When undertaking any new build or converting any building to a residential development (e.g. house or flats), you are required to conform to Part H of Building Standards (Scotland) Regulations 1990 (as amended) or Part E of the Building Regulations 2000 (England & Wales).

The purpose of these regulations is the protection against sound from other parts of a building and adjoining buildings. They apply to all rooms for residential purposes as well as dwelling houses and flats. A room used for residential purposes is a room which is used by one or more persons to live and sleep in, including rooms in hotels, hostels, boarding houses, halls of residence and residential homes.

In the technical documents, performance standards are given for walls, floors and stairs having a separating function, in new buildings and buildings formed by change of use.

The requirement of these regulations calls for sample pre-completion testing of separating walls and floors prior to handover. The testing is required to ensure that the level of performance specified in the Technical Guidance is being achieved. Tests are to be performed to the ISO-140 series of standards.

The number of tests required will depend on the number of dwellings in each development. The regulations state that a minimum of one set of tests is required for every ten dwellings of each construction type on a development.

Ethos Environmental undertake monitoring to these standards. Advice can be provided prior to, and subsequent to, testing being undertaken to ensure compliance with the regulations and completion certificates being issued.