Is Building Regulations Approval Needed For An Extension?

The vast majority of us are currently spending more time in our homes than we would normally and it may have made you realise that you could really do with an extension. 

When everyone’s in the house at the same time for a prolonged period, you need as much space as possible, but that space might not be there.

Once this all settles down, you could, of course, move to a bigger property to solve the problem, but relocating is tiring and expensive, with extending being so much easier and far less stressful.

ERG specialises in designing and installation several types of home extension, including kitchen extensions and garage conversions. 

However, we’d never start any extension project until we were certain if building regulations approval was needed or not. 

From experience, you will often require a building warrant from your local authority building standards verifier and planning permission. 

When we sit down to design an extension for a customer, we develop a concept that won’t disrupt home and garden accessibility and will receive plenty of natural light to increase the chances of building regulations approval being granted. 

In accordance with the requirements of LABSS (Local Authority Building Standards Scotland), our extensions also always incorporate the following necessities: 

• Foundations – ground conditions, depth, damp proofing and radon protection
• Floors and walls – structure and strengthening, insulation and soundproofing
• Roofs – flat or pitched, insulation, supports and beams, headroom
• Drainage – connections to existing drains, manholes and water supply Electrics, power and heating Windows, doors and ventilation and disabled accessibility
• Fire safety – escape routes and smoke detectors. In addition, if an extension is planned to be two or more storeys, the plans will also need to cover:
• Stairs, handrails and banisters
• Sound proofing – particularly in any sleeping accommodation
• Fire escape from upper floors.

If you’d like to extend with a conservatory that’s smaller than 30㎡ or constructed from non-combustible material, or separate from nearby buildings or land and not for the purpose of sleeping accommodation, building regulations approval may not be necessary. 

There is a homeowners section on the LABSS website that offers you lots of information on extending. ERG also remains available to provide the advice you need.