UK Building regulations

DUBLINIRL

As the spray foam controversy is ongoing in the UK and is likely to find it's way here are there any other issues in the UK we should be aware of that could come down the line and affect us here and might be worthy of a future proofing decision to avoid doing something a particular way?

muffler

I think you will just have to keep an eye on news relating to the issue. Whatever happens in the UK with regards to building methods, materials and regulations will filter through to here at some point. At present certain types of spray foam are used here and that's fine but the methods are wrong. More robust testing of the material in the UK will take time obviously so it's a case of watch and wait.

Personally I wouldn't entertain it's use for now anyhow.

Peregrinus

Changes to the Building Regulations generally only apply to construction work undertaken after the change is made. In that sense, you don't have to "future-proof" your construction work by trying to predict (or guess) what may be prohibited in the future. Even if some material or practice is prohibited the future, the construction work you're doing now will not be retrospectively invalidated by that prohibition.

So, if your object is not to find yourself in breach of the building regulations, you shouldn't have a problem.

Of course, you might well decide that even if a particular material or practice isn't contrary to the building regulations, you don't like it, or you don't think it's best practice, and you won't use it.

DUBLINIRL

I heard people are having issues selling houses to people getting mortgages if they have this spray foam in so would be thinking more along those lines in terms of incurring expense now on something that might be a problem in a few years.

Lumen

More generally, there's the issue of actual performance not meeting theoretical performance, either due to incorrect/sloppy workmanship or materials degrading over time.

Examples specifically w.r.t insulation: voids in full-fill cavity insulation boards, off-gassing of PIR, slumping of loose fill insulation in vertical or sloped roofs, BER ratings not matching actual performance due to partial air tightness testing in new build estates.

Then there are fabricated or manipulated percolation test results.

When you buy a house you have only a vague idea of how it's going to perform, even with a competent survey, unless it's a passive certified one-off build, and even then I wouldn't exclude the possibility of numbers being fudged.

One day we might have competent State-run building inspections, but I'm not holding my breath.

Mellor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122611055#Comment_122611055

That’s a very myopic view of construction standards.

The issue a future regulation change is trying to solve, still applies now.

Peregrinus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122617662#Comment_122617662

Sure. And, my point it, you don't have to wait for constructions standards to change to try to address that in the building you're putting up now. You can do things to address that issue which the building standards do not require — indeed, may never require.

Obviously, if and when building standards are modified to address this issue, the solution the building standards adopt may be a different one from the solution you adopt now. But that won't cause you a problem; you won't be in breach of building standards because the building you put up in 2024 does not conform to regulations introduced in 2025.

Tl;dr: addressing an issue does not required to you predict, or guess, the solution to that issue that the building standards may adopt in the future.