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Common projects: External Walls

Planning Permission

You do not need to apply for planning permission for repairs, maintenance or minor improvements, such as painting your house.

If you live in a listed building, you will need listed building consent for any significant works whether internal or external.

If you live in a Conservation Area, a National Park, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty or the Broads, you will need to apply for planning permission before cladding the outside of your house with stone, tiles, artificial stone, plastic or timber.

Building Regulations

If you want to re-render or replace timber cladding to external walls, building regulations may apply depending on the extent of the work.

Where 25 per cent or more of an external wall is re-rendered, re-clad, re-plastered or re-lined internally or where 25 per cent or more of the external leaf of a wall is rebuilt, the regulations would normally apply and the thermal insulation would normally have to be improved.

If you want to insert insulation into a cavity wall the appropriate requirements will be applied to ensure the insulation material is suitable, and that in the case of some foam insulants the risk of formaldehyde gas emission is assessed.

• Read more about insulation.
• Read more about external walls and building regulations.