Garage convertion /septic tank building regs

[Gill]

I'm hoping to convert out stand alone garage to an office /granny flat with shower & toilet. 

 

We have an existing septic tank that is 1 meter away from the garage. I know it doesn't meet current regulations (5 meter rule) but it was installed 20 years back. 

 

Would latest regulation be applied if we need waste discharge from the garage? Or could it be applied regardless? Moving would be problematic as the soakaway isn't on our plot. 

 

 

[nod]

A septic tank doesn’t meet current building regs period 

If you can do it without bc being involved Id just do it 

 

We installed a treatment plant in our first build five years ago and a new septic tank for our neighbor who we bought the plot off 

They have been told that in order to sell there house they have to replace the septic tank and asked why didn’t I tell them I like many had no idea that legislation would change

[ProDave]

1 hour ago, nod said:

We installed a treatment plant in our first build five years ago and a new septic tank for our neighbor who we bought the plot off 

They have been told that in order to sell there house they have to replace the septic tank and asked why didn’t I tell them I like many had no idea that legislation would change

Not in Scotland you don't you just have to register it, (see my thread on the subject)

 

BC have discretion to bend the rules, e.g a near neighbour could not possibly make the 10 metres from the burn distance for a treatment plant so they allowed him to install one much closer. 

[nod]

BC control didn’t have any involvement in replacing the septic tank 

My understanding was we where allowed to replace like for like Which isn’t the case now 

 

[saveasteading]

The reason for the 5m rule is to avoid undermining the foundations. I think it is a hangover from the days of porous tanks.

 

Ways can be found around this.

If the garage is OK then it will still be OK when it becomes an  office.

[Gill]

15 hours ago, nod said:

They have been told that in order to sell there house they have to replace the septic tank and asked why didn’t I tell them I like many had no idea that legislation would change

 

We bought our house with the septic tank as is so not meeting current legislation. The only thing our solicitor said we should get was confirmation of registration with Sepa. As @ProDavethread points out - that is (in Scotland) a tick box exercise.

 

Thanks for the replies folk. I believe we need building warrant for change of purpose but whether BC need to be involved is one I'll need to find out. No change to height, location etc so hopefully that helps. 

[saveasteading]

2 hours ago, Gill said:

No change to height, location etc so hopefully that helps

A garage is designed very differently to any occupied, heated building. 

It is likely to need strengthening, insulation and an improved door. All building regulations issues.

Perfectly doable, but a thorough job is required.

[Gill]

1 hour ago, saveasteading said:

A garage is designed very differently to any occupied, heated building. 

It is likely to need strengthening, insulation and an improved door. All building regulations issues.

Perfectly doable, but a thorough job is required.

I've got an architect drawing up the plans and hopefully the builder will be out to see next week. When I mentioned the septic tank it was him thar noted it could cause problems so he's mindful of regs. Hopefully I'll know more about what can and can't be done in the coming weeks. 

[saveasteading]

10 minutes ago, Gill said:

septic tank it

2 issues  I can think of.

If the tank is not sealed, where does the effluent go, and does it undermine the garage?

Do the foundation loads from the building pass through the tank?

[Gill]

1 hour ago, saveasteading said:

2 issues  I can think of.

If the tank is not sealed, where does the effluent go, and does it undermine the garage?

Do the foundation loads from the building pass through the tank?

 

Thanks. The tank is sealed with the effluent piped to a drainage field in the field behind. 

Foundation loads I don't think pass through the tank. The nearest point of the tank is at least one meter from the garage side wall after the ground starts to slope a little downwards. One that I'll need to get the builder to verify though. 

[saveasteading]

In very approximate terms, loads spread at 45° from the lowest point of the footings.

So from a 1m deep foundation it spreads out another m by the time it is 1m away from the wall. 

If your tank is 2m deep or less, then the load flies under it. If over 2m deep then they clash.

This is theory and the bco would be entitled to proof that all was OK, which it probably is, because the pressure has spread so far as not to matter.

[nod]

10 hours ago, Gill said:

 

We bought our house with the septic tank as is so not meeting current legislation. The only thing our solicitor said we should get was confirmation of registration with Sepa. As @ProDavethread points out - that is (in Scotland) a tick box exercise.

 

Thanks for the replies folk. I believe we need building warrant for change of purpose but whether BC need to be involved is one I'll need to find out. No change to height, location etc so hopefully that helps. 

In our locality Lancs England 

The change to treatment plant is being unforced when a property is sold So the seller either gets it swapped over or makes an adjustment on price 

 

To be fair we replaced and relocated the neighbors tank as part of the land sale I’d no experience of tanks of any kind It only took a day I offered them the option of a TP if they would pay a thousand towards it 

I bet they wished they had now 

 

We nearly put a joint TP in 

But our Solicitors talks us out of 

We are going to sell this year so might have been a sticking point