Kia ora from your local BCA here at Hauraki District Council
The fog has settled across the district on many mornings. We're halfway through winter and there's still plenty of fireplace season left.
It’s time to settle in with a nice hot cuppa and enjoy the latest newsletter from your local BCA team here at the Hauraki District Council.
In this issue:
Many of our Hauraki community rely on wood burners to stay warm during winter. We want to share some tips on the best approach to consenting a fireplace.
In addition to the above, we would like to shed some light on the issued Building Consent - Form 5 criteria, the where, what, who and how of the construction process to save you from being left out in the cold during your application for a CCC (Code Compliance Certificate).
To help prevent hold ups, we will explain required inspections, construction monitoring and documentation to help you sail through your inspections to obtain a CCC.
Fireplace Season – New Checklist
We see a variety of fireplace consents and have noticed that some consents fly through with little input from us, while others need a bit more help to move things along.
To help, we’ve put together a checklist designed to make getting a fireplace consent easy.
This is ideal for anyone who is applying for the first time or anyone not sure about the minimum requirements – we hope this makes it easier.
Importantly, a massive thank you to those who put together complete and compliant applications. We really appreciate your consideration.
Understanding the issued Building Consent - Form 5 – How to Prevent Delays on Site.
We understand the pressure that contractors are under to get the job done and empathise with the frustrations caused by failed inspections due to misunderstandings related to the Form 5 requirements.
See the summary of issues we have identified and a clarification of the expectations, note that these are in the same order as presented on a Form 5.
Conditions:
Consents are issued with conditions which must be adhered to, see Figure 1 below.
Figure 1: Building Consent Conditions
Common conditions are Section 90 Inspections and Section 72 Natural Hazard Title Notification.
Section 90 requires all the required inspections to be undertaken; Section 72 requires the title notification to be undertaken before CCC can be issued.
Construction Monitoring Requirements
When a project is subject to engineered design, the engineer specifies the inspections they wish to undertake before confidently being able to issue a PS4. See an example of this below;
In some instances, this can result in what appears to be a double up of inspections, as we may also undertake a prepour inspection.
Please note that the engineer only checks what they are certifying and there are often other items for us to check including the siting of building platform or other non-engineered components.
If you are unsure whether you require additional monitoring from the engineer and feel that the council can complete the inspection, please refer this query to your engineer before lodging your consent.
Inspections
All required inspections by the council must be completed before a CCC can be issued, if you do not believe an inspection is necessary, please contact us to discuss before moving on with the project.
Documents Required
You will note that different documents are required at each inspection, see the example below.
The reason they are required at each inspection is to ensure that the construction has been completed in accordance with the consent and if something is not correct this can be remediated/resolved before work continues, saving a massive headache for everyone involved.
Documents such as as-builts are essential for the owner or future owner to understand where the underground services are located before digging or planning any additions/alterations.
One critical document that is required at the prepour inspection is the E1 Survey Certificate Floor Level, this ensures that the building will be constructed to the correct height to prevent flooding, which, if the subfloor is constructed or the concrete is poured before confirming this is correct is extremely expensive to rectify. The same can be said for the ground bearing certification.
Compliance Schedules
These typically apply to most commercial and industrial consents, please ensure that the work is undertaken in accordance with these, any deviations can result in an amendment application.
Note that if the work is not yet completed a Certificate of Public Use can be applied for. See the guidance document below.
Attachments
Please refer to these as in some instances there may still be outstanding planning issues to address before starting work, or a development contribution may be required before your CCC can be issued.
Advice Notes
This section provides further guidance to satisfy the conditions of consent to obtain CCC. Clarifications can include minimum floor levels, smoke alarm requirements, as built requirements and how to apply for CCC.
In Summary
We hope that this information provides an understanding of the requirements outlined in your building consent (Form 5). If you are still unsure, please contact us, we are here to help.
Below are some useful links for further information related to CCC applications, Certificates of Public Use and Building Consent Guidance from MBIE which elaborates on the Form 5 requirements in Section 7 and provides useful information as to the whole Building Consent Process.