Period | Typical Constructions | Examples of Special Focus Areas |
|---|---|---|
-1920 | Bathrooms are primarily built as rooms with bathtubs. They are wiped down after use. | Unlikely to exist in its original form but occurs regularly in old buildings in a ‘concealed’ form. The floor gully may be concealed by a recently built-in bathtub, for example |
1920- | Deck and walls are constructed with inorganic materials. Storey partitions are largely concrete mixed with brick (‘murermesterbeton’) on and between iron girders with terrazzo flooring. Walls are often constructed from brick, slag plate, Monier plaster or double timber boards.terrazzobelægning. | Terrazzo is regarded as intrinsically watertight if there are no cracks, which is rarely the case. The watertightness can be broken when replacing pipes which penetrate the floor covering. Wall finish could be tile covering or oil paint up to approx. 1.7 m above floor level. |
1940-1970 | Usual practice is to use inorganic materials in newbuilds (i.e., concrete, lightweight concrete, and brick). Furthermore, many bathrooms are added during renovation of old properties built without bathrooms often containing organic materials (e.g., timber joist constructions and board partition walls). | Joints between floors and walls are vulnerable areas. The watertightness can be broken when replacing pipes which penetrate the floor covering. As a rule, the floor gully will have to be changed when replacing terrazzo with tiles. |
1971 | The first SBi Guidelines (no. 89 – discontinued), permitting the use of PVC roll material as watertight floor covering on organic subfloors. | Watertightness depends on the welding seams, which must be fully watertight. |
1972 | The 1972 Building Regulations (BR 72) permitted the use of wood, plywood, and particle board for decks, floors, and walls in wet rooms on condition that the materials were impregnated against decay and dry rot and floors were built with watertight and moisture-resistant coverings (walls with watertight facings or applications approved by the Ministry for Housing). Existing walls in old properties could be retained assuming that they were waterproofed according to applicable rules. | Compliance with requirements for surface areas, especially on stud walls and organic substrates. The watertightness of PVC coverings is dependent on welding seams, which must be fully watertight. |
1977 | The 1977 Building Regulations (BR 77) permitted the use of wooden materials not impregnated against decay and dry rot, on condition that constructions were effectively protected against infiltrating water and water vapour. Moreover, flooring and facings had to be approved by the Ministry for Housing (MK approval) or built according to guidelines. In the first edition of the SBi Guidelines 109 (since discontinued) a review was made of floors with a covering of PVC roll material or ceramic tiles on a watertight substrate and light-grade timber or steel stud walls with plasterboard, calcium silicate sheets, plywood, or particle board facings. Requirements emerged for watertight facings with PVC roll material, for tiles fixed with watertight adhesive, and for watertight paint applications. | Compliance with the requirements for surface applications, especially for stud walls and organic substrates. Floors on timber joist constructions were only to be used above accessible spaces (e.g., in basements or crawl space decks when the height of the crawl space was min. 0.6 m). The watertightness of PVC coverings was dependent on the welding seams, which had to be fully watertight. |
1980 | In SBI Guidelines 109, 2nd edition (since discontinued), the requirements for subfloors as substrates for ceramic tiles were tightened. To allow for the rigid floor covering, the support spacing for plywood was halved relative to the usual joist and batten spacing. Moreover, butyl and PVC foils in wide rolls were permitted as watertight substrates on subfloors. The Guidelines were supplemented by a section on floors on in situ concrete on timber joist constructions in old dwellings. | Compliance with requirements for surface areas, especially on stud walls and organic substrates. Floors on timber joist constructions were only to be used above accessible spaces (e.g., in basements or crawl space decks when the height of the crawl space was min. 0.6 m). The watertightness of PVC coverings was dependent on the welding seams, which had to be fully watertight. |
1984 | In SBi Guidelines 109, 3rd edition (since discontinued), minimum requirements for the thickness of PVC roll materials used as flooring were increased to 2 mm. Furthermore, an MK approval was introduced as a requirement for watertight wall paint applications. | |
1991 | In SBi Guidelines 169 (discontinued), fibre-glass reinforced unsaturated polyester was discontinued as a watertight substrate for ceramic tiles for reasons of occupational health and safety. Furthermore, plywood and particle board for subfloors on timber joist constructions and for wall facings had to be approved as structural plywood and marked as flooring-grade particle board. From 1 March 1991, the minimum thickness for PVC roll material for wall facing had to be 1.5 mm. | Compliance with requirements for surface areas, especially on stud walls and organic substrates. The watertightness of PVC coverings was dependent on the welding seams, which had to be fully watertight. |
1994 | In SBi Guidelines 180 (discontinued), examples were shown of the planning, design, and construction | |
1995 | The 1995 Building Regulations (BR 95) saw a tightening requirements for wet rooms as described in Vådrum. Hvad er muligt? hvad er lovligt? (Særtryk af Byggeindustrien 1, 1995). From 1995, waterproofing membranes became common. | |
2001-2013 | By og Byg Anvisning 200, Vådrum (Wet Rooms) (discontinued), introduced the concepts of wet zones and humid zones. Pipe penetrations in floors had to be positioned min. 500 mm from shower stalls, etc. Plasterboard used on stud walls had to be ‘wet-room grade’ plasterboard and wooden studs had to be stronger than previous requirements. By og Byg Anvisning 200 also contained requirements for design and surface protection of inorganic constructions. Particle board and plywood as substrates for MK-approved tile setting systems for walls and floors were invalidated. In wet zones, MK-approved tile setting systems on stud walls had to contain an actual watertight substrate min. 1.0 mm thick. | Compliance with requirements for surface applications, especially for stud walls and organic substrates, notably concerning requirements in wet and humid zones. |
2008 - | In the 2008 Building Regulations (BR 08), left the 2010 Building Regulations (BR10) unchanged. Provisions for floor gullies were tightened to allow drainage from the whole floor in bathrooms. Requirements for stud walls and constructions containing organic material (such as wood) were changed to include requirements for ‘using a suitable waterproofing kit’. Beyond those discussed in the Guidelines and MK-approved kits, kits with an ETA (European Technical Approval) could also be used. | Accessibility for persons with physical impairments (max. 20 mm 'doorsteps') and 1.1 m clear spacing in front of toilets and washbasins. In bathrooms, water must be free to drain away from the whole floor (i.e., at least one waste outlet must be installed). |
2015 | SBi Guidelines 252 Wet Rooms. |