Swifts v Building Regulations Q+A

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Swifts v Building Regulations Q+A
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Stephen Fitt suggested I write to you.

I spend a fair amount of time designing nest boxes for Swifts, which also turn out to be popular with House Sparrows.

Some of them end up as products and others are custom solutions.

Some are external, fitted to the outside of a building and others are internal: Swift bricks and the like.

I recently strolled around a building development where Swift bricks had been conditioned.

Apart from the fact that less than half of the conditioned nest boxes had been installed, I looked at the ones that had been installed and thought we must be able to do better than this.

I have some draft designs, and have started to build some prototypes.

The aim is to produce something that satisfies the following:

Simple as possible for the bricklayer
Unobtrusive in the wall
Suitable for both retrofit and for new build, though the new build market would be somewhat larger than the retrofit market.
Accepted by Swifts and Sparrows.

Back in 2013, I built some prototypes and installed 6 of them under people’s eaves – since then all 6 have been occupied by sparrows or swifts – 3 pairs of Swifts.

My target would be for boxes high up in a gable, near the roofline, embedded in the wall but also intruding into the cavity but not penetrating the inner leaf.

I do not think my ideas would push the boundaries beyond what accepted products do

e.g. Schwegler, Ibstock, Manthorpe and CJ/Vivara pro

However, I am not up to speed as much as I would like about building regulations relating to Swift boxes embedded in walls.

GBE Q&A
Swifts v Building Regulations Q&A

Q1 Can you please point me at the appropriate regulations.

A1 Building Regulations Approved Documents can be found on the Planning Portal website

https://www.planningportal.co.uk/info/200135/approved_documents

A2 Which apply?

Part A – Structure
-  Do not make the wall any weaker by making the hole and fitting the box
- Consider making the box of building materials like brick or block
- Consider additional wall ties around the box, like those around windows and doors,
- Do not place adjacent to lateral restraint ties between roof and wall, ceiling and wall and floor and wall; place boxes between them
Part B – Fire Safety

Do not make holes in a fire resistant wall when adding the box
Stepped a staggered terraces create party walls that are partly external walls
Make box of non-combustible materials
Part C – Site preparation and resistance to contaminates and moisture

Do not permit moisture to cross the cavity around the box,
add cavity tray DPC above the box, to drive water towards the exterior
seal any gaps created with compatible sealant, clean and prime the surfaces before applying the sealant
Part D – Toxic Substances
-  Don’t make of toxic materials (avoid plastics, use durable materials not needing preservative treatments)
Part E – Resistance to the passage of sound
-  Noisy neighbours may not be welcome, seal up any gaps in construction created by adding box
Part F – Ventilation
- Not relevant
- But do not make any gaps for air leakage (Part L)
Part G – Sanitation, hot water safety and water efficiency
-  Not relevant
Part H – Drainage and Waste Disposal
-  Not relevant
- Ensure the box or roost can be cleaned out and drain outwards
Part J – Combustion appliances and fuel storage systems
-  Not relevant
- Do not place box and roost entries close to balanced flues and Combie boiler flues (avoid products of combustion and steam)
Part K – Protection from falling, collision and impact

Safety hooks may be needed for access ladders for maintenance of box
Part L – Conservation of fuel and power
-  If you are installing above an insulated flat ceiling, adjacent to a cold roof:

No issues
If the attic is an occupied, insulated and heated space
- then the box must not penetrate the insulation and reduce its performance
Do not make thermal bridges through the wall/insulation
- e.g. cavity closer or block reveal next to box
Do not make air gaps enabling air leakage,
- allowing heat out or cold in, or condensation to occur, during the heating season
Part M – Access to and use of buildings
-  Not relevant
Part N – Glazing Safety (Withdrawn)
-  Not relevant
- If you are adding viewing windows into box then use plastic or toughened glass
Part P – Electrical Safety
-  If you added a video camera into the box and connecting to services this could apply
- Do not install lights in vicinity of bat and bird box entries, or risk predation by other birds
Part Q – Security
-  If the hole you make for the box could be used to burgle the house this might apply
Part R – Physical infrastructure for high speed electronic communications networks.
-  Not relevant
- Precautionary Principle: Avoid electromagnetic radiation, place boxes well away
Regulation 7 – Materials and workmanship
-  Products must be ‘proper materials’ (BSI Kitemark, BBA Certificate, etc.)
- Until there is a BS or CEN or even a BSI PAS then this won’t apply yet
- I heard conversations are being had about developing a PAS