What a Building Control package includes
For a typical domestic project - an extension, loft conversion or significant alteration - the package includes:
- Building Regulations drawings: plans, sections and construction details
- Structural calculations for beams, foundations and altered elements
- Specification notes covering structure, fire safety, insulation, ventilation and drainage
- Drainage layout and details where below-ground drainage is affected
- Responses to Building Control plan-check queries through to approval
Planning permission is not Building Regulations
The two systems are separate, and conflating them is the most common confusion we untangle for clients. Planning permission is about whether you may build it - appearance, size, neighbours, land use. Building Regulations are about how it must be built - structure, fire, insulation, drainage, safety. Many projects that don't need planning permission (permitted development) still need full Building Regulations approval.
Our Building Control packages pick up where planning drawings stop: planning drawings show what the building looks like; Building Control drawings show how it stands up and complies.
Full plans or building notice?
For anything structural, a full plans application is almost always the better route: the design is checked and approved before work starts, so problems surface on paper instead of on site. A building notice puts the risk on you - the inspector can require changes to work already built. We'll advise honestly which suits your project, and prepare either.
Frequently asked questions
Can you deal with Building Control for me?
Yes. We submit the package, field the plan-check queries and revise details where required - through to approval. You (or your builder) deal with the site inspections as the build progresses.
Do you work with council and private Building Control?
Both. Local authority Building Control and registered building control approvers both accept our packages; if you don't have a preference we'll advise what suits the job. Paddick's long LABC relationship - including an LABC Partnership Award - reflects how much of this work we do.