That’s the view of experts at HBXL who believe the new tranche of rules, although necessary, will add more cost to already stretched budgets and give builders a real headache as they adjust to the targets moving yet again.
Part L buildings regulations refer to the requirements regarding conservation of fuel and power.
Put in place to help reach the Government’s zero carbon homes target by 2016, in order to comply with Part L builders will now need to meet an energy efficiency target called Fabric Energy Efficiency Standards (FEES) as well as the normal SAP targets.
Guidelines for insulation, airtightness and heating systems have been provided by the Government which, if followed, will guarantee both FEES and SAP compliance. Covering U values (insulation values) for walls, floors, roofs, windows and doors it is known as the ‘Elemental Recipe’.
Put into practice it will mean builders need to put more insulation in roofs, floors and walls, as well as creating wider wall cavities to accommodate it all. Building wider cavities will require a whole host of changes to the products builders normally buy such as trench blocks, lintels, wall ties, cavity closers while the insulation will also need to change.
Fortunately, builders needing help keep up to speed with estimating accurately to these new regulations can turn to HBXL’s EstimatorXpress V.8 which has been updated to include specifications that match the new ‘Elemental Recipe’.
Joanna Mulgrew, marketing and sales director at HBXL said: “We know that changing the way builders do things can take a while to get used to, so to make their life easier, we’ve updated EstimatorXpress so it tells users the precise widths and values they need to build to.
“Missing some fundamental part of the build programme with regard to Part L because you weren’t up to speed on the latest regulations could prove costly when rectifying the error.
“Because these new Part L regulations have been automatically incorporated into the software nothing is missed, so when the estimate is produced it’s totally accurate.
“This latest version of EstimatorXpress Version 8 will also be handy for any business tendering for public sector work as they will need to demonstrate their knowledge and ability to quote to work that is fully Part L compliant.
“Not making the most of tools designed to make life easier and projects Part L compliant would be bordering on the reckless especially as the Government is adamant about achieving its zero carbon build target by 2016.”
For further information on EstimatorXpress Version 8 or any other HBXL product please visit www.hbxl.co.uk or call 0845 1234 065.
