Conservation of fuel and power: Approved Document L, Volume 1 — Dwellings

O N L I N E V E R S I O N If building work consists only of installing certain types of services or fittings (e.g. fuel-burning appliances or replacement windows) and the building owner employs an installer that is registered with a relevant competent person scheme designated in the regulations, a building control body does not need to be notified. For further information about competent person schemes, see Chapter 5 in Volume 1 and Chapter C in Volume 2 of the Manual to the Building Regulations. How to use this approved document Each approved document contains: • general guidance on the performance expected of materials and building work in order to comply with each of the requirements of the Building Regulations, and • practical examples and solutions on how to achieve compliance for some of the more common building situations. They may not provide appropriate guidance if the case is unusual in terms of its design, setting, use, scale or technology. Non-standard conditions may include any of the following: • difficult ground conditions • buildings with unusual occupancies or high levels of complexity • very large or very tall buildings • large timber buildings • some buildings that incorporate modern construction methods. Anyone using the approved documents should have sufficient knowledge and skills to understand the guidance and correctly apply it to the building work. This is important because simply following the guidance does not guarantee that your building work will comply with the legal requirements of the Building Regulations. Each approved document contains legal requirements (which you must follow) and guidance (which you may or may not choose to follow). The text in a box with a green background at the beginning of each section of an approved document is taken from the Building Regulations. This text sets out the legal requirements. The explanation which follows the legal requirements is guidance (see Diagram i below). The guidance then explains one or more ways to demonstrate how building work can be shown to comply with the legal requirements in common circumstances. The terms in green lettering in an approved document are key terms, listed and explained in the appendix to that approved document. Guidance in the approved documents addresses most, but not all, situations that building owners will face. Situations may arise that are not covered. You or your advisers will need to carefully consider whether following the guidance will mean that the requirements of the Building Regulations will be met. Building Regulations 2010 Approved Document L Volume 1, 2021 edition iii O N L I N E V E R S I O N