Know the risk of collapse

When it comes to structure, the Building Regulations really lowered their standards last year. Approved Document A, released in December, dropped the application of its “Disproportionate Collapse” requirement to buildings of five storeys and fewer. This stipulates buildings should not suffer collapse disproportionately to the cause. Helpfully, the Precast Flooring Federation has published a guidance note on the subject, splitting structures into risk categories, and offering advice on horizontal ties, vertical ties, and more. For details see

www.pff.org.uk