RenovationNotes

References

Heating, Plumbing & Electrics

255 sources in the library on heating, plumbing & electrics. 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 7.

  1. very strong RN-CAXAN2

    Health and Safety Executive

    The HSE's own temperature rules for domestic hot and cold water, and the reason a cylinder thermostat should not simply be turned down to save money. Cold water systems should be maintained where possible at a temperature below 20 degrees C. Hot water should be stored at least at 60 degrees C and distributed so that it reaches 50 degrees C, or 55 degrees C in healthcare premises, within one minute at the outlets. Against that, there is a scalding risk where water comes out of taps above 44 degrees C. For most people the scalding risk is minimal where water is delivered up to 50 degrees C at hand-wash basins and a hot water warning notice may be sufficient, but where vulnerable people can access baths or showers and the scalding risk is significant, a Type 3 thermostatic mixing valve must be fitted to prevent water discharging above 44 degrees C. The page sets out the system types it applies to, including gravity fed hot and cold storage, hot water storage only, and cold storage only with mains pressure hot water. Last updated 28 October 2024.

  2. very strong RN-XZVPDF

    Historic Environment Scotland

    The most useful of the HES INFORM guides for a retrofit note, because it addresses the failure mode that insulation guides skip. Published 31 August 2020 by Historic Environment Scotland, INFORM Guide, 2.82 MB PDF, audiences Planners and Owners and Conservation and Heritage enthusiasts. Scope stated on the page: the causes and risks of condensation in traditional buildings, how to identify the source of condensation and how to reduce it, with a PARTICULAR FOCUS ON THE RISK OF INCREASED CONDENSATION AFTER THERMAL IMPROVEMENTS. That last point is the citable one: a public body stating that insulating a traditional building can increase condensation risk, which contradicts the common claim that insulation simply cures damp.

  3. very strong RN-Z55Y2I

    Historic Environment Scotland

    Free HES guidance on how a traditional house was designed to breathe, useful whenever a note explains why blocking air bricks or sealing a chimney causes damp. Published 1 October 2008 by Historic Scotland (now HES), INFORM Guide, 653 KB PDF, audiences Planners and Owners and Conservation and Heritage enthusiasts. Scope stated on the page: the importance of ventilation in a traditionally built structure, then the various ways ventilation is provided, specifically SUB-FLOOR VENTILATION and CHIMNEYS, and issues surrounding masonry walls and plastered surfaces. Cite it alongside Approved Document F when a note covers suspended timber floors, chimney capping or draught-proofing an older house.

  4. very strong RN-40IW04

    Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

    Covers requirements RA1 and RA2 of Schedule 1 to the Building Regulations 2010, which apply to the erection of a dwelling or of a building containing one or more dwellings. RA1 requires gigabit-ready physical infrastructure running from a network termination point in each dwelling to a distribution point (or as close as reasonably practicable, or to an access point, where the developer has no right to install in the intervening land), plus a common access point where the building contains more than one dwelling. RA2 requires an actual connection to a gigabit-capable public electronic communications network, subject to a cost cap set at paragraph 2.21 of GBP 2,000 for each new dwelling erected, after deducting any financial contribution from the network operator. Paragraph 1.6 exempts wholly non-residential buildings, existing buildings undergoing major renovation works, new dwellings created through a material change of use, rooms for residential purposes in hostels, hotels, boarding houses, schools and hospitals, Ministry of Defence and national security buildings, Schedule 2 exempt buildings, and buildings in isolated areas where a USO-standard connection would exceed the cost cap. Section 3 and Appendix B set out the connectivity plan, the model form a developer submits with the Building Regulations application.

  5. very strong RN-DSFI2B

    Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

    This is the part of the Building Regulations that catches a whole-house renovation and is almost never mentioned in renovation guides. Requirement R1 of Schedule 1 applies to the erection of buildings AND to major renovation works to buildings, including existing dwellings, except where requirement RA1 (new dwellings) applies. Regulation 44C of the Building Regulations 2010 defines major renovation works as works at the end-user location encompassing structural modifications of the entire in-building physical infrastructure, or of a significant part of it. The duty is to provide in-building physical infrastructure from the service provider access point to the occupier network termination point capable of hosting copper, fibre or wireless delivering broadband speeds greater than 30 Mbps (paragraph 1.2); no cabling, equipment or anything beyond the network termination point is required (paragraph 1.4), and a multi-dwelling building undergoing major renovation must also have a common access point. Paragraph 1.5 exempts Schedule 2 Classes 2 to 7 work (sheds, domestic greenhouses, garages, conservatories and other small detached buildings with no sleeping accommodation), scheduled monuments under section 1 of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979, listed buildings and buildings in conservation areas under sections 1 and 69 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 where compliance would unacceptably alter character or appearance, and major renovation works where the cost of compliance would be disproportionate to the benefit, which must be demonstrated to the building control body.

  6. very strong RN-ZULMET

    Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

    The rules for home EV charge points, made under regulations 44D to 44J. Paragraph 6.2 requires each charge point to be designed and installed as described in BS EN 61851, to have a minimum nominal rated output of 7kW, to be fitted with a universal untethered socket (a tethered point being acceptable only in exceptional circumstances such as a self build where the vehicle is already known), to carry a lights or visual display charging status indicator, and to be at least a Mode 3 specialised system running from a dedicated circuit as defined in BS EN IEC 61851-1, meeting BS 7671 and the IET Code of Practice: Electric Vehicle Charging Equipment Installation. Regulation 44J itself requires a reasonable power output per parking space, a dedicated circuit, and compatibility with all vehicles that may need access. Paragraph 1.1 requires a new dwelling with associated parking to have a charge point for every associated parking space or every dwelling the car park serves. The document notes that Part P applies to the electrical work in a dwelling.

  7. very strong RN-3MHLSF

    Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

    The 8 page document that sets out what a competent person scheme operator must satisfy, and it is what connects UKAS accreditation to the schemes a homeowner meets. Records that schemes are authorised under paragraph 4A of Schedule 1 to the Building Act 1984 and named in Schedule 3 to the Building Regulations 2010 as amended, and that in all cases demonstration must be sufficient to meet BS EN ISO/IEC 17065:2012, the product certification body standard. Condition 1 requires the scheme operator to achieve and maintain UKAS accreditation to BS EN ISO/IEC 17065:2012, within one year of authorisation for an extension to an existing scheme or within two years for a new scheme operator, with a UKAS pre-assessment submitted with the application. Condition 3 requires assessors and inspectors to be competent at least to the equivalent level in the relevant sector Minimum Technical Competence assessment procedure. Condition 4 requires a transparent fee structure, self-financing within not later than five years of authorisation, and use of registrants' registration and notification fees only for the benefit of registrants or the sector. Condition 5 requires documented management of conflicts of interest, noting the risk where a scheme is owned by a larger commercial, trade or professional body. In force for any UKAS assessment begun on or after 1 April 2016.

  8. very strong RN-WDQPUZ

    Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

    The only official series on how large the competent person schemes actually are, collected every 6 months from the schemes authorised in schedule 3 of the Building Regulations 2010 as amended, covering total registered membership at the end of each period and the number of jobs those members undertook. Published 12 December 2012 and last updated 6 June 2018, with the latest document a 24 page PDF covering 1 October 2006 to 31 March 2018, so the series has not been refreshed since 2018 and any current membership figure quoted from it is dated. Three caveats matter for anyone citing the numbers: registered membership is counted by business not by individual, so the number of competent individuals is higher than the membership figure; the statistics combine all types of work except electrical installations for each scheme operator to avoid double counting members and notifications, because many members do more than one type of work; and schemes have changed over the collection period, so past and current data are not always meaningfully comparable.

  9. very strong RN-NIATX2

    Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

    The 2015 edition of Approved Document Q, published 5 March 2015 and last updated 22 November 2024 when frequently asked questions were added. Requirement Q1 (unauthorised access) requires reasonable provision to resist unauthorised access to any new dwelling and to any part of a building from which access can be gained to a flat within it. It is the only Approved Document about security, it bites only on new dwellings (including dwellings formed by a material change of use), and it sets out that doors and windows must be both sufficiently robust and fitted with appropriate hardware, tested to a recognised security standard. Useful for establishing that Part Q does not apply to a straight window replacement in an existing house.

  10. very strong RN-XS4MR0

    Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and Office for Product Safety and Standards

    The official list that decides which British and European standards a construction product's declaration of performance must be assessed against, first published 18 December 2020 and last updated 26 September 2025, applying to England, Scotland and Wales. Explains that designated standards support Regulation (EU) No. 305/2011 as amended from time to time, and that together with the horizontal standards on assessment methods they create the common technical language UK approved bodies use when carrying out assessments. Published as a notice of publication dated 26 September 2025, a 51 page PDF, superseding the notice of 1 January 2021 of 53 pages, alongside a consolidated list in ODS format at version 2. This is the reference that turns the standard number cited in a declaration of performance into a check that the right standard was used. A companion page covers horizontal test specifications for construction products.

  11. very strong RN-FSY9SH

    Office for Product Safety and Standards

    The searchable national database a reader can use to check whether a specific building product, appliance or tool has been recalled or flagged, run by the Office for Product Safety and Standards. Holds 3,692 reports at the date checked, filterable by alert type (product safety alert, product safety report, product recall), risk level (serious, high, medium, low, not provided), product category, measure type and date. Relevant product categories for renovation work include Construction products, Gas appliances and components, Electrical appliances and equipment, Lighting equipment, Adaptors, plugs and sockets, Hand tools, Machinery, Lifts, Pressure equipment and vessels, Furniture and Personal protective equipment. Measure types range from warning consumers of the risks and marking the product with warnings, through modification programmes and withdrawal from the market, to recall from end users, destruction of the product, import rejected at border and removal of the listing by the online marketplace. Entries carry a reference number and date, for example Sophie Allport Doorstops and Draught Excluders (2608-0008) recalled 13 August 2026.

  12. very strong RN-KFPOVS

    Scottish Government

    Scotland's statutory guidance on landlord electrical duties, which differ in detail from England's. An Electrical Installation Condition Report must be completed before the property is let for the first time and then at intervals of no more than five years, alongside in-service inspection and testing of landlord-supplied electrical equipment, often called PAT testing, with tenant-owned appliances excluded. The work must be done by a skilled person who is a member of SELECT, NICEIC or NAPIT, or who satisfies a competence checklist including BS 7671 training within the last 5 years, appropriate insurance and trade qualifications. The Repairing Standard also requires one or more residual current devices with a rated residual operating current not exceeding 30 mA in the main or principal consumer unit, which makes an RCD a statutory fixture in a Scottish rented home rather than a recommendation. Tenants cannot be required to pay for or contribute towards the cost of an electrical safety inspection unless ordered to by the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland.

  13. very strong RN-PFL4Z7

    Scottish Government (gov.scot)

    SCOTLAND, and it replaces England's Part P competent person scheme, which does not apply in Scotland at all. Published 1 May 2012, third edition, 48 page PDF, 683.6 kB. The handbook governs Scotland's two certification routes under the Building (Scotland) Act 2003: approved certifiers of design, used for structural design and for energy, and approved certifiers of construction, used for electrical installations and for drainage, heating and plumbing. A certificate from an approved certifier is accepted by the verifier as conclusive evidence of compliance for that part of the work, reducing what the verifier checks, but it does not remove the need for a building warrant or for the relevant person to submit the completion certificate. Scheme providers are listed on the certification register at certificationregister.co.uk. Contact is buildingstandards@gov.scot or 0131 244 6511.

  14. 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.

  15. 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.

  16. very strong RN-JSFE0M

    Security Industry Authority / Home Office

    The Security Industry Authority's own statement of what its licence actually covers, which corrects a common assumption in security notes. A licence is needed where the work is part of a contract for services and involves a licensable activity. The licensable activities are manned guarding, which splits into cash and valuables in transit, close protection, door supervision, public space surveillance (CCTV) and security guarding; key holding, defined as security work that involves keeping, or controlling access to, any key or device for operating a lock; and vehicle immobilisation, in Northern Ireland only. In-house employees generally do not need a licence, with exceptions for door supervision and vehicle immobilisation. Alarm installers, domestic CCTV installers and locksmiths are not listed among licensable activities, so an SIA licence is not the credential to ask a domestic alarm or CCTV fitter for; the relevant assurance is UKAS accredited certification through NSI or SSAIB, per the NPCC requirements. A keyholding or alarm response company, by contrast, does need one.

  17. very strong RN-M920CI

    The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk)

    Article 4(1) of the retained Construction Products Regulation requires a manufacturer to draw up a declaration of performance when a product covered by a designated standard, or conforming to a UK Technical Assessment, is placed on the market. Article 4(2) makes the declaration the only permitted route for stating performance against essential characteristics, so a performance claim outside the declaration is not valid. Article 4(3) provides that by drawing up the declaration the manufacturer assumes responsibility for the product's conformity with the declared performance, and that in the absence of objective indications to the contrary the declaration is presumed accurate and reliable. The words designated standard and UK Technical Assessment were substituted for harmonised standard and European Technical Assessment on 31 December 2020 by the Construction Products (Amendment etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/465), Schedule 1 paragraph 6.

  18. very strong RN-B7FKWF

    The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk)

    Sets out exactly what a declaration of performance must contain, which is what to look for when checking a product claim. Article 6(2) requires the product-type reference, the system or systems of assessment and verification of constancy of performance from Annex V, the reference number and date of issue of the designated standard or UK Technical Assessment used for each essential characteristic, and any Specific Technical Documentation reference. Article 6(3) requires the intended use or uses, the list of essential characteristics, the performance of at least one essential characteristic, performance stated by level, class or description, and crucially that any listed essential characteristic for which no performance is declared must carry the letters NPD, meaning No Performance Determined. Article 6(4) requires the declaration to follow the model in Annex III.

  19. very strong RN-HSIYH3

    The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk)

    The instrument that rewrote Part R of Schedule 1 to add the gigabit duties, in force on 26 December 2022 and applying in England. Its Schedule Part 1 renames the heading to Part 9A as "Infrastructure for electronic communications", inserts new exemptions before regulation 44A, amends regulation 44C (the interpretation provision that defines major renovation works), amends regulation 55 (review of Part 9A and Part R), and substitutes Part R of Schedule 1 so that the old single requirement R1 is joined by requirements RA1 (gigabit-ready physical infrastructure) and RA2 (connection to a gigabit-capable network) for new dwellings. It also amends regulations 13 and 14 of the Building Regulations 2010, on the particulars accompanying a building notice and full plans, so the connectivity plan must be submitted, and amends Schedule 1 to the Building (Approved Inspectors etc.) Regulations 2010 to match. A correction slip was issued on 22 November 2022. This is the source that dates the split between Approved Document R Volume 1 (new dwellings) and Volume 2 (other buildings and major renovation works).

  20. very strong RN-6OFYWG

    The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk)

    The instrument that first put broadband infrastructure into the Building Regulations, creating Part R of Schedule 1 and Part 9A of the Building Regulations 2010, which is why a whole-house renovation can carry a connectivity duty at all. Regulation 1 brings it into force on 6 April 2016, except regulation 2(19)(b) which came into force on 1 May 2016. It extends to England and Wales but does not apply to any building in Wales other than an excepted energy building as defined in the Schedule to the Welsh Ministers (Transfer of Functions) (No.2) Order 2009. Regulation 2 amends the Building Regulations 2010 and regulation 3 amends the Building (Approved Inspectors etc.) Regulations 2010. Cite this alongside SI 2022/984, which later substituted Part R to add the gigabit requirements RA1 and RA2 for new dwellings.

  21. 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.

  22. very strong RN-BWO1CR

    The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk)

    The instrument that made the 2021 changes real, so a note can date them exactly. Regulation 1 sets citation and commencement on 15 June 2022, extending to England and Wales but applying to buildings and building work in England. Regulation 11 amends Schedule 1: it adds "to a reasonable standard" to entry L1(b)(i), inserts new requirement L2 on on-site generation of electricity (systems must be appropriately sized, have effective controls and be commissioned to produce the maximum electricity reasonable in the circumstances), and inserts a whole new PART O OVERHEATING with requirement O1, reproduced in full and carrying NO limits on application. Regulation 4 inserts regulation 4(4) and 4(5), a rule renovation guides almost never mention: where Part L imposes a requirement on the work, then on completion the whole building must comply with Part F or be no more unsatisfactory in relation to Part F than before the work began, so a Part L job such as new glazing or wall insulation drags a whole-house ventilation duty with it. Regulation 8 inserts regulations 40A and 40B, requiring the person carrying out the work to give the owner information about an on-site electricity generation system, and about the Part O overheating provision, no later than five days after completion. Regulation 17 is the transitional provision: the amendments do not apply where a building notice or initial notice was given, or full plans deposited, before 15 June 2022, provided the work started before 15 June 2023.

  23. very strong RN-1BKWNB

    UK Government (legislation.gov.uk)

    Regulations 23 to 29 of the ESQCR, the deep link that carries the actual supply figures. Regulation 27(2) declares a low voltage supply of 230 volts between phase and neutral at the supply terminals and a declared frequency of 50 hertz. Regulation 27(3) sets the permitted tolerances: for low voltage, 10 per cent above and 6 per cent below the declared voltage (so 216.2 V to 253 V), 6 per cent either way for high voltage below 132,000 V, 10 per cent at 132,000 V and above, and frequency variation not exceeding 1 per cent above or below 50 Hz. Regulation 24(4) requires a distributor providing a new low voltage connection to make available the supply neutral conductor, or the protective conductor of its network, for connection to the protective conductor of the consumer's installation, which is the legal basis for a PME earthing terminal at the cut-out.

  24. very strong RN-S4JRE2

    UK Government (legislation.gov.uk)

    The regulation behind the annual landlord gas safety record. It requires each gas appliance and flue in relevant premises to be checked for safety at intervals of not more than 12 months since it was last checked. A copy of the record must be given to an existing tenant within 28 days of the date of the check, and to a new tenant before occupation. Records must be kept until two further checks of that appliance or flue have been carried out, or, where an appliance is removed, for 2 years from the date of the last check. The check may only be carried out by a member of a class of persons approved for the time being by the Health and Safety Executive, which is the legal route to Gas Safe registration. Cite alongside the electrical EICR duty to show the different intervals: gas annually, electrical at least every 5 years.

  25. very strong RN-O823V7

    UK Government (legislation.gov.uk)

    The operative regulation, as amended by the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Amendment) Regulations 2022 (SI 2022/707) which came into force on 1 October 2022. It requires a smoke alarm on each storey of the premises on which there is a room used wholly or partly as living accommodation, and a carbon monoxide alarm in any room used wholly or partly as living accommodation that contains a fixed combustion appliance other than a gas cooker. The landlord must ensure the alarms are checked and found in working order on the day a new tenancy begins, and from 1 October 2022 must repair or replace an alarm once a tenant reports it faulty. The 2022 amendment also extended the regime to social housing and broadened the CO duty from solid fuel only to any fixed combustion appliance other than a gas cooker.

  26. very strong RN-TIH12I

    UK Government (legislation.gov.uk)

    SI 2021 No. 1095, the instrument that ended the sale of most halogen lamps in Great Britain and rescaled the light bulb energy label. It sets ecodesign requirements for light sources and separate control gears and energy labelling requirements for light sources. The substantive performance and functional requirements are in Schedule 3, with endurance testing for LED and OLED in Schedule 5 and exemptions in Schedules 4 and 6. Labelling formats for the product, its packaging and websites, plus the product information sheet and the disclosure required for distance selling, are in Schedules 7 to 11. Regulation 17 gives special treatment to light sources placed on the market before 1 October 2021, and regulation 23 carries the transitional provisions. This is the legal basis for saying that a halogen GU10 or a mains halogen downlight can no longer be sold new, and for the A to G energy label that replaced A+, A++ and A+++ on bulbs.

  27. very strong RN-0WXRA0

    UK Government (legislation.gov.uk)

    SI 1989 No. 635, the regulations that sit behind the phrase 'competent person' in electrical work and behind an electrician's duty of care on site. Regulation 4 covers systems, work activities and protective equipment; regulation 5 the strength and capability of electrical equipment; regulation 6 adverse or hazardous environments; regulation 7 insulation, protection and placing of conductors; regulation 8 earthing or other suitable precautions; regulation 9 integrity of referenced conductors; regulation 10 connections; regulation 11 means for protecting from excess current; regulation 12 means for cutting off the supply and for isolation; regulation 13 precautions for work on equipment made dead; regulation 14 work on or near live conductors; regulation 15 working space, access and lighting; and regulation 16 persons to be competent to prevent danger and injury. Part III adds mines provisions and Part IV miscellaneous. These are the duties BS 7671 is written to help discharge, and they apply to work activities rather than to a homeowner in their own home.

  28. very strong RN-WY9Z15

    UK Government (legislation.gov.uk)

    SI 2002 No. 2665, the regulations that govern the distributor's network up to the consumer's cut-out, as distinct from BS 7671 which governs the installation beyond it. Eight parts: Part I introductory (regs 1 to 5, including reg 3 general adequacy of electrical equipment and reg 5 inspection of networks), Part II protection and earthing (reg 6 electrical protection, reg 7 continuity of the supply neutral conductor and earthing connections, reg 8 general requirements for connection with earth, reg 9 protective multiple earthing, reg 10 earthing of metalwork), Part III substations, Parts IV and V underground cables and overhead lines, Part VI generation including parallel operation, Part VII supplies to installations (regs 23 to 29) and Part VIII miscellaneous including offences. This is the instrument to cite for why a distributor, not an electrician, owns the incoming supply, the earthing arrangement (TN-C-S/PME) and the main fuse.

  29. very strong RN-NE06NQ

    UK Government (legislation.gov.uk)

    SI 2015 No. 1693, the England alarm regulations for rented homes, shown here in the latest revised version with no known outstanding effects. Regulation 4 sets the duties of a relevant landlord in relation to prescribed alarms, regulation 5 deals with remedial notices and regulation 6 with penalty charges, and the Schedule lists excluded tenancies (long leases, student halls, hostels, care homes, hospitals, refuges and owner-occupier arrangements). Cite this for the statutory instrument behind the smoke and carbon monoxide alarm duty and for which tenancies fall outside it.

  30. very strong RN-4GP4LZ

    UK Government (legislation.gov.uk)

    The five fluid categories that decide what backflow protection a fitting needs. Category 1 is wholesome water supplied by a water undertaker meeting Water Industry Act 1991 requirements, no health hazard. Category 2 is water of impaired aesthetic quality through a change in temperature or a substance affecting taste, odour or appearance, for example water in a hot water distribution system. Category 3 is a slight health hazard from low toxicity substances, naming ethylene glycol, copper sulphate solution and sodium hypochlorite (common disinfectants). Category 4 is a significant health hazard from toxic substances including chemical, carcinogenic substances or pesticides, or environmental organisms of potential health significance. Category 5 is a serious health hazard from pathogenic organisms or highly toxic substances, naming faecal material or other human waste, butchery or other animal waste, and pathogens from any other source. This is the table to cite for why an outside tap, a bidet or a garden irrigation feed needs a double check valve or an air gap.

  31. very strong RN-S59WD1

    Welsh Government

    The Welsh Government circular announcing the 2026 editions. Approved Document L (Conservation of fuel and power and the minimisation of greenhouse gas emissions) Volumes 1 and 2 and Approved Document F (Ventilation) Volume 1 were published on 7 April 2026 and come into force on 4 March 2027. The transitional arrangements are precise and matter to anyone starting work near that date: the new documents do not apply to building work commenced before 4 March 2027 in accordance with any relevant notification provision, nor where notification was given before that date and the work commences before the period ending on 3 March 2028. The circular is informational and states expressly that it does not give advice on the technical requirements, which are in the Approved Documents themselves.

  32. very strong RN-UQJZBJ

    Welsh Government (gov.wales)

    WALES. Published 3 April 2017 and not updated since, a 3 MB PDF to be read with the September 2013 amendment slip. This is the Welsh Part P, and it is not the same document as England's 2013 edition. Wales did not follow England in narrowing the definition of a special location, so the scope of notifiable domestic electrical work is wider in Wales. Cite this rather than the England Approved Document P for any Welsh rewire, kitchen or bathroom job.

  33. very strong RN-MQY230

    Welsh Government (gov.wales)

    WALES, and this is a hard contradiction with England. The Welsh Approved Document P states that notifiable jobs include new circuits back to the consumer unit AND extensions to circuits in KITCHENS and special locations such as bathrooms, and that consumer unit replacements are notifiable. England's Approved Document P 2013 edition defines a special location at regulation 12(9) as only the zone around a bath tap or shower head, extending 2.25 metres vertically and 0.6 metres horizontally from a bath tub or shower tray, or 1.2 metres from a shower head where there is none, plus a room containing a swimming pool or sauna heater, so a kitchen is NOT a special location in England and extending a kitchen circuit there is not notifiable. In Wales it is. The Welsh document also confirms replacement, repair and maintenance work is generally not notifiable even in a kitchen or special location, that in large bathrooms the special location is bounded by the walls of the bathroom, and that conservatories, attached garages, detached garages and sheds are not special locations, so work there is notifiable only if it involves a new circuit.

  34. strong RN-04DH6J

    BBA (British Board of Agrement)

    The certification body whose Agrement Certificate is what a note usually means when it says a system is approved, and the page that lists which schemes it actually runs. The BBA's certification team issues certificates for the BBA Agrement, HAPAS (Highways Authority Product Approval Services), European Technical Assessment (ETA), and the Microgeneration Certification Scheme. Alongside product certification it runs certification of people, including the BBA Approved Installer Scheme, the BBA Competent Person Scheme, the BBA Gas Membrane Approved Installer Scheme, TrustMark registration and the BBA PAS 2030 Scheme, plus a Client Managed Inspection Service. Its testing services are also available standalone and include durability, mechanical, physical and structural, weather resistance and wind serviceability, conformance and fit-for-purpose, thermal performance, and onsite testing and trials. An Agrement Certificate is the route by which a product without a harmonised European product standard, such as a tanking membrane, a multifoil or a proprietary EWI system, gets an independently assessed statement of fitness for a stated use.

  35. strong RN-BS80E9

    BSI

    The current edition of the UK wiring standard, BS 7671:2018+A4:2026, published 15 April 2026 and listed as current. It is the national standard for the design, erection and verification of electrical installations, referenced directly by Approved Document P, and it covers installations at voltages up to 1000V AC and 1500V DC across domestic, commercial and specialised environments including swimming pools, highway equipment and solar photovoltaic systems. The previous version, BS 7671:2018+A2:2022+A3:2024, is withdrawn on 15 October 2026 but stays valid for six months after Amendment 4's release. Cite this when a note has to say which edition an electrician should be working to, rather than referring vaguely to the 18th Edition.

  36. strong RN-2N8PYB

    BSI (British Standards Institution)

    STATUS: WITHDRAWN on 29 October 2025, a very recent change. BS 5266-1:2016 was published 31 May 2016 and gave the code of practice for the design, installation and wiring of electrical emergency lighting, covering three purposes: assisting occupants to leave a building in an emergency, protecting those who remain inside, and allowing operations to continue if normal lighting fails, including recommendations for areas with fixed seating. Its scope covers common access routes in blocks of flats but EXCLUDES single family dwellings, a distinction a note should keep when it tells a homeowner that emergency lighting is required. Because it was withdrawn in October 2025, any note citing BS 5266-1:2016 needs checking against the current edition. Catalogue page confirms number, title, publication date, withdrawal date and scope but does not name the replacement.

  37. strong RN-70QYJ4

    BSI (British Standards Institution)

    STATUS: CURRENT. BS 5440-1:2023 was published 12 December 2023 and supersedes BS 5440-1:2008 and BS 5440-1:2000; a note citing an undated BS 5440 or the 2000 edition should be updated. It specifies requirements for installing gas appliances to chimneys, the chimney work a gas engineer undertakes under UK conditions, and the maintenance of chimneys. It applies to open flued chimneys for Type B appliances and room sealed chimneys for Type C appliances of rated input not exceeding 70 kW net burning 1st, 2nd or 3rd family gases, natural or fanned draught, whether the chimney is supplied with the appliance or separately, and it complements BS EN 15287-1 and BS EN 15287-2 with UK specific requirements. It excludes gas fired incinerators, leisure accommodation vehicles and hydrogen only appliances. Part 2 (BS 5440-2:2023) covers ventilation provision. Catalogue page confirms number, title, date, status and scope; requirements are paywalled.

  38. strong RN-AMDJGS

    BSI (British Standards Institution)

    STATUS: CURRENT. BS 6172:2010+A1:2017 was published 31 July 2017 and supersedes BS 6172:2010, which superseded BS 6172:2004 and BS 6172:1990. It specifies requirements for the safe installation, servicing and maintenance of domestic gas cooking appliances, with installation defined to include design, inspection and commissioning, and it applies to new, previously used and second hand appliances in dwellings, leisure accommodation vehicles, residential park homes and permanently moored boats, but not towed or motorised caravans. The A1:2017 amendment reflects European changes allowing gas cooker hoses and sockets to BS EN 14800 and gas hose connection valves to BS EN 15069. This is the standard behind a kitchen note's statement that a gas hob or cooker must be connected by a Gas Safe registered engineer, and it works with BS 5440-2 for ventilation. Catalogue page confirms number, title, date, status, supersession and scope.

  39. strong RN-XYYYMW

    BSI (British Standards Institution)

    STATUS: WITHDRAWN on 1 March 2005. BS 8301:1985 was published 30 April 1985 and was the code of practice for building drainage, covering sewers, drain pipes, manholes, pipe laying, foul and surface water drainage, hydraulic testing and maintenance. It was superseded by the BS EN 752 series, Drain and sewer systems outside buildings, with BS EN 12056 covering gravity drainage inside buildings and BS 8000-14 the workmanship for below ground drainage; Approved Document H is the regulatory route in England. A note citing BS 8301 for gradients, manhole spacing or soakaway design is quoting a standard withdrawn over twenty years ago. Catalogue page confirms number, title, publication date, withdrawal date and scope but does not name the replacement.

  40. strong RN-60JOUR

    BSI (British Standards Institution)

    STATUS: WITHDRAWN on 21 November 2025, superseded by BS 8524-1:2025. BS 8524-1:2013 was published 30 April 2013 and itself replaced PAS 121, which was withdrawn 31 July 2013. It specified requirements for the design, testing and classification of active fire curtain barrier assemblies installed to the recommendations of BS 8524-2, covering reliability and durability, fire resistance, smoke containment and impact resistance of the assemblies, their control devices and ancillary equipment, for curtains of any material. Its two stated functions are maintaining compartmentation against fire and smoke spread, and giving access to escape routes while preserving fire resistance and limiting smoke into protected corridors and shafts. Any note quoting BS 8524-1:2013 or BS 8524-2:2013 is now naming a withdrawn edition and should be updated to the 2025 parts. Catalogue page confirms number, title, publication and withdrawal dates and scope; the requirements are paywalled.