Building Approval - Walls

Good Practice in Wall Construction

Introduction
The information obtained in this leaflet has been simplified to provide easy reference and
guidance, primarily for domestic works. It does not give definitive interpretation of Building
regulations, and you are advised to consult with professionals before submitting plans.
All building materials and products used should conforms to the appropriate British Standard or
hold a current Certificate issued by the British Board of Agreement (BBA) or European equivalent.
Wall Foundations
External and internal load bearing walls should always be built on a suitable base. Normally these
will be foundations or a designed floor slab. Foundations are usually taken down to a minimum
depth of one metre into undisturbed ground. (See Leaflet 6 in this series for further details). Non
load bearing blockwork and stud partition walls can be built upon concrete floor slabs as shown in
figure 1.

figure 1: foundation requirements for different types of walls

First Floor Walls
First floor internal walls are normally constructed of blockwork or non load bearing stud partitions.
Blockwork partitions should only be built on structurally members designed for the purpose such
as lintels or load bearing walls.
Timber floors require strengthening beneath stud partitions to distribute loads safely. If the wall
runs parallel to the floor joists, the joists beneath the wall should be at least "doubled up" by
placing additional joists alongside and fixing together with bolts. If the wall runs across the joists,
then "noggins" should be placed between joists.

Single Brick Wall Support

Single leaf walls, as used typically for garages, should be supported at least every three metres in
length by piers and have a maximum height of 2.5m.

figure 2: supporting single brick walls

The length of the buttressing wall should be at least 1/6 of the overall height of the supported wall
(see figure 2 for details).

Restraint Straps
Galvanised steel restraint straps should be provided at floor, ceiling and roof levels. They are
used to tie the walls in with the structure and are spaced at 2 metre centres, fixed to the first three
joists or rafters (see figure 3).

figure 3

figure 4: vertical strapping at eaves for pitched and flat roofs

Wall Ties
Wall ties should be provided in cavity walls to tie the inner and outer leaves together. For
traditional construction with a 50mm-75mm cavity they should be placed 900mm horizontally,
450mm vertically staggered. Where there are openings in the wall, such as doors and windows,
wall ties should be provided every 300mm vertically. Care should be taken to ensure ties are free
from loose mortar and placed drip down.
Closing Cavities
Cavities should be closed at reveals and their head. The materials used for this should be non
combustible at least 25mm thick; brick blocks and slate are normally used for this purpose.
Where cavities have been closed to allow door/window openings, a vertical/horizontal damp proof
course should be provided.
Lintels
These are used to support loads over opening. Common lintels used today are mode of concrete
or steel, and normally require an end bearing of 150mm. Ensure that you use the correct lintel for
the project and that it is installed in accordance with manufacturers instructions. Some lintels may
need to be made fire resistance (by, for example, encasing them in plaster).
Insulation
The 1991 Building regulations require a new dwelling to meet a U value of 0.45 W/m2K for
external walls. There is a wide range of insulation products on the market today that either fill the
cavity completely or partially. If using partial fill, a residual cavity of 50mm should be provided.
Insulation should be provided in the cavity where lintel's are used to avoid cold bridging and
pattern staining on walls; if steel lintels are to be used over openings, an insulation strip may run
in the hollow of the lintel.
Cavity wall section

figure 5: alternative position for wall insulation

Stud Wall Section

Timber framed structures and stud partitions should have insulation between timber supports to
meet the same thermal standards.
Alternatively, proprietary insulation may be fixed to the outside or inside of the wall, or an
increased thickness or thermal insulation blockwork could be used (see figure 5 for examples).
Cavity Tray
These are required when new extensions about an existing building, and over certain lintels or
airbricks. They need to be inserted in the cavity of the existing wall to divert any rain penetration
through the outer leaf, via weep holes, if a cavity tray is not used water will collect over openings
causing damp problems (see figure 6 for details).

figure 6: fitting a cavity tray

Sound Transmission
Sound can be transmitted in three ways:

Airborne

Impact or

Through flanking transmission, caused by poor design.

Sound pollution is therefore one of the primary factors to be considered when constructing a party
wall. In the past, sound transmittance has been overcome using either dense concrete blocks,
absorbent quilts of cavity constructions.

Fire Protection
Party wall and lintels require fire protection for periods of up to an hour to give adequate stability.
Consideration or fire protection should also be given to exit routes from dwellings of three storeys
or more.
Masonry walls usually provide more than adequate fire protection. Stud partitions that need to
provide one hour's fire resistance should be constructed with 2 layers of 12.5mm plaster board
with staggered joints on each side. Half hour fire protection can be achieved using 12.5mm
plaster board with a plaster skim finish in each side of the stud work.
Fire can also travel from adjacent buildings. To minimize the risk of this, the table below shows
the area of doors, windows and other non first resisting construction (i.e. unprotected area)
allowed close to the boundary line.
Permitted unprotected areas in small residential buildings:
Distance from
boundary
1.0m
2.0m
3.0m
4.0m
5.0m
6.0m

Maximum length facing

Boundary
24m
24m
24m
24m
24m
24m

Maximum unprotected area facing

Boundary
5.6m2
12m2
18m2
24m2
30m2
No Limit

windows, doors, other openings and cladding = unprotected areas.

Reference
Building Regulations 1991 - Approved Document A - Structure
British Standard 5628 - 1978/1985 - Structural Use of Masonry
British Board of Agreement Certificates.