How we write these inspection guides

Common questions

Are these guides copied from the NHBC Standards?

No. The NHBC Standards are copyright and cannot be republished. We read them, along with housebuilder quality manuals, to understand what is actually assessed at each visit — then write our own guidance in our own words, and cite openly published sources such as the Building Regulations Approved Documents and British Standards for the numbers.

Where do the measurements come from?

Every value in the "numbers for this stage" table comes from our critical dimensions library, where each entry records the openly published document it derives from. If a figure only exists in a proprietary manual, we do not publish it — we point you at the document instead.

Who reviews the content?

The guides are written and reviewed by the ProPlot site team — people who have run key stage inspections on UK housing sites — and checked against the current Approved Documents at each review date shown on the page.

How often are the guides updated?

Each page carries a review date. We revisit a guide when the underlying Approved Document or standard changes, when NHBC changes its inspection process, and on a rolling review otherwise.

Is this advice I can rely on for compliance?

Treat it as a well-informed second pair of eyes, not as the approved documents themselves. Always build to the approved drawings and specification for the plot, and to the warranty provider’s current standards.

The guides