#BREGS Cumulation of extensions under #BCAR



The following is an opinion only & issued without prejudice.


Following the advice that was issued to the RIAI by BCMS with regards to the circumstances an extension to a dwelling comes into the scope of the requirements for statutory certification under the Building Control Regulations I forwarded x2 queries into the BCMS on Friday evening (25 10 2014)

The queries are as follows:

In light of the attached response which is very welcome I ask for further guidance which would be really helpful.

Query/Scenario 1: A house that had already been extended since the introduction of the Building Control Act 1990.

Is this previously extended floor area to be added to the proposed floor area & if the cumulative/combined floor area is greater than 40m 2 does SI9:2014/BCAR apply ?

Query/Scenario 2: A house that had already been extended since the introduction of the since the introduction of the Local Government (Planning and Development) Act 1963.

Is this previously extended floor area to be added to the proposed floor area & if the cumulative/combined floor area is greater than 40m 2 does SI9:2014/BCAR apply ?

Clarification on both matters would be very helpful before I send in a commencement notice for validation to BCMS.

Kind regards



I received a response today (27 10 2014) which is as follows:


"FAQ- (b) an extension to a dwelling involving a total floor area greater than 40 square metres,

Clarification of the circumstances in which an extension to a dwelling comes within the scope of the requirements for statutory certification under the Building Control Regulations?

---------------------------
In the case of an extension to a dwelling, the requirements for statutory certification of design and construction in line with the Building Control Regulations apply when the total extended area of the dwelling exceeds 40 square metres. Every new dwelling has a permitted area determined by it's planning permission. Any works which extend the building by more than 40 square metres beyond this permitted area must be certified.

The regulations refer to the total extended area because separate extensions can be added to different areas of a building at the same time or different times. It is therefore not possible to avoid certification requirements by building a series of small extensions each of which is less than 40 square metres but which together give a combined extended area greater than 40 square metres."


BCMS have now clarified - again - that the floor area is cumulative so realistically speaking, it cannot be taken as an oversight anymore.

According to BCMS it is also clarified that any floor area that is constructed since the introduction of the Planning Act 1963 MUST be taken into consideration when calculating the 40m2.

Such an interpretation is not clear within SI9:2014 or the prima facile Code of Practice & it is now clear that this matter requires statutory clarification by the request of our institutes at the utmost urgency.

This is yet another example of the Russian Roulette our institutes/stakeholders & the Dept of Environment are expecting Assigned Certifiers to play with matters involving BCAR.

It is also an example why an appeals process to An Bord Pleanala with regards determination decisions made by BCMS must be introduced into the BCAR.


Nigel Redmond
Registered Building Surveyor

Architecture & Building Surveyors

Reply · Report Post