Building regulations drawings in London

Full plans, building notice and the timings that apply

There are two usual routes. A full plans application is checked and decided before work starts. A building notice lets work begin after notice is given, and the checking happens on site as you build.

Building control body must decide a full plans application within 5 weeks, or longer if agreed in writing. For a building notice, the notice lapses after 3 years unless work has started.

We prepare drawings for full plans, because a decided set gives your builder certainty before the first trench is dug. A building notice suits small, well-understood jobs, and we will say so if yours is one.

What our drawings show

A typical extension set has a foundation and ground-floor plan, a first-floor and roof plan, sections through the new structure, and a specification of materials. Details are drawn at larger scale where junctions are tricky: the wall-to-roof junction, a threshold, a flat-roof edge.

We coordinate the set with the structural engineer's calculations, so beams and padstones on our sheets match theirs. Drainage is shown with falls and connections to the existing system. Where the design touches the Approved Documents, the notes cite the relevant part.

Plans, sections and elevations are all cut from a single Revit model, so they cannot contradict one another. Our structural calculations and construction drawings pages explain the neighbouring services.

The specification lists products and workmanship standards by name, so your builder's choices can be checked against the design rather than argued about on site.

Approved Documents and the energy rules

The Approved Documents give practical guidance on meeting the regulations. The ones that shape most home projects are Part A for structure, Part B for fire safety, Part F for ventilation, Part L for energy and Part K for stairs.

Energy rules are changing. A new edition of Approved Document L brings in a revised way of calculating a home's energy use, and the date it takes effect is in the table. Until then the current edition applies to new applications. We design to whichever edition governs your submission date and tell you if timing matters.

Where a project also needs an energy rating, our SAP calculations team coordinates the assessor.

Notices, commencement and the rules on competence

Building control must be told when work starts and when it finishes. The notice periods are set in regulation 16 and are in the table. A missed notice can delay the completion certificate.

Approval also lapses if work does not commence. For an extension, commencement is defined: foundations, any basement and the ground-floor structure must be complete. Other work is judged on how much of the application has been done. Start the clock deliberately, not by accident.

Since the dutyholder rules in Part 2A, anyone carrying out design or building work must have the skills, knowledge, experience and behaviours to do it. For a domestic client the duties pass in large part to the contractor. Our handover notes record this, so your builder knows what is expected.

What happens if work starts without approval

Breaking the Building Regulations is a criminal offence, and the table gives the penalty on indictment. In practice councils work with owners, but unapproved work can block a sale and force opening-up of finished structure for inspection.

If work has already been built, our retrospective planning applications page covers the planning side and we can prepare evidence for a regularisation route on the building control side.

Choosing building control and moving to site

You may use the local authority or a private firm on the approvers' register. Our private building control page sets out the difference, and we coordinate whichever you pick.

We submit the full plans application, deal with any examiner questions and, once approved, send a handover pack covering commencement, party wall timing and CIL. Sheets usually follow the survey by about a week, and should the examiner raise points, revised sheets carry no extra fee.

Send us the planning approval or certificate, the survey and any earlier building control paperwork for the house. If you already have an engineer, tell us, and we will work with them.