Documents required for building control sign off

[Moonshine]

I am trying to get myself sorted with documentation for building control practical completion sign off. Unfortunately the BCO is on leave this week so can't confirm with them. Things I can think off

 

- electrical certificate (no gas)

- ASHP commissioning report

- Airtightness test report

 

What else do you think

[JohnMo]

They will have listed them all when your plans were approved.

 

UVC commissioning certificate

Structural sign off certificate, if you have balustrades or stairs, you may need all the design approvals for that.

If in Scotland (not sure about England), sustainability certificate,

As built EPC.

Home owner manual 

 

[Temp]

Drainage pressure test? Bco may want to witness the test.

 

HETAS for any wood burners. Unless BCO is happy to inspect himself.

 

Check internal glass partitions or glass on stairs etc has required marking. BCO may still refer to it as a kite mark but thats out of date. I forget which standard is has to say.

 

 

 

Edited October 23, 2023 by Temp

[ETC]

Anything that needs commissioning - fire alarm and detection systems, ventilation systems, boilers, stoves UVHWS and so on.

EPC.

As-Built SAP.

Pumped cavity wall insulation guarantee certificate if applicable.

ID card for UVHWS installer.

Air Test.

Pile log if applicable.

Timber frame and timber truss structural certificates if applicable.

Precast floor slab layout if applicable.

Steel lintel certificate if applicable.

Posi-Joist layout if applicable.

Intumescent paint certificate where applicable.

Edited October 23, 2023 by ETC

[patp]

We, too, are at this stage. We just had the air tightness test done and have a certificate for that. I sent it to our BCO and asked if we could now expect a completion certificate. Got a snotty email back saying that he needed - 

 

As built SAPS, EPC, Electrical Certificate, Heating Certificate, Unvented Cylinder Benchmark Certificate, Any Other certificate needed for commissioning! A snotty sign off saying not to send them in dribs and drabs as it makes his life complicated!

 

I had no idea that we needed all these  I don't know what most of them are  

 

Husband, a time served heating engineer who hasn't worked in the industry for many years, installed the air source heat pump and underfloor heating.

 

We fell out with the electricians over the c*ck up they made of connecting the solar panels. Oh Lordy Lordy

 

Who do we contact about SAPS? Would our architect do them?

 

Husband, he of the bowel cancer, heart failure and pneumonia diagnosis in the middle of the build, is of the opinion that we should just sit tight and ignore it all. Me, I am not so sure  For one thing we need a completion certificate in order to claim back the VAT!

 

 

 

 

[Redbeard]

Sorry to hear that! For SAP you need a (Full) SAP assessor. I think you need to know what they mean by 'heating certificate', because I am not sure I do. Elec cert should be OK if your spark is a member of a self-cert scheme. Unvented Cylinder Benchmark Certificate - not sure who you get this from but I doubt it should be difficult. 'Any Other certificate...' - MVHR?

 

Best of luck.

 

 

[JohnMo]

1 hour ago, Redbeard said:

Unvented Cylinder Benchmark Certificate

Who ever installed/commissioned the UVC. The Benchmark Certificate comes with the cylinder in the back of the user install manual. The installer has to leave the user install manual with the end user as it's also the record book for servicing.

[patp]

Husband installed all the plumbing and heating. He was a time served plumbing and heating engineer but does not have certificates now. I expect we are going to have to pay someone to come and give us a certificate for something that works perfectly fine

[joe90]

55 minutes ago, patp said:

Husband installed all the plumbing and heating.

So did i on my build but got a local plumber to sign off the UVC. BC never asked for this and no mention of the plumbing 🤷‍♂️

Edited October 28, 2023 by joe90

[patp]

23 hours ago, joe90 said:

So did i on my build but got a local plumber to sign off the UVC. BC never asked for this and no mention of the plumbing 🤷‍♂️

Thanks @joe90. We wondered if we could do that. There is a guy in the village who specialised in air source heat pumps so he might be the one to ask.

[patp]

For me to progress the SAP Assessment and lodge the EPC,  I will require the following information/documentation:

 

• Passing Air test certificate (target 5): if one hasn’t been booked already and you would like us to do the test my colleague Louise will assist.
• Confirmation that fabric information is correct for as built.
• Confirmation of ventilation strategy, makes/models of plant etc.
• Make/model of GSHP installed and commissioning certificate.
• Make/model/size of hot water cylinder installed and commissioning certificate.

Can someone explain these please? We have the air test certificate.

The heating and hot water was installed by us including the ASHP and the cylinder.

[kandgmitchell]

You would have had a design stage SAP calculation done before work started. That assessed the proposed design using the wall, roof, floor constructions, glazing specification along with the heating and ventilation system you intended to install. The as-built SAP basically goes through that again taking into account any changes you made and comes up with the final rating which should be no worse than the original design SAP.

 

Usually it's the same assessor that does both (and it's often cheaper that way - check back to see what the original quote said about this). However, the one you have approached needs:

 

Your confirmation that you have used the same specification for the build as for the design. Builders often substitute materials and even construction methods. If you did change anything then list it for the SAP assessor.

 

The type of ventilation arrangements you have employed. Is it background vents + extracts + opening windows or is it Mechanical Ventilation and Heat Recovery. Tell them which. If it's MVHR then they'll need the details of what you installed.

 

The make and model of the ASHP is going to be easy - your husband will have the installation info and the purchase details. Not sure why they need the commissioning certificate unless it gives specific performance details of that installation. The performance of that heatpump will be entered into the standard computer model which generates the SAP rating.

 

Likewise the hot water cylinder. Again tell them the certificate will be coming but can they just run the model with the technical information.

 

Then hopefully you'll get a final as built SAP. Collect as much certification as you can and hand it to the BCO. They'll tell you what's missing and then concentrate on obtaining that. It cuts the task down to manageable chunks that you can handle. 

[ProDave]

For the as built SAP my assesor required confirmation that wall floor and roof build up was as proposed, in my case roof insulation was more than originally proposed.  They required Uw values for all windows, design SAP would have been assumed.  Air test results, design SAP assumed 3.  Actual model of ASHP fitted and stove fitted, design will have been assumptions.  And amount of solar PV fitted.   As built SAP came back better than design SAP as expected.

[JohnMo]

49 minutes ago, ProDave said:

For the as built SAP my assesor required confirmation that wall floor and roof build up was as proposed, in my case roof insulation was more than originally proposed.  They required Uw values for all windows, design SAP would have been assumed.  Air test results, design SAP assumed 3.  Actual model of ASHP fitted and stove fitted, design will have been assumptions.  And amount of solar PV fitted.   As built SAP came back better than design SAP as expected.

Would add, that our assessor only applied min building regs junction details, so if you have better min allowable, you have to proof it, as well

[patp]

Thanks for all the replies. The air test has just been done and, as we have proper plastered walls, we passed with flying colours. We are waiting to find out if local electrician is qualified enough to certify husband's installation of air source heat pump and cylinder. He has popped round and was very impressed with what he saw. He holds the G3 certificate of competency.

We got so stressed about it all that we were thinking of just leaving it as some people seem to do when they live in their self build. Calmed down a bit now so we are struggling on with getting it done.

 

Mind you if we stay here much longer we will not be able to move if an article I read in Readers Digest is accurate. It was about elderly relatives and went something like this - Moving house in your sixties is difficult, moving house in your seventies is extremely difficult but if you are still around in your eighties then you can forget it! 🫣