BYTNAR - TALKS
EPISODE 023 - APPROVED DOCUMENT G - SANITATION, HOT WATER SAFETY, WATER EFFICIENCY
This episode is for people who want to know more about Approved Document Part G – Sanitation, Hot Water, Safety, Water Efficiency.
You should like this episode if you ask yourself questions like:
Who is responsible for ensuring compliance with building regulations related to sanitation, hot water safety, and water efficiency?
What are the key safety and conservation requirements of Approved Document G under Regulation 8 and Requirement G2?
What exemptions from building regulations are outlined in Schedule 2 and Regulation 9?
How can I ensure a reliable and wholesome cold water supply in compliance with Requirement G1?
What are the water efficiency standards set under Requirement G2, and how do you calculate water usage?
What safety measures are required for hot water supply systems as per Requirement G3?
What are the regulations for providing sanitary conveniences and hand-washing facilities in different types of buildings (Requirement G4)?
What are the bathroom and water discharge requirements in houses and flats according to Requirement G5?
What are the installation guidelines for sinks in food preparation areas and additional hand-washing facilities in compliance with Requirement G6?
This is Bytnar Talks the Engineer Takes on Construction Episode 23 hi I'm Piotr Bytnar each day I help my clients plan and design building projects through Bytnar Limited a Consulting Chartered Structural Engineers practice my biggest passion and the corner stone on which I've built my business isfinding clever solutions for construction projects I am a chartered structural engineer and a bing software developer so you can rest assured that I will strive to talk about the best practices and the use of new technologies in the industry and if you're embarking on a construction project or are involved in planning designing and building the world around us you'll find this podcast useful approved document G San ation hot water safety water efficiency hi there how are you welcome to Bitner talks your favorite podcast on all matters of architecture engineering and construction it is Thursday the 4th of July 2024 USA goes nuts in celebration of their independence day and I'm here back with you with the 23rd episode and information on approved document g s sanitation hot water safety and water efficiency before I start covering the material for this episode though let's have a look at what we covered last week last week I talked about the approved document F ventilation in dwellings and buildings other than dwellings in short buildings must ensure adequate ventilation for occupants mechanical ventilation systems must be commissioned to meet required standards with exemptions of areas with no regular occupancy storage only buildings and single dwelling garages the approved document is divided into two volumes Volume One deals with dwellings and volume two deals with the rest the consideration for the provision of the right ventilation includes the extraction supply of fresh air prevention from the infiltration of external pollutants and provision of purge ventilation either by means of natural or mechanical means of ventilation the performance of the system needs to be met and will depend on the time and location of the room and the air tightness of the building upgrading the envelope of the existing building may impact the natural ventilation of the building itself so it should be approached holistically following installation the system should be commissioned and tested tested to current standards and appropriate information provided to the building owner similarly with other buildings the provision of information follows the understanding of the volume one with certain special consideration for particular buildings like but not exclusively car Parks offices and congregation spaces and the requirement of isolation of some activities or the need of air quality monitoring in this episode I'll move to the approved document G and the considerations for the sanitation hot water safety and water efficiency so without further Ado let's dive into the text of the approved document [Music] G in this episode I will talk about the statutory guidance contained within the approved document G sanitation H hot water safety and water efficiency the episode will follow its standard format for the material talking about the approved documents I'll first read you the text of the actual regulation and then we'll go Section by section concentrating on the most important parts well most Parts really with some commentary here and there the document contains guidance for the dis of reg requirement G and regulations 36 and 37 it is all contained contained within seven chapters and some appendices so let's get into the Integrity of this approved document starting with the text of the legislation and this is oh boy am I Fool To be honest it's so much I wonder why you need the interpretation with it but anyhow the legislation goes as far follows part G sanitation H hot water safety and water efficiency requirement G1 cold water supply point one there must be a suitable installation for the provision of a wholesome water to any place where drinking water is drawn off B wholesome water or soften wholesome water to any wash basin or be that provided in or adjacent to a room containing a sanitary convenience see wholesome water or soften wholesome water to any wash basin beaded fixed buff and shower in a bathroom D wholesome water to any sink provided in any area where food is prepared point two there must be a suitable installation for the provision of water of suitable quality to any sanitary convenience fitted with a flashing device requirement G2 reasonable provision must be made by the installation of fittings and fixed appliances that use water efficiently for the prevention of undue consumption of water requirement G2 applies only when a dwelling is a erected or B form formed by a material change of use of a building within the meaning of Regulation 5 A or B this ties with the regulation fa six really water efficiency of dwellings which which says regulation 36 in point1 the potential consumption of wholesome Water by persons occupying a new dwelling must not exceed exceed the requirement in paragraph two the requirement referred to in paragraph 1 is either a 125 L per person per day or B in a case to which paragraph 3 applies the optional requirement of 110 L per person per day as measured in either case in accordance with the methodology approved by the Secretary of State point three of Regulation 36 this paragraph applies where the planning permission under which the building work is carried out a specifies the optional requirement in paragraph 2B and B makes it a condition that requirement must be complied with and point four of this regulation in this part new dwelling does not include a dwelling that is formed by a material change of use of a building within the meaning of Regulation 5G and it also ties with the regulation 37 which treats about the wholesome water consumption calculation regulation 37.1 where regulation 36 applies the person carrying out the work must give the building Control Authority a notice which specifies a which of the requirements in regulation 362 A or B applies to the dwelling and B the potential consumption of hor and water per person per day in relation to the completed dwelling point two the person carrying out the work must a where the dwelling is within a higher risk building and sure the notice accompanies the application for a completion certificate in relation to the work B in any other case give the notice to the building Control Authority not later than 5 days after the work has been completed point three where the regulator is the building Control Authority by virtue of section 91 ZB of the act the regulator building Control Authority for other work it must send a copy of each notice it receives under dis regulation in relation to the building to the local Authority for the area in which the building is situated wow so that was 3637 7 just a short interject between the requirements of the approved document G now we back into the regulation the requirements G3 dealing with hot water supply and system g3.1 there must be a suitable installation for the provision of heated holesome water or heated soften water to a any wash Bas in orid that provided in or adjacent to a room containing a sanitary convenience B any wash basin be that fixed buff and shower in a bathroom and see anything provided in any area where food is prepared point two a hot water system including any system or other vessel that supplies water to or receives expansion water from a hot water system must be designed constructed and installed so as to resist the effects of temperature and pressure that may occur either in normal use or in the event of such m function as May reasonably be anticipated and must be adequately supported point three a hot water system that has a hot water storage vessel must incorporate precaution to a prevent the temperature of water stored in the vessel at any time exceeding 100° Centigrade B ensure that any discharge from safety devices is safely conveyed to where it's so where it is visible but will not cause a danger to person in or about the building for four the hot water supply to any fixed buff must be so designed and installed as to incorporate measures to ensure that the temperature of water then that can be delivered to the buff does not exceed 48° Centigrade requirement g3. 3 does not apply to a system which Heats or stores water for the purpose only of an industrial process requirement g34 applies only when a dwelling is ere Ed or formed by a material change of use of a building within the meaning of Regulation 5A or B regulation G4 sary conveniences and washing facilities .1 adequate and suable sanitary conveniences must be provided in rooms provided to accommodate them or in bathrooms two adequate handwashing facilities must be provided in a room containing sanitary conveniences or B rooms or spaces adjacent to Rooms containing sanitary conveniences point three any room containing a s a sanitary convenience a bday or any facility for washing hands provided in accordance with sub paragraph 2B must be separated from any kitchen or any area where food is prepared now off to bathrooms requirement G5 a bathroom must be provided containing a wash base and either a fixed buff or a shower requirement G5 applies only to dwellings and to buildings containing one or more rooms for residential purposes kitchens and food preparation areas that's requirement G6 a suitable sink must be provided in any area where food is prepared are you still here hello good you're a you are a true strong listener and thank you for that there is a lot of the text but as however it is straightforward and I will unpack it all here and now following the guidance hidden within the approved document let us start with the responsibility for compliance with the building regulation in the line of importance the responsibility is first and foremost vested in the building owner then if different in a person initiating the work then people specifying and designing the solution principle designers and people executing the work principal contractors or certified installers all involved should be competent in the rows and the building owner needs to ensure that this is indeed the case the building owner should also facilitate cooperation between all parts and all parties which often boils down to paying for the proper coordination for the time of all of the professionals or all of the people involved and between all of them you would think this should should be taken for granted but unfortunately it has not been the case for quite some time now now dealing with the limitation on the requirements in line with regulation 8 which states that for most requirements achieving reasonable health and safety in about and in connection with the particular building is enough however some requirements go beyond the health and safety consideration and in this particular case this is the requirement G2 concerned with conservation of water in general the system should be proper for use even if it is extended to buildings that would be would be otherwise exempt from complying with building regulations if you want to know what type of buildings are exempt from the building regulations you can find these in schedule two of building regulations and connect it with which is connected with regulation 9 so let us start with the requirement G1 which which deals with cold water supply it mandates that the water is wholesome and is reliably supplied with enough flow rate and pressure without being wasted misused overly used or contaminated now the H some water needs to be of certain parameters or from a statutory Undertaker or licensed provider who makees sure that those parameters are in place are are guarded and if it is softened with a sodium with a sodium content higher than the limit it should be considered soften wholesome water and it should not be used for drinking or cooking wholesome water does not need to be used for all purposes so other Alternatives like the rain water abstract water from underground reclaimed gray or industrial processes water it is even encouraged to to utilize this instead of course you need to know what your do in and the installation must be safe and proper for the purpose of use requirement G2 is all about water efficiency so expect limits on use wherever you look starting with standards set by the Secretary of State the standard for the use of the wholesome water of 125 L per person per day or 110 L per person per day with optional requirements the specification for the system and number of appliances will follow the calculations of use in line with the standard procedures which are described in detail in appendix a of this Guidance the calculation takes into consideration the particular water consumption of Any Given Appliance so specific technical information from the manufacturers will be handy for calculation all thing considered water closets bads tubs Buffs dishwashers washing machines showers water softness waste disposal units you get the notion don't you naturally there will be many variations in number of Any Given Appliance so the figures will be often averaged between the same type but different model multiplied by use factor with the minimum considered use added to it we can then subtract all the alternative sources of water that we use and add the minimum figure for the external water use to get the final total result of use for the given building we can also approach the Quantum of water use by using a fitted fitting approach which limits the water consumption of the fitting if however the limit was was to be exceeded or where there is no proposal of a shower or a proposal to use of a water softener disposal unit or water use we will need to revert back to the calculation the limits for different fittings and appliances is given within the guidance but for example sake it is 185 lit per buff 10 L per minute for shower and 4 and 1/2 L for a single flash toilet when we use the fittings approach it needs to be stated on the notice provided to the building Control Authority they like to know so and they like to have it written plainly so the note with let L than 125 L per person per day using feeding approach statement will do just fine you will wonder what is the optional requirement for the Lesser limit of the water use per person and it is trigger with the condition of a planning permission for the building the building control body will need to be informed of the condition the requirements of calculation or using fittings approach but will will allower limits and notification the lower limits and not ification is the same as before why is it done it's because although national minimum stated in building regulations is generally considered sufficient by the Secretary of State the local capacity of the water system may not be as such so the limit need to be lowered in those particular cases requirement G3 deals with hot water supply and systems the secretary of state is satisfied when the right water is heated and delivered properly meaning wholesome or soften water delivered with no waste misuse or overuse the hot water storage tanks or Heats need to be safe no matter what and to be able to deal with failures in a safe and controlled manner meaning discharge of water when needed the system should not be prone to tampering or boiling water and changing settings by people and the setup should be right for the supplied Appliance hot water needs to be provided to typical Outlets Buffs showers B wash basins and sinks generally though wherever needed for Hygiene purposes your hot water storage system either direct directly or indirectly heed will will be considered vented or or unvented and each will be regulated by separate British standards vented tanks should have at least 90 mm internal diameter vent pipe positioned at the top and So to avoid sioning a thermostat to control the temperature and heating cutout device together with temperature or temperature and pressure relief valve it will come with no surpris that the unvented system also need at least two fail saves and a thermostat so heating cut out and pressure temperature relief is the way to go now we go with the sizes small water heaters up to 50 L storage capacity with a thermostat and a pressure and temperature safety device will be fine and up to 500 L tanks and 4 45 KW power input tanks should be a propriety package and cutout may be on the boiler the system Sy should be marked with all pertinent information as required with warning for the user the installer and the installer Information Systems over 500 L and 45 KW of power input will need to be designed by a qualified engineer and contain a thermostat and two safety devices system of capacity up to 500 L but Power input of more than 45 Kow can be proprietary in line with appropriate British standard now the safety devices fall under non self-resetting energy cutouts which sole purpose is to stop the inflow of energy into the tank or being released within and to be able to do it it may be installed at different location but as long as they can do the job they're fine then we have temperature release valves pressure release valves or a combin combination of both if the system cannot replenish itself with new water there should not be one provided and instead an additional cutof device installed you see if there is no supply of fresh water there would be no way of cooling the internal heating elements and that that that may be dangerous invented systems unvented systems will either need notifications to the building control body or installation by a person registered as a competent and cap capable of self certification electric water heating weather instantaneous fixed immersion or a storage water hitter will need to follow the particulars of British standard European Norm 60335 solar water heating abiding by particular standards is allowed provided an alternative heat source is available and the system should be rated to appropriate temperature and pressure discharge pipes from safety devices should go through a tand dish to allow a visual inspection if the valve is in operation the discharge pipe diameter should be at least that of the safety device and if manifolded there should be no inhibitation of flow Factory fitted manifolds combining safety valve discharge with other flows are allowed tand dis should be vertical have appropriate air gap and be located lower than the safety valve and at maximum 600 mm away from it having bottom vertical pipe run of at least 300 mm further requirements for the specification of the discharge pipe can be found in the guidance and it concerns the hydraulic resistance of the pipe and its temperature durability if the water temperature in the storage system can exceed 80° C it should be tempered to 60° before it goes into the distribution system to prevent colding shower temperature should not be over 48° so inline mixings may need to be required we need to consider the lower temperature at this points and the frequency of the use of the shower at the lower water temperature as it may increase risk of path pathen growth workmanship needs to meet standards late in British standard 8,000 commissioning is required as necessary and needs to follow approved standards and follow domestic heating compliance guide or cibs commissioning code M where applicable the notice of completion of commissioning needs to be given to the building control requirement G4 treats on sanitary conveniences and washing facilities it is considered sufficient to provide enough of the appropriate type depending on the building sex age and health and have handwashing facilities not further than the immediately adjacent room to the sanitary convenience additional regulations will extend the consideration we should put on this things like food standard agency code of practice workplace regulations will have some additional additionals for us to take on board in houses and flats there should be at least one water closet with hand washing facilities in the room containing the water closet or in an adjacent room so as long as it is not a food preparation room and it should be divided from such room with a door it also should be located on the entry Story the scale and provision of the facilities will depend on the building use and will often be regulated by other legislation and British standard 6465 chemical and composting toilets are allowed if the waste can be removed without impacting Living Spaces space or food preparation areas and is not subject to flood water impact any clever cookie trying to use methane in their boiler is not welcome to do so requirement G5 deals with bathrooms and all is needed is a bathroom with either a fixed bath or a shower and a wash basin sanitary appliances space around them and provision of bathrooms should be according to BS 6465 but but at least one for house and a flood needs to be provided and if you ever argued with your plumber where should the hot water Outlet be or if he ever made a mistake and tried to convince you otherwise it should be on the left side according to regulations the discharge of the water from the sanitary appliances should be through a grating a trap and a branch discharge pipe but may also be through a murator and pump small drainage system in line with BN 12050 standard if there is otherwise a gravity operated alternative requirement G6 deals with food preparation areas and consider sink essential for good hygiene in preparation of food a dishwasher may be located in a separate room and this room will not need a separate sink in places falling under foot regulations additional handwashing facilities may be needed the discharge of the water from the sink should be through grating a trap and the brand discharge [Music] pipe so this is it folks the approved document G sanitation Haun water safety water efficiency let's sum it up so there responsibility for compliance with building regulations as ever primarily falls on the building owner of course followed by those initiating designing and executing the work including principal designers or contractors all parties must be competent and the building owner must ensure that is it is the case and that the proper coordination is possible regulation eight emphasizes reasonable health and safety with specific requirements such as G2 for water conservation exemptions can be found in schedule 2 and regulation 9 of the building regulation requirement G1 mandates a reliable supply of wholesome cold water with adequate flow and pressure avoiding waste and contamination Alternatives like rainwater or reclaimed gray water are encouraged if if properly installed requirement G2 focuses on water efficiency setting a standard of 125 L per person per day or 110 L per person per day under optional requirements calculations based on specific Appliance consumptions are necessary considering all water uses and potential alternative sources or alternatively going through fitting approach requirement G3 addresses hot water supply ensures it is safely heated and delivered without waste hot water system must have proper safety measures including thermostats and relief valves vented systems require 90 mm vent pipe while unvented systems need two fail saves large systems over 500 L and 45 Kow of power input must be designed by qualified engineer safety devices include non resetting cutouts and pressure temperature relief valves unvented systems require notification ation to building control or installation by a certified professional requirement G4 stipulates adequate sry conveniences with adjacent hand washing facilities considering building type and user demographics houses and flats need at least one water closet with nearby hand washing facilities separate from food preparation area requirement G5 mandates a bathroom with a fixed buff or shower and a wash basin in houses and flats with hot water outlets on the left water discharge should follow specific standards requirement G6 requires a sink in food preparation areas with discharge through grating a trap and a branch dischar pipe additional hand washing facilities may be needed in regulated Food hygiene areas all installation and commissioning must adhere to approv standards and show safe efficient and compliant Water Systems in buildings in the next episode we will move to approved document H drainage and waste [Music] disposal I hope you enjoyed this episode and at consideration of the approved document G sanitation hot water safety water efficiency makes more sense to you now if you have any questions reach out to me on LinkedIn or or send me an email I'm more than happy to help you out in BNA we deal with planning designing and managing of your projects and we are always glad to facilitate a free initial consultation to steer you in the right direction visit www.bit.ly advice at bitna we help our clients design and execute their dream homes or Investments projects if your building is falling apart though we can also help investigate the reasons behind it and to provide you with an appropriate strategy design and specifications for the repair thank you again for listening please voice up your opinions I'm waiting for you on LinkedIn and I want to hear from you see you next week but remember Bytnar Designs The World Around You, Toodloo!
Piotr Bytnar BEng (Hons) MSc CEng MIStructE
Chartered Structural Engineer who deals with the Architecture of buildings. His Master's Studies led him to an in-depth understanding of risk and contract arrangements in construction as well as specialist knowledge in soil mechanics.
He and his team help homeowners and property developers to design and deliver construction projects reducing waste in time and the cost. He believes that the construction project is an iterative process that can be well managed and it is best managed if all the aspects of the project definition and management are dealt with in-house or coordinated by one organisation. His team works to all stages of RIBA and ISTRUCTE stages of work and enables contractors to deliver projects on-site providing risk evaluations, methodologies for execution of works and temporary works designs.
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