As required by the Building Regulations and Approved Document J 2002
for hearth, fireplace, flue and chimney installations.

Download Chimney Notice Regulations

Providing a notice plate for chimneys & hearths

1. The 2002 Edition of Approved Document J (ADJ) of the Building Regulations for England & Wales came into force on the 1st April 2002 and specifies the requirements for providing a Notice plate for chimney and hearth installations to comply with the following Requirement J4 of the Building Regulation. Where a hearth, fireplace, flue or chimney is provided or extended, a durable notice containing information on the performance capabilities of the hearth, fireplace, flue or chimney shall be affixed in a suitable place in the building for the purpose of enabling combustion appliances to be safely installed. Note: Similar requirements for provision of a notice plate apply in Scotland as referred to in F3.12 of the Building Standards (Scotland) Regulations.
2. The installer is considered to be the person responsible for providing the completed notice plate and fixing it in accordance with the requirements given in clauses 1.56 to 1.58 of the ADJ.
3. The location for fixing the plate is given in the following Clause 1.57 of the ADJ ;
   
   Notice plates should be robust, indelibly marked and securely fixed in an unobtrusive but obvious position within the building such as:
   
   a) next to the electricity consumer unit; or
   b) next to the chimney or hearth described; or
   c) next to the water supply stop-cock.
4. Guidance on completing the Topstak Notice plate is shown overleaf. An Aerospace marker pen or similar permanent marker should be used to write on the plate.
   

Checking and making a record of installations

The ADJ also specifies requirements for checking installations and providing a record or checklist of the installation as detailed in the following Clause 1.53;

1.53 Responsibility for achieving compliance with the requirements of Part J rests with the person carrying out the work. That “person” may be, e.g., a specialist firm directly engaged by a private client or it may be a developer or main contractor who has carried out work subject to Part J or engaged a sub-contractor to carry it out. In order to document the steps taken to achieve compliance with the requirements, a report should be drawn up showing that materials and components appropriate to the intended application have been used and that flues have passed appropriate tests. A suggested checklist for such a report is given at Appendix A and guidance on testing is given at Appendix E. Other forms of report may be acceptable. Specialist firms should provide the report to the client, developer or main contractor, who may be asked for documentation by the building control body.

Sources of information

The ADJ is published under the title “The Building Regulations 2000 Approved Document J Combustion appliances and fuel storage systems 2002 Edition” (ISBN no. 0 11 753494 3). It can be purchased from the Stationery Bookshops or via their website at www.tso.co.uk

The ADJ can also be viewed at www.safety.odpm.gov.uk/bregs/brads.htm

The ODPM (Office of the Deputy Prime Minister) deals with the Building Regulations and has produced a free Explanatory Booklet giving details on how to understand the Building Regulations. It also includes reference to installation of combustion appliances and chimneys. The booklet can be viewed at www.safety.odpm.gov.uk/bregs/brpub/br-booklet/whole.htm.