building regs.

[lee17]

Hi ive just started doing little plumbing jobs and a customer has asked for her old bathroom to be redone. She wants her bath removed and replaced with a electric shower and enclosure and a new basin, toilet and new tiled floor and walls. Will i need to get building regs paper work for this.

 

[jtsplumbing]

If it's same room and not an extension then NO!

 

[lee17]

yes its all in the same room she is an elderly woman,she finds it difficult to get into the bath so she wants me to take bath out and fit a shower insted. thanks very much jts.

 

[hammers4spanner]

It will probably come under,
PART a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j,k,l,m,n,o,p,q,r,s,t,u,v,w,x,y,z,

I cant seem to get a spanner out my tool box at the mo without someine trurning up with shirt tie spouting some regs to someone,

e.g
i am doing a small job on three bed flat , dropped rads for painters , put in new bathroom , and sorted out a bit of messy pipework , couple other trades also doing bit n bobs and yet building control involved

work that out as nothing structural changing !

 

[dontknowitall]

New wc where there was none in the room before requires building inspection. (As does new drain outside if this is necessary.) Moving a wc to a different part of the room but using existing soil pipe is fine - just check for venting and falls in horizontal pipes.

New cabling and/or rcd for an electric shower requires a qualified electrician. Electric shower should be fed from mains with an isolating valve.

New ventilation if none installed. I tell customer about this one and tell them I have to let them know but if they choose to ignore it I'm not going to argue.

Otherwise, normal water regs stuff (e.g. hot supply pipe above cold, air gaps, no leaks, etc).

 

[tamz]

Consider a thermostatic electric shower if she is elderly.

 

[jtsplumbing]

Hi hammers, Building control just makeing sure that paint is going on right way up, why do they allways send someone who has no idea what is going on, what's the point in sending someone to look at plumbing / electric's when they can't tell one end of a screwdriver from another !!

 

[dontknowitall]

Hi hammers, Building control just makeing sure that paint is going on right way up ...

LOL!!!


Hope I'm not breaking the law when I put this on sideways or on the ceilings ...

 

[SimonG]

Trouble is most of the building control 'officers' I've come across wouldn't know turf was to go green side up.

To balance this argument tho', you do find one that is not only very knowledgable but is also good at applying that lost art of 'common sense'.

 

[Bernie2]

I suppose building control get involved with bathrooms with a bath only if you change the likes of a bedroom into a bathroom. Its because the joist span and spacings are usually different in a bathroom than a bedroom. So the floor is stronger in a bathroom than it is in a bedroom to support a bath full of water, bath and the person in it.

 

[hammers4spanner]

what about if you change bathroom to wetroom?

 

[Bernie2]

Should be okay, less weight in small area. But making a bathroom a wet room involves a lot of work tanking every where.

Making a bedroom a wet room depends on lots of things. If you use ceramic tiles for the floor or install a unit wet room you have to check the floor loading. Have a look at the Building regs Construction guidance it usually gives you joist space loadings.