Local Authority Building Control ~ as described in the previous
two pages. A public service administered by borough and unitary
councils through their building control departments.Approved Inspectors ~ a private sector building control alternative
as outlined on the preceding page. Approved inspectors may be
suitably qualified individuals or corporate bodies employing suitably
qualified people, e.g. National House Building Council (NHBC Ltd.)
and MD Insurance Services Ltd.Borough councils can contract out the building control process to
approved inspectors. Validation and site examinations follow the
established format shown on page 56, with approved inspectors
substituting for LA.Both NHBC and MD Insurance publish their own construction rules and
standards that supplement the Building Regulations. These form the
basis for their own independent quality control procedures whereby
their Inspectors will undertake stage and periodic examinations of
work in progress to ensure that these standards are adhered to. The
objective is to provide new home buyers with a quality assured
product warranted against structural defects (10†15 years), provided
the house builder has satisfied certain standards for registration.
Therefore, the buyer should be provided with a completion certificate
indicating Building Regulations approval and a warranty against
defects.Robust Details ~ Building Regulations A.D. E † Resistance to the
passage of sound; requires that the separating walls, floors and stairs
in new dwellings are sufficiently resistant to airborne and impact
sound transmission. Sound measurement tests defined in the
associated BSs specified in the Approved Document must be
undertaken by an approved inspector/building control official before
completion.
An alternative or a means for exemption of pre-completion testing is
for the builder to notify the building inspector that sound insulation
construction details are registered and specified to those approved by
Robust Details Ltd. This is a not-for-profit company established by the
house building industry to produce guidance manuals containing details
of acceptable sound resistant construction practice.Building Regulations---Compliance