What a developer may and may not do
On his own land the owner put up a two-storey shell of a “Canadian” house on a strip foundation. Unauthorized construction of private houses is a breach of the law. The neighbouring plot had been on the market for a long time. At last it found an owner, who called in a surveyor to mark the plot precisely. During that survey it turned out that the neighbour had built the house half a metre from the boundary and thus violated SNiP. The new owner was unyielding. The case went to court. The court’s decision was the natural one: move the building one metre from the fence. The reader can imagine what it means to relocate a house together with its foundation.
Let us review in order the construction codes and regulations, abbreviated as SNiP. If you observe them, you will not have to cross the line beyond which technical problems turn into legal ones. Local permitting authorities follow the procedure for preparing and approving design documentation and the republican construction codes RSN 70-88 for individual building. These determine whether the plot is developed correctly, and how the dwelling and outbuildings are laid out. You need to think carefully about what else you plan to build. After the construction plan is approved, objects not listed in it are treated as unauthorized and are subject to demolition or additional approval.
Practice shows that many owners get ahead of events and start building their house without waiting for the full set of permits. The result is often serious blunders that leave the developer clutching his head. Let us dwell on the main points.
First, turn to the Code of Practice for design and construction SP 11-III-99. Once you have read this document, you will know exactly which papers are required to start work on an individual plot. Patience is needed, because the paperwork and approvals can drag on for quite a long time. The simplest step in this process is to write an application for a building permit. Attach to it a resolution of the head of the administration granting the land plot for individual housing construction, the lease and sale-and-purchase contracts, as well as the master plan and the plot passport, the record of the on-site establishment of its boundaries and the setting-out of buildings, red lines and building axes.
On the basis of this set of documents the head of the administration issues a resolution permitting construction of a private house. Then a passport of the private dwelling project is drawn up, which must include the following materials:
- the administration’s resolution permitting construction;
- a document confirming the developer’s title to the land plot;
- an extract from the master plan of the relevant urban-planning documentation;
- a site location plan;
- technical specifications (TS) for connection to utility networks with a diagram;
- floor plans, elevations and sections;
- the record of the on-site establishment of the plot boundaries and the setting-out of buildings (with a setting-out diagram).
The design of the individual private house is compiled as a separate folder. It includes the following materials:
- a site location plan (M 1:500) showing the placement of the construction object in relation to nearby settlements, sources and external networks of power, heat and water supply, structures and sewer networks;
- a topographic survey of the plot with the adjoining part of the street (M 1:500);
- a master plan of the plot with vertical planning and tying the design to the terrain (M 1:200, 1:1000);
- a basement plan (technical undercroft, ground floor);
- floor plans (M 1:100, 1:50);
- main and side elevations of the buildings (M 1:50, 1:100);
- characteristic sections (M 1:100, 1:50);
- plans of floor structures and roofs of non-repeating storeys (M 1:100);
- a plan of the roof rafter system (M 1:100);
- a roof plan (M 1:100, 1:200);
- a foundation plan (M 1:100, 1:50);
- foundation sections, characteristic architectural and structural joints and details (M 1:10, 1:20);
- a general explanatory note and technical and economic indicators;
- estimate and financial considerations of construction cost;
- drawings of engineering services (as per the design brief).
Rules for siting a dwelling and outbuildings
A dwelling is placed with a setback of not less than 5 m from the red line of the road and not less than 3 m from residential streets. In urban planning, the red line is a conventional boundary separating the carriageway of a street, driveway, thoroughfare or square from the built-up territory.
For fire safety, the distance between dwellings on neighbouring plots must be from 6 to 15 m depending on the fire-resistance rating of the structures. The document recommends, for ease of repair, placing the building offset toward one of the side boundaries of the plot, but the distance from the fence to the wall may not be less than 1–1.5 metres. Most likely the owner will have to follow the general street-development pattern, taking the offset of neighbouring buildings as a guide.
Outbuildings are best placed in the depth of the plot, observing the same setback requirements from the boundaries as for the dwelling. They may be built either freestanding or attached to the house. The street-side fencing of the plot must be shown in the overall construction design. If you want the garage doors to face the street directly, you must take the red line of the road into account and on no account go beyond it. On a homestead plot an unsewered closet-type latrine is permitted. The cesspit, with mandatory waterproofing, should be arranged on its northern side.
The height of a building for keeping livestock and poultry must be not less than 2.4 m (from floor to ceiling). It may even be attached to the house — provided that between the walls of the dwelling and this structure there are at least three ancillary rooms.
There are also rules for plantings. Trees must stand 5 m from the outer walls of buildings and structures, 3 m from the neighbouring plot boundary, 1.5–2 m from underground networks, and 4 m from masts and supports of the lighting network. Shrubs are planted 1.5 m from buildings and 1 m from the plot boundary.
Minimum requirements for arranging a dwelling
If the developer carefully studies RSN 70-88, SNiP 31-02-2001 and SNiP 2.08.01-89, he will learn a good deal about limits on room areas and heights in the building. Pay attention to the floor layout of the dwelling. A house whose rooms are smaller than the minimum permitted sizes may simply not be registered with the Bureau of Technical Inventory (SNiP 31-02-2001).
The area of the common living room must be not less than 12 m2, of a bedroom — not less than 8 m2, of a kitchen — from 6 m2, of a bathroom — not less than 1.8 m2, and of the smallest toilet — 0.96 m2. The authors of the construction standards set this minimum not on a whim, but on the basis of sanitary and hygienic rules and the dimensional standards of furniture, appliances and fixtures. Note that rooms in attic storeys may be smaller. There a bedroom of a minimum 7 m2 is allowed. There is no upper limit on room sizes. As the saying goes, you may even build palatial halls.
All passages and ascents in a dwelling also have minimum standards. Thus the width of the stair to the upper floor must be from 0.9 m, of corridors — not less than 0.9 m, and of the entrance hall — not less than 1.8 m. There are also minimum limits on storey height from floor to ceiling (SNiP 2.08.01-89). If it is less than 2.5 m, and in the attic less than 2.3 m, the building may be deemed unfit for permanent residence.
The number of storeys of a house is usually determined by the count of above-ground floors, including the attic. If the developer decides to have a ground or basement floor, he must know that living rooms are not permitted there. That floor may be counted as above-ground if the top of its ceiling is not less than 2 m above the planning ground level. If a ground-floor or basement room is to be used for household purposes, its height from floor to ceiling must be not less than 2 m.
The ground and first floors of a dwelling may be given over to a garage. In that case their walls and ceilings must be of non-combustible materials. If windows of other rooms sit above the garage doors, a canopy 0.6 m high is required.
The developer may not know the exact total area of the house; it is determined under SNiP 2.08.01-89. Practice shows that some BTI engineers make mistakes when calculating square metres. Unjustified overstatement of figures leads to a higher property tax and higher utility charges. The area of a dwelling is the sum of the areas of all rooms on all floors. Sometimes the homeowner disputes balconies and loggias with the BTI. You should know: their area is counted as well, as are the stair landings at the corresponding floor level. The areas of attics, a service undercroft and unheated service rooms in the ground or basement floor are not included in the total house area.
Room sizes on the floors are calculated within the inner faces of walls and partitions. Skirting projections do not count. When determining the area of an attic room, only the part where the sloping ceiling is 1.6 m high is taken in full; a factor of 0.7 is used for the zone with a lower ceiling.
Building services
The house is built and all the codes have been observed. It is time to take on the building services and install the necessary fixtures and equipment. To understand the intricacies of laying the building’s vital arteries, turn to five documents: SNiP 2.04.03-85, SNiP 2.04.05-91, PUE, SNiP 2.04.08-87 and SNiP 31-02-2001. The drawing shows some parts of the external services. Study them carefully:
Sewerage in accordance with SNiP 2.04.03-85.
If sewer networks are installed incorrectly, the developer faces regular clogging of pipes with wastewater. He is doomed to keep clearing them. Under the codes, daily sewerage discharge per person is about 200 l. The smallest diameter of an external sewer pipe must be 150 mm, with a fall toward the common collector of not less than 8 %. The minimum burial depth in the ground must be 0.3 m. Where there is no centralized street sewerage, filter wells and trenches may be built, with a septic tank (an industrial treatment unit) placed in front of them. The base of artificial filters must be 1 m above the groundwater level. Internal water piping is allowed only if a sewerage system is in place.
Heating and ventilation in accordance with SNiP 2.04.05-91.
To calculate the right number of heating appliances for satisfactory heating of the rooms, the developer should consult specialists. As a rule, the technical data of such devices give output in watts or kilowatts. The heat flow from the appliances is taken to be not less than 10 W per 1 m2 of floor area.
In an individual dwelling, water is used as the main heat-transfer medium. Electricity is allowed only if cheaper energy sources are unavailable, and the tariffs in that case are different. If the dwelling consumes 50 kW or more, automatic control of the heat flow should be provided. Radiators and convectors are generally placed under window openings. They must not be located in vestibules with external doors: that risks freezing of the system.
Note that ventilation ducts must not be used to extract combustion products from a boiler or a water heater. The room that houses the heating boiler must have a window of not less than 0.003 m2 per 1 m3 of internal volume. With a solid-fuel boiler, a fuel store may be arranged on the first, ground or basement floor. In bathrooms and toilets of an individual house that have no external windows, duct ventilation must be installed.
Under SNiP 2.04.03-85, insolation — that is, daylight or sunlight — must be taken into account in the finished house. The owner will not want to burn lights in broad daylight and suffocate from lack of ventilation. Therefore the ratio of total window area to floor area in a room must be not less than 1:8 and not more than 1:5.5. With roof windows a ratio of 1:10 is allowed.
Gas supply under SNiP 2.04.08-87.
If an experienced developer decides to install the utility networks himself, that is not forbidden. Gas services are the exception: they are subject to very strict requirements. Only a specialized organization may lay such pipes and connect the corresponding appliances. Gas is no joking matter!
These services may enter the house only from the boiler-room or kitchen side. In an older building with a heating stove, pipes may enter a living room provided the shut-off device is placed outside. But on no account should a gas pipeline be laid through the foundation or under it. If a pipe runs along the outer wall of the house, its nominal diameter must not exceed 50 mm. Detachable pipeline joints under window openings and balconies are not allowed. In general, all joints must be welded; threaded joints only at shut-off fittings and appliances. If the gas pipe is designed to run above footpaths, it must be fixed at a height of not less than 2.2 m from the ground.
No more than two heating appliances may be installed in one room. It is strictly forbidden to mount a gas water heater in a bathroom, or the developer may end up with a fine gas chamber. The room for a gas boiler and water heater must be not less than 2 m high. One appliance may be installed in a room of not less than 7.5 m3, and two appliances — in a room of not less than 13.5 m3.
Power supply according to the PUE (Electrical Installation Rules).
In low-rise settlements, overhead power lines are used in the main. If a line pole stands near the plot, it must not block the entrance or the driveway into the yard.
Wires from the street pole to the point of entry into the dwelling must be strung at a height of not less than 2.75 m from the ground; if the drop is from a street with vehicle traffic, the height is 6 m. The length of the drop from the main line to the dwelling must not exceed 25 m. Otherwise an additional support is required. Drop wires must have weather-resistant insulation; the distance between the phase and neutral wires must be not less than 0.2 m. All points where wires touch the building surface and pass through walls must be non-combustible and reliably insulated, and the outer end of the insulating tube at the entry must point downward (to keep out precipitation). It is strictly forbidden to run wiring over the roof of the house. It must be out of reach from balconies and from the windows of the building.
Studying all the above regulatory documents will help you avoid many mistakes when building private houses. Good luck, respected developer!
