Building regs guide · England & Wales
Whenever you change the structure of your home — removing a wall, fitting a steel beam, forming a big opening — building control needs structural calculations from a structural engineer to prove it is safe. Here is when you need them and how we provide them as part of your project.
Structural calculations are the engineer’s figures showing that beams, foundations and altered walls will safely carry the loads above them. Building control requires them alongside your building regulations drawings for any structural work.
You will need them whenever you remove or alter a load-bearing wall, install a steel beam (RSJ), form a large opening for bifold doors, build an extension, convert a loft, or remove a chimney breast. Without them, building control cannot sign the work off.
A structural engineer sizes the parts of your project that carry load. Here is what that covers, and the projects that need it.
We are an online architectural design service — the practical alternative to a traditional high-street architect. We bring in an accredited structural engineer, size the structure from an accurate survey, and hand building control a package that matches your drawings exactly.
Whenever you alter your home’s structure — removing or altering a load-bearing wall, fitting a beam, forming a large opening, building an extension, converting a loft, or removing a chimney breast. Building control requires them to sign the work off.
No. The calculations size the structure (beams, foundations, joists); the drawings show how it is all built. Building control needs both, and they must agree with each other.
A qualified structural engineer. On the relevant Arkiplan packages we bring in an accredited engineer and coordinate their calculations with your drawings.
Yes — an engineer’s calculations are included on our Standard and Premium packages. The Essentials package covers planning drawings only. Compare them on our pricing page.
Yes. Building control reviews the structural calculations as part of approving the work, and inspects the structure on site as it is built.
Often not — the calculations are usually based on the accurate measured survey and drawings. Where a project is more complex, a site visit can be arranged.
No call required, no card required — just a tight, fixed-price range tailored to your project, with the drawings and calculations you need confirmed up front.
This guide is general information, not formal advice; building regulations and building control procedures change and depend on your specific project, property and local authority. We confirm the current position for your project as part of every job.