THE BUILDING REGULATIONS 2000 E Use of guidance THE APPROVED DOCUMENTS
This document is one of a series that has been approved and issued by the Secretary of State for the purpose of providing practical guidance with respect to the requirements of Schedule 1 to, and regulation 7 of, the Building Regulations 2000 (SI 2000/2531) for England and Wales. SI 2000/2531 has been amended by the Building (Amendment) Regulations 2001 (SI 2001/3335), the Building (Amendment) Regulations 2002 (SI 2002/440) and the Building (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2002 (SI 2002/2871).
At the back of this document is a list of all the documents that have been approved and issued by the Secretary of State for this purpose.
Approved Documents are intended to provide guidance for some of the more common building situations. However, there may well be alternative ways of achieving compliance with the requirements. Thus there is no obligation to adopt any particular solution contained in an Approved Document if you prefer to meet the relevant requirement in some other way.
Other requirements
The guidance contained in an Approved Document relates only to the particular requirements of the Regulations which the document addresses. The building work will also have to comply with the requirements of any other relevant paragraphs in Schedule 1 to the Regulations. There are Approved Documents which give guidance on each of the Parts of Schedule 1 and on regulation 7.
LIMITATION ON REQUIREMENTS
In accordance with regulation 8, the requirements in Parts A to D, F to K and N (except for paragraphs H2 and J6) of Schedule 1 to the Building Regulations do not require anything to be done except for the purpose of securing reasonable standards of health and safety for persons in or about buildings (and any others who may be affected by buildings or matters connected with buildings). This is one of the categories of purpose for which building regulations may be made.
Paragraphs H2 and J6 are excluded from regulation 8 because they deal directly with prevention of the contamination of water. Parts E and M (which deal, respectively, with resistance to the passage of sound, and access and facilities for disabled people) are excluded from regulation 8 because they address the welfare and convenience of building users. Part L is excluded from regulation 8 because it addresses the conservation of fuel and power. All these matters are amongst the purposes, other than health and safety, that may be addressed by Building Regulations.
MATERIALS AND WORKMANSHIP
Any building work which is subject to the requirements imposed by Schedule 1 to the Building Regulations should, in accordance with regulation 7, be carried out with proper materials and in a workmanlike manner.
You may show that you have complied with regulation 7 in a number of ways. These include the appropriate use of a product bearing CE Marking in accordance with the Construction Products Directive (89/106/EEC)1 as amended by the CE Marking Directive (93/68/EEC)2, or a product complying with an appropriate technical specification (as defined in those Directives), a British Standard, or an alternative national technical specification of any state which is a contracting party to the European Economic Area which, in use, is equivalent, or a product covered by a national or European certificate issued by a European Technical Approval issuing body, and the conditions of use are in accordance with the terms of the certificate. You will find further guidance in the Approved Document supporting regulation 7 on materials and workmanship.
Independent certification schemes
There are many UK product certification schemes. Such schemes certify compliance with the requirements of a recognised document which is appropriate to the purpose for which the material is to be used. Materials which are not so certified may still conform to a relevant standard.
Many certification bodies which approve such schemes are accredited by UKAS.
Technical specifications
Under section 1(a) of the Building Act, Building Regulations may be made for various purposes including health, safety, welfare, convenience, conservation of fuel and power and prevention of contamination of water. Standards and technical approvals are relevant guidance to the extent that they relate to these considerations. However, they may also
Approved Document E Resistance to the passage of sound 3