‘BS 40104: 2025: Retrofit Assessment for Domestic Dwellings – Code of Practice’, was officially published at the end of September and here Prof. John Edwards, IHBC’s Technical Panel Secretary and lead on the heritage/traditional buildings workstream, updates NewsBlog readers on key issues, and on how to find out more.
FREE CPD UPDATE: The IHBC will be jointly hosting with the STBA a webinar on applying BS 40104 to traditional buildings and buildings with heritage values on the 14 November 2025. It will be presented by Professor John Edwards, and Professor Richard Fitton.
John Edwards said: ‘The ‘BS 40104: 2025: Retrofit Assessment for Domestic Dwellings – Code of Practice’, is designed to be applied to all types of dwellings, including those of traditional construction and any building with special protection due to their heritage values.’
‘At last a British Standard on how to properly conduct a retrofit assessment.
I’m pleased to have been part of a most knowledgeable group of experts led by Professor Richard Fitton and grateful for the excellent input from Peter Draper of the STBA and Joanne Williams of Historic England on the heritage work stream’.
John Edwards writes:
BS 40104 covers:
- context assessment
- condition assessment
- ventilation assessment
- occupancy assessment
- energy performance assessment
- site-specific context assessment
- significance assessment
- reporting and lodgement
It was initially envisaged that BS 40104 would replace the sections on retrofit assessment in PAS 2035, AKA the UK standard on retrofitting dwellings, but this is now uncertain.
The whole document is relevant to buildings of traditional construction and all with heritage values and according to Professor Edwards: ‘This is a robust common-sense document that will hopefully ensure that a much better approach is taken to all building types’. Edwards added: ‘The document refers to BS 7913 where protected buildings are concerned, but with unprotected buildings, the significance analysis is equally as robust as PAS 2035, but simpler to apply’.
BS 40104 can be purchased from BSI HERE
See more on the IHBC’s Technical Panel (Technical Panel tab)
