Drawings back in 24–72 hours. Measured survey to a full set of existing and proposed drawings — 24–48 hours for a loft or extension, up to 72 hours for larger or more complex schemes.
Start your projectPlanning permission decides whether you may build. Building regulations decide whether what you build is safe, warm, and legal to occupy. They are entirely separate systems, and most projects need both.
This is also the package that decides what your build actually costs. A vague drawing set is an invitation for a builder to price the risk, or to price low and recover it in variations.
Two routes to approval
| Route | How it works | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Full plans | Drawings and calculations are submitted and formally approved before work starts | Almost everything. You know it complies before anyone digs. |
| Building notice | Notice given, work inspected as it proceeds, no prior approval of drawings | Very simple work only. Risky — non-compliance is found on site, when fixing it is expensive. |
We use the full plans route by default. It also gives your builder something to price properly.
Who approves it
In England you may use either your local authority building control or a registered building control approver. Since the Building Safety Act reforms, all building control professionals must be individually registered, and higher-risk buildings must go through the Building Safety Regulator instead. We will advise which applies to your project and can handle the submission.
What the package contains
- General arrangement plans, elevations and sections at 1:50
- Construction details at 1:5 and 1:20 — junctions, thresholds, eaves, upstands, DPC and DPM positions
- Structural layout coordinated with the engineer's calculations
- Foundation design and drainage layout
- Thermal element build-ups with U-values
- Fire strategy: escape routes, compartmentation, door specifications, alarm layout
- Ventilation strategy and mechanical extract rates
- A written specification of materials, workmanship and standards
The parts that shape the design
| Part | Covers | Where it bites |
|---|---|---|
| A | Structure | Beam sizes, foundation depth, lateral restraint |
| B | Fire safety | Protected stairs, fire doors, interlinked alarms, escape windows |
| C | Moisture | Damp proofing, ground gas, weathertightness |
| F | Ventilation | Extract rates, background ventilation, overheating |
| K | Protection from falling | Stair pitch, headroom, guarding, glazing |
| L | Conservation of fuel and power | U-values, airtightness, heating and controls |
| M | Access | Level thresholds, door widths, accessible WCs |
| O | Overheating | Glazing area and purge ventilation in new dwellings |
| P | Electrical safety | Certification by a competent person |
| S | Electric vehicle charging | Charge points on new dwellings and some works |
Standards tighten regularly, and the Future Homes Standard is set to raise them again. We design to the version in force when your work starts, not the one we learned first.
The three that catch people out
Fire on a three-storey house
Adding a loft makes a two-storey house three storeys, which triggers a protected stair enclosure, fire doors to habitable rooms opening onto it, and mains-powered interlinked alarms throughout. An escape window on its own is not sufficient. This is the single most common reason a loft fails inspection.
Thermal upgrade of what you already have
Where you alter more than a set proportion of a thermal element, the whole element must be brought up to standard — not just the new part. It affects budgets and it affects ceiling heights.
Structural openings
Removing a wall to open up a kitchen needs a beam, a padstone, and proof the remaining structure is adequately restrained. It also needs temporary works planned before anything is cut.
Completion
Final inspection produces a completion certificate. Keep it. You will be asked for it when you sell, along with the electrical certificate, gas safety documentation and any structural sign-off. Work without a completion certificate is a live problem at conveyancing, and it is far cheaper to get right now than to regularise later.
Timescale
| Stage | Time |
|---|---|
| Package produced after planning approval | 2–4 weeks |
| Full plans assessment | Around 5 weeks, or 8 weeks if extended by agreement |
| Site inspections | At defined stages throughout the build |
Included as standard
What you get
- Full plans drawing package at working scales
- Construction details at 1:5 and 1:20
- Written specification of materials and workmanship
- Structural engineer coordination and calculations
- Foundation and drainage design
- U-value calculations and thermal build-ups
- Fire strategy, escape and alarm layouts
- Ventilation strategy and extract rates
- Submission to local authority or a registered building control approver
- Responses to any conditions or queries raised on assessment
- Drawings coordinated with the planning approval so the two do not conflict
- A package detailed enough for several builders to price like for like
Questions
Common questions
Do I need building regulations approval if my work is permitted development?
What is the difference between full plans and a building notice?
Can I use a private building control company?
What happens if I have work with no completion certificate?
How long does the package take?
Do you handle the structural engineering too?
Free 20-minute consultation
Ready to see your drawings?
Send us the address and a sentence about what you want to build. We will come back with a fixed fee, a programme and the planning route we would take.