SA Building Regulations (NBR) Introduction

1,269 Comments

1. hey penny

   im a student doing my 2nd year in Buliding.we have a assignment and part of the requirements is to write a report on what needs to be done to ad an additional floor to a single storey dwelling(requirements before commencement of work and how to construct) can you help me with some sites

2. Hi penny. I have been building and renovating homes for the last four years. I now want to build another new house in Johannesburg. This time we need a bond and the bank has asked for nhbrc certification. Can I register my cc for nhbrc, and still use my usual contractors, builders and suppliers ( most are not registered ) as my subcontracts. Will this meet nhbrc regulations. Also where would I find details of the nhbrc standards so I can ensure that as we build our structure does meet compliance standards

   With thanks karen

3. Sean it is not clear who has indicated that you need plans. In terms of the National Building Regulations, “open-sided car, caravan or boat shelters or carports that do not exceed 40 square metres in size,” are regarded as minor building work and do NOT require plans – though if you go to the link I have provided you will see that you do need to notify the local authority that you are building. Also, the local authority may require plans for some minor building work – it depends on the local by-laws. But generally an afdak that is less than 40 sq m in size will not need plans.
   I would contact the local authority and ask whether the structure needs to be indicated on the plans – point out that you know it is minor building work. But it really is their call. And if they do need plans you would simply need a rider plan that shows the structure on your site plan as “new” plus a plan of the structure itself.
   Rather check now than have something like this hold up a sale later on.

4. Hi,

   I am in the process of wanting to sell my house, but have come accross an issue with an addition I have made. About two years ago, I added a carport or “afdak” behind the house, and due to the size did not think a building plan was necessary. I have subsequently also read that for a roof of less that 40 sqm, I don’t need plans.

   After consultation with the Estate agent, I am now not sure if plans are needed or not as they have indiacted that I do need one, and that is should not be a problem and that I can jsut contact an architiect, have him draw the adjustments and submit it to the municipality.

   What would be best option be, and would I need to submit changes prior to selling my home

   You assitance will be appreciated

   Thanks
   Sean

5. Mathaeus, The statutory body that regulates the engineering profession in South Africa is the Engineering Council of South Africa, ECSA. They should be able to give you the information you require in terms of code of conduct etc.
   Consulting Engineers South Africa (CESA) and the SA Institution of Civil Engineering (SAICE) are two of several voluntary associations for engineers in this country. I have posted links for you to get to their various web sites.
   In more general terms, an engineer is just one of several people defined in the National Building Regulations as “a competent person“. You don’t necessarily have to appoint an engineer as your competent person – it depends on your project. Whoever you choose to use as your competent person, would need to liaise with other role-players.
   In terms of inspection, SANS 10400: Part A General Principles & Requirements states that “general inspection by a competent person of a system or measure or installation of a building, or part thereof, at such intervals as might be necessary in accordance with accepted professional practice to enable such competent person to be satisfied that the design assumptions are valid, the design is being correctly interpreted and the work is being executed generally in accordance with the designs, appropriate construction techniques and good practice but shall exclude detailed supervision and day-to-day inspection”.
   There is also a detailed table in Part A that gives the “approved competent person appointments”, including the nature of duties required. It starts with Duty 1 which = “Demonstrating compliance with the requirements of the National Building Regulations in terms of Regulation AZ4(1)(b)(ii).” The table is detailed and runs through the whole list of requirements stating which type of competent person needs to fulfill each duty. Many of these do require an engineer or other specialist – whom your appointed “competent person” would call in.

6. Darius there is no set of regulations that apply specifically to kitchens. All apply. Particular attention should be paid to plumbing and electrics. If you read the information on this site you should find the answers you need.

7. Hi Penny

   We want to buildt an extension to our house for my in-law to stay in. We want to included a kitchen. What is the correct way and regulations when it comes to a kitchen? What are the regulations?

   Regards

   Darius

8. Prashila, Contact your local authority’s (council/municipality) planning department and ask them to send a building inspector to investigate. Some municipalities (e.g. City of Cape Town) allow a certain % of building right on the boundary without neighbour’s consent – though they do need to have plans approved before they build. But as far as I know, this is not the case in Gauteng. And again, as far as I know, neighbour’s consent is needed and approval takes quite a while.

9. Steve we have added a page that deals with electric cables etc. I think you will find it useful. This is the LINK.

10. 21 Sirkon Ave. Extension 5, Lenasia – STAND 5958

    I looking for a website, My neighbour is buidling a double story house, The space between my house border is only 2 bricks away, The buiding on the border. Note the 3rd floor , the very last floor, he has a open plan court yard. No. we did not sign any building plans, or notified. Note there is no privacy for me. Please i need some guidance, on who do i contact. Please assist me urgently.
    Thanks
    Prashila

11. Steve there is quite a lot of info on the section on roofs on this site, including details about the pitch (degree) that is allowed. It also explains when waterproofing is required.
    If you bought the house voetstoots (which is usual) you have no recourse to the previous owner.
    I think your first step is to get a copy of the plans from the municipality and see what pitch was required – and allowed. It is very unlikely that a building inspector would have passed a building that did not comply with what was in the plans – and the council is very unlikely to have permitted a house to be built that did not comply with the NBR. But you need to do a paper chase to check this.
    In terms of electrics, cabling is commonly plastered into the wall. If it is run through conduit, the conduit is plastered into the wall. Start looking at the walls in houses and you will see lots of “ruined” plaster. You are unlikely to find cables/conduit on the surface of the wall.

12. Chris contact the municipality and tell them that you can’t get hold of the building inspector. There must be other people who can assist you. If your property is next to a farm then you can probably, very easily, get approval from the owner for a rider plan.

13. I was hoping my error wouldn’t create any problems, I have been battling to get hold of the Building inspector for some time now all his numbers are unavailable. My property boundary is bordering a massive farm size bush that might never get developed. I’ll try get someone out to advise me. Appreciate the feedback

    Kind regards
    Chris

14. Chris, Yes – unless you can persuade the council to pass a rider plan. Having said this – some years ago we built a house in Hout Bay and when we started digging the foundations, we discovered that the neighbour had basically done what you have done and water from his soakaway was seeping onto our property. We reported this to the building and health inspectors and they did nothing to force them to rectify the situation. We had to move the position of our house which led to us building on a much steeper slope than intended with all kinds of cost implications. Mind you, when the building inspector came to check the foundations, he said that they were in the wrong place … he was holding the plans upside down! Then when we built a cottage in Pringle Bay – when the building inspector came to check the septic tank, he discovered that the bricklayers had used the internal dimensions as the external dimensions – and we had to break down two walls and enlarge it.

15. Hi Penny

    I made an calculation error when I buried my septic tank and build my soak away, instead of 3m from the boundary line, as the building line indicates I put it right next to the boundary line. Would this mean I will have to dig up everything and redo all of it again?

    Kind regards
    Chris

16. Hi
    I bought a house in Kloof in KZN around 3 years ago and the roof has started leaking, the insurance company say they will not cover any repairs until the roof has been repaired and the pitch raised, as water is pooling in the middle of the roof.
    The roof is corrugated metal, and is almost 100% flat, with no waterproofing.
    My question is, was this building built legally and do I have recourse against the previous owner who built the house, or the building inspector who passed the house?
    Another issue you may be able to help with is the electrical cabling is all plastered into the wall, not run in conduit, which makes repairing any faults very difficult as I either have to chase the cable and ruin the plaster, or run new cables on the surface of the wall.
    Is this a legal way of running electrical cables?

    Thanks for any info
    Steve

17. Here are two articles that should help you. One on our site SEE LINK – and another on our sister web site SEE LINK.

18. How do I go about finding out the rules/regulations governing responsibilities around shared walls? My neighbour’s palm tree is uprooting our shared fence/boundary wall, and it needs to be fixed. Also, the problem is going to continue as long as she has that tree – but she won’t hear of getting rid of it or fixing the fence.

19. I am not sure what you are saying – who never handed in a plan for the building?

20. You don’t say who is demanding plans. Has the council approached the owner for plans perhaps?

21. Janita, The local authority is the municipality or city council (or in the case of for e.g. Cape Town, Johannesburg etc The City of Cape Town etc). Contact the Institute of Plumbing http://www.iopsa.org.za/ if you need more info.

22. Basically if you look at this article on minor building works you will see that caravan or boat shelters or carports that do not exceed 40 square metres in size do not need plans. However you do need to inform the council that you are erecting the structure.

23. Hi Chan,
    Be very careful buying a house when the local council does not have any plans or partly missing plans. This can be a costly thing not only with getting a “competent person” to draw up and submit the plans but also the penalties from the council could be quite severe. If you require a bond to be able to purchase the house then the financial institution will require the property to be inspected and if there are any missing plans these will have to be done before a bond will be granted. These costs usually have to be covered by the seller. If you are buying for cash then I suggest you get a few quotes for the plans first and then ask the council what the submission fees and penalties will be.

24. I want to get a company to build a double carport (6×6.5m in front on my garages) at my place. Will they need to apply for plans at the city council here in Krugersdorp and inform the council that they are going to build this carport? Do they also need to draw up an plan for this? Please advise.

25. Hi Penny:

    My apologies for the misstatement, I am totally clueless with regard to all of the different aspects. This response that you just gave me is perfect, thank you so much for the patience. One last question…do you perhaps know who the local authority on these building standards?

    Thank you very much for all the trouble.

    Kind Regards,
    Janita