Estimating building projects under the 2022 Building Regulations
The UK’s Building Regulations were updated on 15th June 2022, introducing a number of changes which affect small to medium sized builders in Britain. The raft of changes were introduced by the government with the goal of reducing the construction industry’s impact on carbon emissions.
Your brief guide
If a construction project had building regulations approval before 15th June 2022, it is not subject to the new building standards. Despite this grace period, approval will lapse if the work doesn’t start by 15th June 2023.
All building projects which received planning approval after this date are subject to the latest building regulations.
The latest regulations include updates to Documents F and L of the Building Regulations.
Two new documents have been added: Documents O and S.
The latest regulations apply to extensions, refurbishments and new builds, both domestic and non-domestic.
In this article, we give an overview of the key changes. See the government’s document for the full details. You can find each of the Documents linked at the bottom of each section below.
Updated Document F: Ventilation
While improved insulation has minimised heat loss from our homes over recent years, it has led to issues with air circulation. The update to Document F addresses the issue of ventilation. In short, any renovation you undertake to an existing building must not make the building less compliant with the ventilation requirements set out in the building regulations.
You can increase airflow through natural and/or mechanical ventilation. Document F sets requires that all new and replacement windows have trickle vents to improve ventilation and prevent condensation and mould. Extractor fans can also be used to meet the ventilation requirements. See the different methods of achieving compliance in the government’s document here.
Updated Document L: Conservation of Fuel & Power
Builders must now meet higher efficiency standards when building extensions to existing properties. The superior fabric efficiency standards for extensions mean that elements such as walls, doors, windows and roof windows must have a higher U-value.
Where new homes are concerned, windows and doors must provide a superior thermal performance than previously required. In addition, there’s a focus on the installation of solar PV panels and waste water heat recover systems. Find the full detail in the government’s document here.
New Document O: Overheating
The aim of Document O is to tackle overheating in new buildings. Measures include limiting the amount of glazing on south and west facing walls and increasing cross-ventilation. As you’d expect, there’s a lot of maths involved - see the full detail here.
New – Document S: Electric Vehicle Charging
The second new document, Document S, applies to new properties. Document S requires that builders install an electric vehicle charging point for every parking space connected with a new residential building. The exact requirement depends on the number of homes and car parking spaces. Find the details here.
Estimating under the 2022 Building Regulations
Building firm owners need to consider whether their current method of estimating keeps them in line with the latest regulations. For instance, are they using the correct specification of insulation in wall cavities and roofs? Are they accounting for windows and doors with a higher U-value? The required upgrade to materials will inevitably result in higher building costs.
Those estimating with a spreadsheet will need to work through their estimates, line by line, checking the materials meet the new standards and updating their prices accordingly. Builders who outsource their estimating to an estimating service, such as Build Aviator, or use an estimating app, such as Price a Job, would be well-advised to check their provider is estimating in line with the 2022 Building Regulations. Surprisingly, some estimating services can be slow to react to changes in legislation. If they’re not specifying products with a higher specification, they’ll be underquoting, which means you will find yourself out of pocket when you come to order the materials.
Your best bet is to use an estimating software provider which stays on top of legislative changes for you. This means they do the research and head-scratching - and your estimates will be accurate. HBXL Building Software is one such software firm. Their estimating solutions, EstimatorXpress and Take-off & Estimate Kit, have already been updated to reflect the 2022 Building Regulations. For example, their building engineer has ensured the default specified materials meet the required standards. Wall cavities for extensions have been extended to 140mm, to allow for superior insulation. Estimating calculators for EV charging points, air source heat pumps and waste water recovery systems have been added to the programme. Users of HBXL’s software can relax in the knowledge that all the compliance-thinking has been done for them!
If you’d like to download a free trial of HBXL’s software, click the links below: