Section 4: Roof covering

Materials

4.1 All materials used to cover roofs, excluding windows of glass in residential buildings with roof pitches of not less than 15°, shall be capable of safely withstanding the concentrated imposed loads upon roofs specified in BS EN 1991-1- 1:2002 with its UK National Annex. Transparent or translucent covering materials for roofs not accessible except for normal maintenance and repair are excluded from the requirement to carry the concentrated imposed load upon roofs if they are non-fragile or are otherwise suitably protected against collapse.

Re-covering of roofs

4.2 The re-covering of roofs is commonly undertaken to extend the useful life of buildings. Roof structures may be required to carry underdrawing or insulation provided at a time later than their initial construction. This section provides guidance on determining whether such work to a roof constitutes a material alteration under the Building Regulations.

4.3 Where the work involves a significant change in the applied loading the structural integrity of the roof structure and the supporting structure should be checked to ensure that upon completion of the work the building is not less compliant with Requirement A1 than the original building.

4.4 A significant change in roof loading is when the loading upon the roof is increased by more than 15%.

4.5 Where such checking of the existing roof structure indicates that the construction is unable to sustain any proposed increase in loading (e.g. due to overstressed members or unacceptable deflection leading to ponding), appropriate strengthening work or replacement of roofing members should be undertaken. This is classified as a material alteration.

4.6 In carrying out the checks mentioned in paragraph 4.3 an increase of stress in a structural member arising from increased loading does not necessarily indicate that the roof structure is less compliant than the original roof provided an adequate factor of safety is maintained.

4.7 Where work will significantly decrease the roof dead loading, the roof structure and its anchorage to the supporting structure should be checked to ensure that an adequate factor of safety is maintained against uplift of the roof under imposed wind loading.

The Requirement

This Approved Document deals with the following Requirements which are contained in the Building Regulations 2010.

Requirement

Disproportionate collapse

A3. The building shall be constructed so that in the event of an accident the building will not suffer collapse to an extent disproportionate to the cause.

Guidance

Performance

In the Secretary of State’s view the Requirement of A3 will be met by an appropriate choice
of measures to reduce the sensitivity of a building to disproportionate collapse should an accident occur.

Introduction

0.1 The guidance in Section 5 deals with the means of meeting this performance criterion.