X0

    Welsh Government (gov.wales)

    The Welsh Approved Document L Volume 1, in force until 3 March 2027, and the source for Welsh window figures, which are not identical to England's. Table 10.1 sets, for new and replacement windows and roof windows, a maximum U-value of 1.4 W/(m2K) or WER Band B, with an alternative for replacements of 1.2 W/(m2K) centre pane or low-E secondary glazing, and a threshold U-value for retained windows of 3.3. Rooflights: 2.2 for new and replacement, threshold 3.8. Doors more than 60 per cent glazed: 1.4 or DSER Band C, alternative 1.2 centre pane, threshold 3.3. All other doors: 1.4 or DSER Band B, threshold 3.3. External fire doorsets as defined in Approved Document B Volume 1 may be 1.8. Transitional easements allowed timber windows at 1.6 or WER Band C and timber doors at 1.8 or DSER Band E only where a building notice, initial notice or full plans were given before 23 November 2023. Paragraph 11.35 requires an existing window or door worse than the column (c) threshold to be replaced to column (a); paragraph 11.37 states that windows and doors mean the whole unit including the frame, so replacing just the glazing or the door leaf while retaining the existing frame is not building work and does not have to meet the energy efficiency requirements, though upgrading as close as practicable is sensible; paragraph 11.38 caps the total area of windows and doors at 25 per cent of total floor area where one is enlarged or created.

  17. very strong RN-JOH3I6

    Welsh Government (gov.wales)

    The Welsh Government landing page that shows which edition of Approved Document L applies in Wales and when. Two editions of Volume 1 (dwellings) sit side by side: the current edition in force until 3 March 2027 at /sites/default/files/publications/2024-05/building-regulations-approved-document-l-vol-1.pdf, and the 2026 edition in force from 4 March 2027 at /sites/default/files/publications/2026-04/building-regulations-approved-document-l-vol-1-2026.pdf. Note the date differs from England, where the 2026 edition of Approved Document L takes effect on 24 March 2027, so a note giving a single UK-wide changeover date is wrong for Wales by three weeks.

  18. very strong RN-2AZXB8

    Welsh Government (gov.wales)

    WALES. Building regulations approval is required to convert a loft or attic into a liveable space, and the guidance covers houses no more than two storeys high, with more extensive requirements for flats, maisonettes and houses over three storeys. The regulations are applied to ensure the structural strength of the new floor is sufficient, that the stability of the existing roof is not endangered, safe escape from fire, safely designed stairs to the new floor and reasonable sound insulation between the conversion and the rooms below. A liveable space includes a spare bedroom used infrequently. On boarding out for storage, existing ceiling joists tie the pitched roof members together and support the ceiling below and were not designed for significant load, so laying flooring boards over them may itself require a building regulations application, a point an England-based note on loft boarding usually treats as exempt. The Party Wall etc. Act 1996 applies in Wales as it does in England.

  19. very strong RN-Y1W23U

    Welsh Government (gov.wales)

    WALES, and the householder figure contradicts both England and Scotland. In force from 1 December 2025, rounded to the nearest pound. Category 6, the enlargement, improvement or other alteration of existing dwellinghouses, is £585 where the application relates to one dwellinghouse and £820 for two or more, against England's £548 from 1 April 2026 and Scotland's £371. Category 7(a), operations including the erection of a building within the curtilage of an existing dwellinghouse for ancillary purposes, or gates, fences, walls or other means of enclosure along a curtilage boundary, is £283 in each case. Category 1 charges £667 for each dwellinghouse for new dwellings, with a £16,675 base fee band above 25 dwellinghouses and a maximum of £203,380. A non-material amendment under section 96A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 costs £123 for a householder application and £242 otherwise. Site visits are charged at £493 or £166 per visit depending on category.

  20. very strong RN-VXP99P

    Welsh Government (gov.wales)

    WALES. First published 30 April 2014, last updated 29 May 2020. The Welsh Government's own householder permitted development landing page, hosting three documents that replace England's Planning Portal guidance for a Welsh job: Planning, a guide for householders (688 KB PDF, 2020), Permitted development for householders, technical guidance (2 MB PDF, 2018) and Householder permitted development rights, frequently asked questions (57 KB PDF, 2018). Wales retains the England-style Class A to Class H lettering of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995 as it applies in Wales, unlike Scotland's numbered classes, but the numerical limits inside those classes have diverged from England since 2013.

  21. strong locally RN-5P0G7P

    Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council

    A building control page with the head height arithmetic most loft conversion notes omit. It states that creating a habitable room in the roof space, a bedroom, study, playroom or office, accessed by a new fixed stair, requires a Building Regulations application, and that the new room is likely to need steel members to support the new floor plus strengthening to the existing rafters, decreasing apparent headroom by 300mm or more, with a further head room loss of around 100mm from insulation. It flags achieving the minimum 2000mm headroom to the new stair flight as the usual difficulty, and requires a protected route in 30 minute fire resisting construction with FD30 doors and mains operated interlinked smoke alarms with detectors on each level.

  22. strong RN-A1LC5G

    BSI (British Standards Institution)

    STATUS: WITHDRAWN on 30 March 2010. BS 6399-1:1996 was published 15 September 1996, replacing BS 6399-1:1984, and gave the recommendations for dead loads, minimum imposed loads by activity type and vertical loading on protective elements such as barriers, for new buildings and structures, alterations and additions to existing ones, and existing construction on change of use (but not maintenance or replacement without a change of occupancy). The 1996 revision reorganised floor load classes around activity rather than occupancy and clarified reduction of imposed load by building height and loaded area. It was superseded by Eurocode 1, BS EN 1991-1-1:2002 with its UK National Annex, so any note quoting the familiar 1.5 kN/m2 domestic floor load or a loft storage load to BS 6399 is citing a standard withdrawn in 2010 and should cite BS EN 1991-1-1 instead. Note BS 6399-2 (wind) and BS 6399-3 (imposed roof loads, now BS 8683:2021) were part of the same withdrawn family. Catalogue page confirms number, title, dates, withdrawal and scope.

  23. strong RN-EBSCAK

    BSI (British Standards Institution)

    STATUS: WITHDRAWN on 29 June 2021, superseded by BS 9251:2021. BS 9251:2014 was published 31 October 2014 and gave recommendations for the design, installation and maintenance of fire sprinkler systems in domestic and residential occupancies, covering components, water supplies, commissioning, testing and modification of existing systems, with the aim of life safety plus property protection and firefighter safety benefits; it records that residential sprinklers can cut the water used to fight a home fire by upwards of 90 per cent. This matters for loft conversion notes, where a sprinkler or misting system is sometimes offered as an alternative to a protected stair: any note citing BS 9251:2014 is quoting a withdrawn edition and should cite BS 9251:2021. Catalogue page confirms number, title, publication date, withdrawal date and scope.

  24. strong RN-TG59SM

    BSI (British Standards Institution)

    STATUS: WITHDRAWN on 31 October 2015, superseded by BS 9991:2015 (and since by a further revision). BS 9991:2011 was published 31 December 2011 and itself superseded BS 5588-1:1990. It gave the code of practice for fire safety in residential buildings, covering dwellings, residential accommodation blocks for up to six people and sheltered and extra care housing, applying to new design and to material alterations, extensions and changes of use, across ten sections covering means of escape, stairs, firefighting access, active fire protection, construction, mechanical systems, ancillary accommodation and management. It excludes hotels, caravans, hospitals, care homes, detention facilities, hostels and houses in multiple occupation. This is the standard a loft conversion note reaches for when discussing protected stairs and escape windows, so citing the 2011 edition is citing a withdrawn one. Catalogue page confirms number, title, publication date, withdrawal date, supersession and scope.

  25. strong RN-XT8DUF

    BSI (British Standards Institution)

    STATUS: CURRENT. BS 9999:2017 was published 31 January 2017 and supersedes BS 9999:2008, which is withdrawn. It gives the code of practice for fire safety in the design, management and use of buildings, aimed at life safety for occupants and firefighters with property and business protection as secondary objectives. The 2017 revision added a design process flowchart, brought in watermist suppression systems, revised smoke and heat control guidance, added recommendations for fire curtain barriers and updated the shopping complex provisions. Crucially for a home renovation note, it EXCLUDES individual dwellinghouses, and has limited application to specialist buildings such as hospitals and places of lawful detention, so it is the wrong standard to cite for a house: use Approved Document B Volume 1 for dwellings and BS 9991 for residential buildings. Catalogue page confirms number, title, date, status, supersession and scope.

  26. strong RN-VKPEGH

    BSI (British Standards Institution)

    STATUS: CURRENT (marked Under Review). BS EN 12150-1:2015+A1:2019 was published 31 May 2019 and supersedes BS EN 12150-1:2015, which had itself replaced BS EN 12150-1:2000. It establishes tolerances, flatness, edgework, fragmentation and the physical and mechanical characteristics of monolithic flat thermally toughened soda lime silicate safety glass for use in buildings. Curved toughened glass is described in Annex A but is not part of the standard, and glass built into laminated or insulating glass units, or coated after toughening, falls under the relevant assembly product standard instead. Part 2 (BS EN 12150-2) covers evaluation of conformity. The catalogue page confirms number, title, date, status and scope; the test detail is paywalled.

  27. strong RN-QWQAQG

    BSI (British Standards Institution)

    STATUS: CURRENT. BS EN 13126-5:2011+A1:2014 (base edition published 31 December 2011) specifies the requirements and test methods for the durability, strength, security and function of devices that restrict the opening of windows and door height windows, applying to restrictors on tilt and turn, pivot, casement and top hung windows. The classification is the useful part for a note: it separates SAFETY limiting restrictors from CHILD SAFETY limiting restrictors, with distinct requirements aimed at reducing the risk of accidental falls, which is what a note should cite when it says a window above ground floor level needs a child resistant restrictor rather than any restrictor. It applies only where the restriction falls within the specification in Annex A, E or G of EN 1191:2012 for the manufacturer's intended use. Catalogue page confirms number, title, date, status, the two restrictor categories and scope.

  28. strong RN-KTG0RI

    BSI (British Standards Institution)

    STATUS: WITHDRAWN on 30 April 2010, superseded by BS EN 14250:2010. BS EN 14250:2004 was published 6 January 2005 and specified the product requirements for prefabricated structural members such as trusses, beams and girders made of timber and assembled with punched metal plate fasteners, covering materials, strength, reaction to fire, timber sizing, moisture content, dimensional accuracy and joint requirements, plus evaluation of conformity and marking. This is the standard behind the trussed rafter roof that a loft conversion note has to explain cannot simply have its webs cut out, so it matters that the edition cited is current: a note quoting BS EN 14250:2004 is citing a withdrawn one. Design of the trusses themselves sits under BS EN 1995-1-1. Catalogue page confirms number, title, publication date, withdrawal date and scope.

  29. strong RN-U3IDLH

    Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers

    TM59 is the dynamic thermal modelling methodology that Approved Document O Section 2 names as its alternative to the simplified glazing and free-area route, so it is a required citation for any note about overheating. This page is for the 2026 edition, published July 2026, 39 pages, ISBN 9781912034123, and it is FREE to download at both standard and member rate, unusually for CIBSE. The critical compliance point stated on the page: TM59 (2017) is still the version required for compliance with Part O, and CIBSE recommends TM59 (2026) only for industry best practice while it discusses with the Building Safety Regulator how the updated weather files and new version might be incorporated into the Approved Documents. So a note must not tell a reader that the 2026 edition satisfies Part O. The 2026 update adds a new bedroom overheating criterion based on Loughborough University research, updated ceiling fan modelling presenting fans as an effective passive comfort solution, and mandates that all homes be tested under unconstrained conditions using 2050s weather data. TM59 applies to houses, apartments, sheltered accommodation, care homes, student accommodation, prisons and bedrooms in hotels and hospitals, and covers new dwellings and major refurbishments. The page also records that in 2026 the Climate Change Committee raised risks to buildings and communities from heat to its highest category, Critical Action needed.

  30. fair RN-3SSVW3

    Bat Conservation Trust

    How to establish whether a building holds a roost before work starts. A roost is any place a bat uses for shelter or protection, regardless of species, numbers or how long it is used, and is protected all year round whether or not bats are present, because bats are loyal to roosts and return at the same time each year. Bats build no nest and cause no damage, using existing cracks and crevices, and move between roosts through the year as their needs change. Look for droppings, and watch for emergence at around sunset, or up to an hour after, during May to September, or run a dawn re entry survey where the access point is unknown. Local bat groups and local records centres may hold records, but the absence of a record does not mean there is no roost. Warns against disturbance during hibernation, when waking bats burns reserves they may not replace before spring, and during the summer maternity season, when disturbed mothers may abandon a pup, of which there is typically only one a year.

  31. fair RN-0F0NNT

    Bat Conservation Trust

    The membrane rule for a roof used by bats, developed with Natural England, Natural Resources Wales and NatureScot. Only bituminous roofing felt containing no polypropylene or polyethylene filaments should be installed, for example bitumen felt type 1F, which is hessian reinforced; it is dark coloured with a rough surface bats can grip. Sarking boards are an acceptable alternative. Non bitumen coated roofing membranes, previously called breathable or modern roofing membranes, BRMs or MRMs, must not be used, because their spun bond polypropylene or polyethylene filaments can be pulled out by roosting bats and entangle them. States plainly that non bitumen coated membranes are not obligatory under any Building Regulations, and that ventilation is still required whichever felt is used, citing BS 5250:2011.

  32. fair RN-IBBQUM

    Bat Conservation Trust

    Timing constraints on work to a building with a bat roost. Work is commonly advised to be scheduled either in April, or between mid September and the end of October, when bats are least likely to be present, though the exact window depends on the roost and species. If the timings recommended by the statutory nature conservation organisation cannot be met, the roost owner may need to engage an ecological consultant and obtain a licence. Bats should be factored in from the earliest stage of planning. The free National Bat Helpline is 0345 1300 228. The section also flags the four recurring requirements: creating bat access, roofing membrane choice, cladding, soffits and fascias, and solar panels.

  33. fair RN-WBTLGN

    London Fire Brigade

    How to plan escape from a house or converted flat, which bears directly on loft conversion and window specification. The rule is get out, stay out, call 999 as soon as it is safe. The primary route is the normal way in and out; a second route must be planned in case the first is blocked, and windows are named as that alternative. Door and window keys must be kept where everyone can find them, and security gates or shutters must open from the inside without a key. Cites LFB's average response time in 2016/17 of 5 minutes 25 seconds, and that in nearly half of all fire deaths in 2015/16 there was a delay of 10 minutes or more between the fire starting and the Brigade being called. Around 60% of home fires start in the kitchen.

  34. fair RN-CTC3GA

    Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA)

    Makes the case that stairs built to BS 5395-1:2010 cut the chance of a fall by 60% compared with stairs built only to the Building Regulations minimum, because the standard sets tighter going and rise dimensions, slip resistance and handrail provision. RoSPA has campaigned since 2022 for the standard to be made mandatory in new homes, and estimates that doing so could save the NHS up to £5 million a year through avoided accidents. Useful when specifying a new loft or extension staircase above the regulatory floor.

  35. supplier figure RN-4LI0BN

    A. Proctor Group

    Air and vapour permeable water resistant pitched roof underlay to BS EN 13859-1:2010, with a meltblown core. Standard rolls 1 m x 50 m and 1.5 m x 50 m; mass per unit area 170 g/m2. Water vapour resistance Sd 0.015 m and vapour resistance 0.075 MNs/g to EN ISO 12572. Air permeability EN 12114 average 35 m3/m2.h at 50 Pa. Water penetration EN 1928 Class W1; hydrostatic head ISO 811 greater than 1 m, as recommended by NFRC Technical Bulletin 6. Tensile EN 12311-1 before ageing MD 330 N/50 mm, CD 270 N/50 mm; after ageing MD 280, CD 225. Elongation before ageing MD 56%, CD 68%. Reaction to Fire Class E to EN 13501-1 (EN 11925-2). Wind uplift complies with BS 5534; BBA Certificate 24/7147 for non ventilated warm and cold roofs, including roofs with solar PV, with no vapour control layer required. Can be left exposed up to three months of UV exposure.

  36. supplier figure RN-IAZEAE

    FAKRO GB Ltd

    FAKRO balcony roof window, where the upper sash opens upwards and the lower sash forward to form a balcony bay; both sashes use P2 safety glazing. P2 energy saving double glazed unit 4H-Tg15Ar-33.2T with toughened outer and laminated inner pane: whole-window U-value 1.5 W/m2K, centre-pane glazing U-value 1.1 W/m2K, 35 dB Rw. P5 energy saving triple unit 4HS-Tg10Kr-4HT-Tg8Kr-33.2T: whole-window U-value 0.97 W/m2K, glazing U-value 0.5 W/m2K, 35 dB Rw. The balcony window's double-glazed Uw of 1.5 is worse than the 1.3 of a standard pivot window, because of the extra frame.

  37. supplier figure RN-3MN5GR

    FAKRO GB Ltd

    FAKRO Preselect top hung and pivot roof window. P2 energy saving double glazed unit, 4H-16-4T with toughened outer pane: whole-window U-value 1.3 W/m2K, centre-pane glazing U-value 1.1 W/m2K, 32 dB acoustic insulation Rw. P5 energy saving triple glazed unit, 4HS-Tg10Kr-4HT-Tg8Kr-33.2T (krypton filled, 10mm and 8mm cavities, laminated inner pane): whole-window U-value 0.97 W/m2K, centre-pane glazing U-value 0.5 W/m2K, 35 dB Rw. The gap between the 0.5 glazing figure and the 0.97 window figure shows how much the frame and sash cost you. The sash rotates through 180 degrees for cleaning the outer pane, with stability at the full 35 degree opening.

  38. supplier figure RN-ECW9QA

    FAKRO GB Ltd

    FAKRO PTP and PTP-V PVC pivot roof windows, suitable for roof pitches 15-90 degrees. Whole-window Uw and centre-pane Ug are quoted separately, which matters because they are often confused. U5 glazing unit 4HT-10-4H-10-4HT with toughened outer pane: Uw 1.0 W/m2K, Ug 0.5 W/m2K, 34 dB Rw; Uw improves to 0.9 W/m2K when installed with the EHV-AT Thermo insulated flashing rather than a standard flashing. U4 glazing unit 4HT-12-4-12-4T: Uw 1.1 W/m2K, Ug 0.7 W/m2K, 34 dB Rw; Uw 1.0 W/m2K with the EHV-AT Thermo flashing. U3 glazing: Uw 1.3 W/m2K, Ug 1.0 W/m2K, 32 dB Rw. P2 safety variant 33 dB Rw. The flashing choice is therefore worth 0.1 W/m2K on the installed window.

  39. supplier figure RN-FBXCAS

    Glazing Vision Ltd

    Glazing Vision fixed roof window for pitched roofs: span 300mm to 3000mm. Tested to air permeability EN 12207 Class 4 at plus/minus 750 Pa, watertightness EN 12208 Class E750 at 750 Pa, and wind resistance EN 12210 Class E2400 at plus/minus 2400 Pa serviceability and plus/minus 3600 Pa safety.

  40. supplier figure RN-3R6F6U

    Glazing Vision Ltd

    Glazing Vision PitchGlaze conservation roof window: width 300mm to 3000mm. Tested performance: air permeability EN 12207 Class 4 at plus/minus 750 Pa; watertightness EN 12208 Class E750 at 750 Pa; wind resistance EN 12210 Class E2400, plus/minus 2400 Pa serviceability and plus/minus 3600 Pa safety. Note the higher test pressures than the flat Flushglaze rooflight, which is tested to Class 4 at 600 Pa and Class 9A at 600 Pa.