Guidance on the certification of the structural design of buildings which are covered by the Scottish Type Approval Scheme
1.0.Background
1.1. The Scottish Type Approval Scheme is a national approval system for house builders and developers which offers approvals of standard building designs prepared by designers and developers of domestic and non-domestic projects in support of building warrant applications in Scotland.
1.2. This document provides guidance for Certifiers when a certificate of design (building structures) is to be provided in support of a building warrant application for a project which includes a building that is covered by STAS approval.
2.0.General Guidance
2.1. The STAS approval is made on the basis of a Statement of Structural Adequacy from the designer. This merely confirms that an engineer has been involved in the design and has overseen the elements covered by the STAS Approval.
2.2. A STAS certificate may NOT be relied on alone as evidence that the building complies with the structural requirements of the building regulations.
2.3. The Certifier will still need to review drawings and calculations demonstrating compliance with Mandatory Standards 1.1 and 1.2 and certify the building in the normal way. In particular, the Certifier must see that the design takes account of the local conditions, e.g., ground conditions, wind and snow loading, etc
2.4. The Certifier must make sure that the design has been appropriately checked in accordance with Guidance Note 11.
2.5. The Certifier will need to see that the warrant submission includes the information described in Annex A to Scottish Government publication Procedural Guidance on Certification.
2.6. There may be situations where the foundations for the building and the building itself are covered by separate building warrants. In these situations, it is understood that it would be reasonable to expect that a Completion Certificate should be submitted and accepted by the verifier before another warrant to build on the foundations is granted or the work has begun. Also, where the superstructure is to be covered by a separate building warrant, that warrant should be for an alteration of extension and the Certifier will need to take into account the state of the foundations when certifying the superstructure.
March 2022