Home Improvement & House Extension Blog

Energy efficiency is one of the most significant areas of building regulations development in recent years, and Part L – which covers the conservation of fuel and power – has been substantially updated to reflect the UK’s commitment to reducing carbon emissions from buildings. For homeowners planning a house extension, Part L has some very practical implications: it governs the insulation standards your extension must achieve, sets limits on how much glazing you can include, and in some cases requires…

Ventilation is one of those aspects of building design that is easy to overlook – it is not as visible as the structure or as dramatic as a glazed roof, but it matters enormously to the health and comfort of the people who will live in the space. Part F of the Building Regulations sets out the minimum ventilation requirements for dwellings, and the detail it contains is considerably more extensive than many homeowners expect. If you are planning a…

Sound insulation is not the first thing most homeowners think about when planning a house extension – but it is something that building regulations address directly, and in certain circumstances it can have a real impact on how your extension needs to be designed and built. Part E of the Building Regulations covers resistance to the passage of sound, and while it is most closely associated with new-build properties and flats, it also applies to some house extension scenarios that…