Part G - Sanitation, hot water
safety and water efficiency
Following last year’s postponement of the amendments to Part G of
the Building Regulations, the new regulations and Approved Document
G are now due to come into force on 6th April 2010.
Building work will have to comply with the new standards from 6th
April 2010 unless it meets certain conditions. These ‘transitional
provisions’ are quite complicated but can be broadly summarised as
follows.
Work can be to the ‘old’ standards if:
It starts before 6th April 2010
and it is in accordance with full plans or a
building notice which were deposited
a commencement notice was given to Building Control,
or
b. Full plans were deposited
and were passed without conditions (or Building
Control advised you that all conditions had been satisfied) before
6th April 2010
and work starts before 6th April 2011,
or
c. The deposit of full plans is not required (ie a Building Notice
could be deposited - mainly for domestic work)
and a contract for the work was entered into
before 6th April 2010
and work starts before 1st October 2010.
The main changes from the old Regulations and Approved
Document G are:
A new water efficiency standard that all new homes (including those
formed by a change of use) must have a maximum potential wholesome
water consumption of 125 litres per person per day.
This has to be calculated in accordance with the methodology in the
document ‘The Water Efficiency Calculator for new dwellings’
(September 2009 version) and within 5 days of completion of the
dwelling, a notice which specifies the potential consumption must
be given to Building Control. A Building Regulation completion
certificate is unlikely to be given until this notice has been
received (Regulations 17K and 20E, and Part G2).
A new requirement for the prevention of scalding through the
installation of protective devices that limit the temperature of
water supplied to a bath to 48°C (G3(4)).
Amendments and extended safety requirements which will apply to all
hot water systems and storage vessels, not just unvented systems.
Systems must resist the effects of temperature and pressure in
normal use and in the event of a malfunction that can reasonably be
anticipated, and the system must be adequately supported. Hot water
storage vessels must incorporate precautions to prevent the water
exceeding 100°C and ensure that discharge from safety devices is
carried away safely (G3).
Amendments and requirements for the supply of wholesome water for
drinking or food preparation, and wholesome or softened wholesome
water for washing. There is also clarification where greywater and
harvested rainwater can be used eg sanitary conveniences and
washing machines (subject to risk assessment) (G1)
A new requirement for the provision of a bathroom in buildings
containing one or more rooms for residential purposes (G5).
A new requirement for the provision of a sink in food preparation
areas (G6).
Requirements G1 (cold water supply) and G3(2) and (3) (hot water
safety) will apply to certain ‘exempt’ buildings.
For example where a greenhouse shares a cold or hot water supply
with a dwelling, or where any other small detached building or
extension (exempt by virtue of classes 6 or 7 of Schedule 2) shares
a cold or hot water supply with any other building which itself is
not exempt.
Relevant publications available for free
download: