Section drawingOnce planning permission has been granted (or it is not required), your designer will then prepare building regulation drawings and submit these for approval to the council. Be aware that there are two methods by which you may seek Building Regulations Approval - either through Full Plans or Building Notice. See our factsheet on Permissions Required for more information on this.

Once planning permission has been granted (or it is not required), your designer will then prepare building regulation drawings and submit these for approval to the council or to an approved inspector. Be aware that there are two methods by which you may seek Building Regulations Approval - either through Full Plans or Building Notice. See our factsheet on Permissions Required for more information on this.

Some companies/designers will submit the building regulations application whilst planning is being considered to speed up the process but you run the risk that if planning is refused you will have to redesign or scrap the building regulations drawings which would normally cost you an additional fee.

The drawings that are completed for building regulations approval are commonly known as the working drawings and these will contain all the information needed to ensure your proposal meets with the current regulations. They also need to be clear and have sufficient detail for your builder to be able to use to accurately build your extension.

Poor quality drawings will lead to problems and uncertainty when pricing the work and when building. A good set of working drawings should include the following:

• Adequate scale - whilst the council will accept various scales for the drawings, we would recommend that the plans and elevations are drawn at 1:50 scale and the sections at 1:20. This will ensure that the layouts and details are clear.
• Levels - the drawings should show ground levels correctly and any change in floor levels
• Dimensions - the drawings should be properly dimensioned so that the builder knows not just the overall size but also positions of doors and windows, internal walls, heights. It is poor practice to have to scale from the plans.
• Structural Works - the drawings should include any structural beam sizes or information supplied by the structural engineer.
• Drain inverts - the depth and route of existing and proposed drains should be clearly shown.
  

Other Approvals

You may need to obtain other approvals for your proposal (see Permissions Required section) and your designer will usually help you deal with these. You may need to involve your solicitor to check if there are any restrictive covenants and a party wall surveyor if your neighbour requires one.

Specification for Works

Once the working drawings are complete, we would also recommend that a written specification is also prepared for your project as this will minimize misunderstanding between you and your chosen builder.

There are many aspects of your project that will not be shown on your drawings (e.g. type of sanitaryware, ironmongery, wall tiles, etc) but these need to be defined so that a builder can properly quote for the works. The specification will also usually form part of your agreement with the builder when works commence.

Once you have received Building Regulations approval and any other approvals you may require, you can then commence building works with your chosen builder. The next section of our site provides details on the building process of a home extension.