WHAT IS REGULATION 7 OF THE BUILDING REGULATIONS?
Regulation 7 of the Building Regulations 2010 sets out the legislative requirement for materials and workmanship as part of building work.
As originally written, the regulation only featured one paragraph. However, changes made to the regulation in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire brought it to much greater prominence.
Arguably, the aspect of the Building Regulations that most people are familiar with is the Approved Documents. The lettered documents correspond to the equivalent parts of Schedule 1 to the Regulations, and provide technical guidance on how to meet the formal requirements of each part. Regulation 7 is unique among the numbered regulations in having its own corresponding Approved Document, called Approved Document 7.
What does regulation 7 say about materials?
Regulation 7 says, “Building work shall be carried out with adequate and proper materials.” It lists the following criteria for materials to be considered adequate and proper.
i) “Are appropriate for the circumstances in which they are used.”
ii) “Are adequately mixed or prepared.”
iii) “Are applied, used or fixed so as adequately to perform the functions for which they are designed.”
Regulation 7 also says, “Building work shall be carried out in a workmanlike manner.”
Like the other Approved Documents, Approved Document 7 supports the formal regulation by giving guidance on how to meet it. A definition of ‘materials’ is given as including “manufactured products such as components, fittings, items of equipment and systems; naturally occurring materials such as stone, timber and thatch; and backfilling for excavations in connection with building work.”
It then lists the following ways in which the fitness of materials can be established.
● CE marking under the Construction Products Regulation.
● CE marking under other EU directives and regulations.
● British Standards.
● Other national and international technical specifications.
● Independent certification schemes.
● Tests and calculations.
● Past experience.
● Sampling.
Construction products that have a harmonised standard can be affixed with the CE mark (or UKCA mark). However, conformance with a harmonised standard ‘only’ shows the product has been manufactured to a common technical standard.
Many specifiers like to see independent certification, such as BBA certificates, that also helps to demonstrate a product’s fitness for purpose. Where no harmonised standard exists for a product, independent certification may be the only way a manufacturer can demonstrate its product’s suitability.
Read more about the importance of third-party certification.
What does regulation 7 say about workmanship?
Approved Document 7 contains a similar list for determining the adequacy of workmanship, as follows.
● CE marking (if workmanship is specified in the relevant harmonised standard or European Technical Assessment).
● Standards.
● Independent certification schemes.
● Management systems.
● Past experience.
● Tests.
National and international standards often detail ways in which materials and components should be used or installed. For example, sections 5 and 6 of BS 6229:2018 cover materials and workmanship for flat roofs.
If a certain level of workmanship was required to achieve a particular test result, that will be detailed in the product test report and any supporting third-party certification will detail how the same level of installation can be achieved.
How has regulation 7 been updated in recent years?
Regulation 7 was the vehicle by which the government amended the Building Regulations following the fire at Grenfell Tower. In November 2018, the regulation was updated to add further paragraphs regarding the use of materials in the external walls of buildings over 18m.
The new paragraph 2 stated that materials and components used in the external walls, or as specified attachments, on ‘relevant buildings’ should achieve a minimum European Classification A2-s1, d0 or A1, classified in accordance with BS EN 13501-1:2018.
Paragraph 3 listed exemptions to paragraph 2, while paragraph 4 defined a ‘relevant building’ and ‘above ground level’.
From a flat roofing perspective, the amendment to regulation 7 raised questions about how best to detail flat roof upstands where thermal insulation is incorporated to minimise thermal bridging.
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