Building and Planning Glossary

Article 4 direction: A council order that removes some permitted development rights in a defined area, so works that would normally be allowed need a planning application.
Back addition: The narrower rear wing found on many Victorian and Edwardian terraced houses, usually containing the kitchen and bathroom.
Bifold doors: Glazed doors made of panels that fold against each other to open almost the full width of an opening.
Block and beam floor: A ground floor made of precast concrete beams with concrete blocks between them, often used where ground conditions are poor.
Build-over agreement: Permission from the water company to build over or within 3 metres of a public sewer.
Building control: The service that checks building work meets the building regulations, provided by councils or registered building control approvers.
Building notice: A way of applying for building regulations approval without full plans; suitable for simpler work in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Building regulations: National minimum standards for the design and construction of buildings, covering structure, fire safety, energy, ventilation, drainage and more.
Building warrant: In Scotland, the approval from the council that must be granted before most building work starts.
Cavity wall: An external wall built of two leaves of masonry with a gap between them, usually filled or partly filled with insulation.
Completion certificate: The document confirming building work has been inspected and meets the building regulations. Keep it for when you sell.
Conservation area: An area of special architectural or historic interest where extra planning controls apply.
Damp-proof course (DPC): A horizontal barrier in a wall that stops ground moisture rising.
Damp-proof membrane (DPM): A sheet laid under a floor slab to stop moisture rising through the floor.
Dormer: A structure that projects from a sloping roof to create headroom and a vertical window.
Eaves: The lower edge of a roof where it overhangs the walls.
First fix: The stage when cables, pipes and studwork are installed before plastering.
Flat roof: A roof with a very shallow fall, typically finished with rubber, felt or GRP membranes over insulation.
Foundations: The base that transfers a building’s load into the ground, usually concrete strip or trench-fill foundations for extensions.
Full plans application: A building regulations application with detailed drawings, checked before work starts.
Gable: The triangular upper part of a wall at the end of a pitched roof.
Hip: The sloping edge where two roof slopes meet at an external angle; a hipped roof slopes on all sides.
Householder application: A planning application for works to a house or its garden, such as an extension.
Juliet balcony: Doors that open inward with a guard rail across the opening, without a platform to step onto.
Larger home extension: An English prior approval route allowing single-storey rear extensions of up to 6 metres (attached) or 8 metres (detached).
Lawful development certificate: A certificate from the council confirming that a use or development is lawful, often used to confirm permitted development.
Lintel: A beam over a door or window opening that carries the wall above.
Listed building consent: Consent needed for works that affect the character of a listed building, inside or out.
Mansard: A roof with a steep lower slope (around 72 degrees) and a shallower or flat top, creating an almost full storey.
Padstone: A concrete or engineering-brick block that spreads the load from a beam into the wall below.
Party wall: A wall shared between two properties, or one on the boundary.
Party wall award: A document prepared by party wall surveyors setting out how work under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 will be carried out.
Permitted development: Works allowed without a planning application under national rules, subject to limits and conditions.
Pitched roof: A roof with sloping surfaces, usually covered in tiles or slates.
Prior approval: A lighter-touch process where the council considers specific matters, such as neighbours’ amenity, before permitted development goes ahead.
Registered building control approver: A private building control body registered with the Building Safety Regulator, an alternative to council building control in England.
Ridge: The horizontal line at the top of a pitched roof where two slopes meet.
Roof lantern: A glazed structure set into a flat roof to bring daylight into the room below.
RSJ (rolled steel joist): A common term for a steel beam used to support loads when a wall is removed.
Second fix: The stage after plastering when sockets, switches, sanitaryware, doors and skirting are fitted.
Section 106 agreement: A legal agreement attached to a planning permission, often covering contributions to local infrastructure or affordable housing.
Side return: The narrow outdoor passage beside the back addition of a terraced house.
Soil stack: The vertical pipe that carries waste from toilets to the drains.
Steel beam: A structural member, usually a universal beam or column section, carrying loads over a new opening.
Structural calculations: An engineer’s calculations showing that beams, lintels and foundations can carry the loads.
SuDS: Sustainable drainage systems, which manage rainwater on site; in Wales most new buildings need SuDS approval.
Underpinning: Strengthening or deepening existing foundations, often needed for basements or subsidence.
U-value: A measure of heat loss through a building element; the lower the number, the better the insulation.
Warm roof: A roof where the insulation sits above the structure, keeping the timbers warm and reducing condensation risk.
Zero-rated: Supplies charged VAT at 0%, such as the construction of qualifying new homes.

Building and planning glossary

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