Provisional BER before building house.

LowOdour

Ive read and been told that a provisional ber is needed before any work is done on a self build. I do not see this in my planning application and others i have asked havent done this.
Blocks are going down next week, do i need

sydthebeat

this comes under building control, not planning.

In order for you to build in compliance with building regulations, particularly Part L (the insulation regs).... you need to have your proposed construction specification assessed through the same software that produces BERs (this is called the DEAP software)

You cannot know if your build is going to comply without doing this. You can possibly work ahead but you cannot get the work certified without it.

Getting it done prior to construction allows you the opportunity to figure out teh most cost effective way for you to comply ie whether you go with geothermal, wood boilers, solar panels etc. Every single decision has numerous economic costs.

LowOdour

Crap....will I get work certified if i was to get it done asap, before any blocks were put down? How long would something like this take?

sydthebeat

LowOdour wrote: »

Crap....will I get work certified if i was to get it done asap, before any blocks were put down? How long would something like this take?

it wont affect certification so far, i assume youve just poured foundations.

but let me give you an example.

just say you decide to go with a wood burner as your main heat source.

this means you need to increase your u value to meet regs. The most cost effective way at this stage may be to increase the size of your cavity and pump. But if you only start with a 300 wall now that option wouldn't be open to you, it could result in you having to get more expensive windows to make up the difference.

The assessment could be done in a day provided it isnt a hugely complicated design. Can your certifier not do it??

LowOdour

Havent got a certifier yet. To be honest, i persumed the certifier would come in at the end. Ive just gotten a few name of people that could do it so i best get cracking.

sydthebeat

LowOdour wrote: »

Havent got a certifier yet. To be honest, i persumed the certifier would come in at the end. Ive just gotten a few name of people that could do it so i best get cracking.

the certifier needs to inspect the open foundations....

it very dodgy to get someone in at the end who can only certify what they see as a finished product.

that could really affect a resale.

personally i wouldnt recommend a client buy a newly built house that had no form of professional continuous inspection service.
and if they did pursue, id recommend a significant discount on that basis.

LowOdour

sydthebeat wrote: »

the certifier needs to inspect the open foundations....

it very dodgy to get someone in at the end who can only certify what they see as a finished product.

that could really affect a resale.

personally i wouldnt recommend a client buy a newly built house that had no form of professional continuous inspection service.
and if they did pursue, id recommend a significant discount on that basis.

My bad, by certifier i thought you mean in the energy rating area. No, my engineer is my certifier, he is doing the inspections and signing off....which he has already done on the foundation. Im not sure the energy rating side of it would be his thing though...he is old school to say the least.

sydthebeat

LowOdour wrote: »

My bad, by certifier i thought you mean in the energy rating area. No, my engineer is my certifier, he is doing the inspections and signing off....which he has already done on the foundation. Im not sure the energy rating side of it would be his thing though...he is old school to say the least.

he should be up to speed if he is certifying.... old school or not.

if your looking elsewhere for an assessment, try to make sure that an industry professional is carrying out the assessment, such as an architect or technician. Some energy assessor have no construction background so may make suggestions without taking practicality or buildability into account.

good luck with the build!! its a stressful time ......

Bitten & Hisses

Kerry Co Council Building Control Department are writing to anyone who has submitted a commencement notice looking for a provisional BER. They are doing this under the "you have to furnish us with whatever documentation we decide to look for" clause in the legislation.

sydthebeat

Bitten & Hisses wrote: »

Kerry Co Council Building Control Department are writing to anyone who has submitted a commencement notice looking for a provisional BER. They are doing this under the "you have to furnish us with whatever documentation we decide to look for" clause in the legislation.

Im delighted... i wish all councils were as proactive....

No6

Bitten & Hisses wrote: »

Kerry Co Council Building Control Department are writing to anyone who has submitted a commencement notice looking for a provisional BER. They are doing this under the "you have to furnish us with whatever documentation we decide to look for" clause in the legislation.

Is that a published preliminary BER or just a DEAP assessment, in Mayo they are looking for a preliminary DEAP assessment carried out by a registered assessor but it dosn't have to be published. I have two houses under construction who they looked for this on. I am assuming when they do final inspections they will look for the published BER cert (and xml files!!)

d'Oracle

sydthebeat wrote: »

Im delighted... i wish all councils were as proactive....

Indeed.
We need more councils to take energy issues seriously.

sinnerboy

No6 wrote: »

Is that a published preliminary BER or just a DEAP assessment, in Mayo they are looking for a preliminary DEAP assessment carried out by a registered assessor but it dosn't have to be published. I have two houses under construction who they looked for this on. I am assuming when they do final inspections they will look for the published BER cert (and xml files!!)

No6 - will they accept assessments by ex registered assessors or by those who have passed the Fetac exam ?

Mike2006

I had to email Limerick County Council the xml file from my preliminary BER just a few weeks after my planning was approved..

Looks like some of the councils are following it up...

Mike.