[Strawbale] Strawbale Digest, Vol 72, Issue 7

[Dave Howorth]

On Sat, 2011-11-12 at 17:36 +0100, Max Vittrup Jensen wrote:
> I was informed that it's simply not happening; every nation keeps
> their individual building laws.

Even within the UK, there are somewhat different building regulations
for each of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Partly
because of different weather conditions; so the Scottish insist on more
wind-proof and rain-resistant aspects, for example. Mediterranean
countries presumably need to take more account of overheating, and some
areas need to deal with earthquakes.

But there are also fundamental differences of approach between the
prescriptive 'codes' used in some countries and the requirements-based
system that we use, and other differences about scope of application.

So I don't think there's much chance of a mandated single code, and nor
do I think it would be a good idea. I do think common test standards for
fire resistance, windows and the like are a very good idea. There should
be a common market!

Regards,
Dave