{"id":3988,"date":"2013-11-21T12:55:22","date_gmt":"2013-11-21T12:55:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markstephensarchitects.com\/?p=3988"},"modified":"2013-11-21T12:55:22","modified_gmt":"2013-11-21T12:55:22","slug":"the-building-regulation-changes-and-self-builders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.markstephensarchitects.com\/the-building-regulation-changes-and-self-builders\/","title":{"rendered":"The Building Regulation changes and Self Builders: one for @bregsforum"},"content":{"rendered":"

The forthcoming changes in the Building Regulations in March 2014 (S.I. No. 80 of 2013 BUILDING CONTROL (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS 2013) have big repercussions for residential self-builders. Nearly 60% of houses constructed in Ireland are self-builds (source NaSBA) and with the construction industry still non-existent the forecast of owners self-building their houses and extensions is set to continue.<\/p>\n

So why does this have an effect on self-builders? S.I. No. 80 of 2013 (CLICK HERE for the full Statutory Instrument<\/a>) requires that the owner gives notice to the Building Control authority of ‘…ASSIGNMENT OF BUILDER’:<\/p>\n

\"builder_notice\"<\/p>\n

Item 2. requires the owner to have ‘…assigned the following person as Builder of the works and I am satisfied that they are competent to undertake the works so assigned on my behalf.’<\/em><\/p>\n

The owner therefore needs to assign a ‘competent person’<\/em> to undertake the building works; this raises several questions:<\/p>\n

  • Who decides whether a builder is a competent person?\n
  • Currently there is no register of ‘competent persons’ that are competent to undertake building works; the Construction Industry Federation ‘is progressing the establishment of a Register of Builders in consultation with the Department of the Environment Community and Local Government (DoECLG).’<\/em> but this register will initially only be a voluntary register (transitioning at a later date to a statutory scheme).\n
  • Logically a self-builder cannot assign himself unless he is a ‘competent person’<\/em>, in my experience this is highly unlikely\n

    Now I’d love to have every house or extension in Ireland constructed by a highly professional and well trained main contractor; self builders can be more difficult and require a higher level of guidance\/inspection but the reality is that one-off projects in Ireland are self-built by the owners and that denying self-builders this opportunity will be a further ‘kick in the teeth’ to a construction industry that is already on its knees. The inverse is that in my experience self-builders can build to an incredibly high standard; I have one project in particular at practically #Passivhaus standard.<\/p>\n

    If we look at the local construction industry here in Mayo; the main contractors (that are still in business) do not normally have sub-contractors as PAYE staff; they are all self-employed subcontractors. The self-builder is employing these sub-contractors in exactly the same way as the main contractor and in the process is saving money (effectively the profit made by the main contractor).<\/p>\n

    There are several downsides to being a self builder however:<\/p>\n

  • He\/She don’t (generally) have that experience that comes with being a main contractor and the experience of having completed many jobs\n
  • There’s a stack of hassle getting materials on site and getting the tradesmen on site at the right time and in the right order\n
  • Generally self employed tradesmen will give priority on working for a main contractor over the self-builder; this is only natural as there maybe main jobs coming in the future from a builder whereas you are only doing one.\n

    Now as much as I hate to say this (as I would prefer every build to be main contractor built); I live in the real world and I think that depriving self-builders of the opportunity to build themselves will truly harm the construction industry. I also think that the national register of builders isn’t the way forward. Self-Building in the UK (although a much smaller industry) works without such a register; the difference is that ALL<\/strong> construction projects have their plans and construction inspected and certified INDEPENDENTLY<\/strong> throughout the entire construction process. This system of independent drawing and site inspection is something that Ireland will still not implement under SI80 under the Building Regulations Amendments (2013). For a full description of the UK Building Control process CLICK HERE<\/a><\/p>\n

    Therefore, in its current form the changes to the Building Regulations in March 2014 will increase the difficulty owners face in building or extending their property; it is essential therefore that the government reconsiders the proposed changes that do not inhibit construction growth but still ensure that buildings are constructed in accordance with the Building Regulations – as it is the Building Regulations amendments are I feel – unworkable and require postponement.<\/p>\n

    The next post (next week) will look at how self-builders can get round this problem (if the Regulations aren’t postponed), methods of training and Passivhaus tradesmen courses…<\/p>\n

    btw This is a personal viewpoint and not the opinion of any regulatory or representative body<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The forthcoming changes in the Building Regulations in March 2014 (S.I. No. 80 of 2013 BUILDING CONTROL (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS 2013) have big repercussions for …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[9,15,17,26,27,50,53,61,62,73,78,79,80,81,85,88,100,109],"tags":[194,311,314,703,1075,1154,1157,1179],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Building Regulation changes and Self Builders: one for @bregsforum - MARK STEPHENS ARCHITECTS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.markstephensarchitects.com\/the-building-regulation-changes-and-self-builders\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Building Regulation changes and Self Builders: one for @bregsforum - MARK STEPHENS ARCHITECTS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The forthcoming changes in the Building Regulations in March 2014 (S.I. No. 80 of 2013 BUILDING CONTROL (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS 2013) have big repercussions for ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.markstephensarchitects.com\/the-building-regulation-changes-and-self-builders\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"MARK STEPHENS ARCHITECTS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/markstephensarchitects\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-11-21T12:55:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.markstephensarchitects.markstephens.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/builder_notice.jpg?w=500\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mark Stephens\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@architectmark\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@architectmark\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mark Stephens\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.markstephensarchitects.com\/the-building-regulation-changes-and-self-builders\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.markstephensarchitects.com\/the-building-regulation-changes-and-self-builders\/\",\"name\":\"The Building Regulation changes and Self Builders: one for @bregsforum - MARK STEPHENS ARCHITECTS\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.markstephensarchitects.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.markstephensarchitects.com\/the-building-regulation-changes-and-self-builders\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.markstephensarchitects.com\/the-building-regulation-changes-and-self-builders\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.markstephensarchitects.markstephens.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/builder_notice.jpg?w=500\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-11-21T12:55:22+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-11-21T12:55:22+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.markstephensarchitects.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ab47a045fabd6f82093f8712cd70cdbb\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.markstephensarchitects.com\/the-building-regulation-changes-and-self-builders\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.markstephensarchitects.com\/the-building-regulation-changes-and-self-builders\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.markstephensarchitects.com\/the-building-regulation-changes-and-self-builders\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.markstephensarchitects.markstephens.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/builder_notice.jpg?w=500\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.markstephensarchitects.markstephens.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/builder_notice.jpg?w=500\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.markstephensarchitects.com\/the-building-regulation-changes-and-self-builders\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.markstephensarchitects.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Building Regulation changes and Self Builders: one for @bregsforum\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.markstephensarchitects.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.markstephensarchitects.com\/\",\"name\":\"MARK STEPHENS ARCHITECTS\",\"description\":\"Making your dream reality.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.markstephensarchitects.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.markstephensarchitects.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ab47a045fabd6f82093f8712cd70cdbb\",\"name\":\"Mark Stephens\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.markstephensarchitects.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4e6798f37c3a7dda989317a5b7527a69?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4e6798f37c3a7dda989317a5b7527a69?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Mark Stephens\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.markstephensarchitects.com\/author\/markstephensarchitects\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Building Regulation changes and Self Builders: one for @bregsforum - MARK STEPHENS ARCHITECTS","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.markstephensarchitects.com\/the-building-regulation-changes-and-self-builders\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Building Regulation changes and Self Builders: one for @bregsforum - MARK STEPHENS ARCHITECTS","og_description":"The forthcoming changes in the Building Regulations in March 2014 (S.I. No. 80 of 2013 BUILDING CONTROL (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS 2013) have big repercussions for ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.markstephensarchitects.com\/the-building-regulation-changes-and-self-builders\/","og_site_name":"MARK STEPHENS ARCHITECTS","article_publisher":"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/markstephensarchitects","article_published_time":"2013-11-21T12:55:22+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.markstephensarchitects.markstephens.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/builder_notice.jpg?w=500"}],"author":"Mark Stephens","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@architectmark","twitter_site":"@architectmark","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Mark Stephens","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.markstephensarchitects.com\/the-building-regulation-changes-and-self-builders\/","url":"https:\/\/www.markstephensarchitects.com\/the-building-regulation-changes-and-self-builders\/","name":"The Building Regulation changes and Self Builders: one for @bregsforum - MARK STEPHENS ARCHITECTS","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.markstephensarchitects.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.markstephensarchitects.com\/the-building-regulation-changes-and-self-builders\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.markstephensarchitects.com\/the-building-regulation-changes-and-self-builders\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.markstephensarchitects.markstephens.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/builder_notice.jpg?w=500","datePublished":"2013-11-21T12:55:22+00:00","dateModified":"2013-11-21T12:55:22+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.markstephensarchitects.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ab47a045fabd6f82093f8712cd70cdbb"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.markstephensarchitects.com\/the-building-regulation-changes-and-self-builders\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.markstephensarchitects.com\/the-building-regulation-changes-and-self-builders\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.markstephensarchitects.com\/the-building-regulation-changes-and-self-builders\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/www.markstephensarchitects.markstephens.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/builder_notice.jpg?w=500","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.markstephensarchitects.markstephens.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/builder_notice.jpg?w=500"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.markstephensarchitects.com\/the-building-regulation-changes-and-self-builders\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.markstephensarchitects.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Building Regulation changes and Self Builders: one for @bregsforum"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.markstephensarchitects.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.markstephensarchitects.com\/","name":"MARK STEPHENS ARCHITECTS","description":"Making your dream reality.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.markstephensarchitects.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.markstephensarchitects.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ab47a045fabd6f82093f8712cd70cdbb","name":"Mark Stephens","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.markstephensarchitects.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4e6798f37c3a7dda989317a5b7527a69?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4e6798f37c3a7dda989317a5b7527a69?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Mark Stephens"},"url":"https:\/\/www.markstephensarchitects.com\/author\/markstephensarchitects\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7mTIF-12k","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.markstephensarchitects.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3988"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.markstephensarchitects.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.markstephensarchitects.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.markstephensarchitects.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.markstephensarchitects.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3988"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.markstephensarchitects.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3988\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.markstephensarchitects.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.markstephensarchitects.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3988"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.markstephensarchitects.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}