Approved Document E provides guidance on observing the Building Regulations concerned with resistance to the passage of sound. This is an essential reference for anyone undertaking building work.

This revised Approved Document will take effect on 1 October 2015 for use in England. The 2000 edition of Approved Document E with the 2003 and 2004 amendments will continue to apply to work started before 1 October 2015 or work subject to a building notice, full plans application or initial notice submitted before that date.

This title supersedes The Building Regulations 2000: Approved Document E: Resistance to the passage of sound 2003 ed. (incorporating 2004 amendments) (ISBN 9780117036376).

Following the "James Review of Education Capital" in 2011, DfE have been reviewing their library of design guidance for school buildings with the objective of simplification. The revised Building Bulletin 93, "Acoustic design of schools: performance standards" was published on 18th December 2014.

The new edition is designed to:

• Make the Building Regulations easier to apply and remove the minor problems that have been identified during their 10 years of existence;
• Revise effective minimum standards for refurbishment work. These standards will also be compliance standards for changes of use, e.g. from an office to a school;
• Reduce design time and make building control approval easier, by setting refurbishment standards as a baseline for alternative performance standards and removing the need for building control bodies to make qualitative judgments about open-plan spaces.

The Building Regulations are concerned with protecting the health and safety of those in and around buildings. Anyone intending to carry out building work in England and Wales is required by law to obtain building control approval to ensure Regulations are complied with.

The Approved Documents provide technical guidance on ways of complying with the Building Regulations. They are continuously revised in line with new legislation. Therefore it is essential to keep fully updated with the latest editions and amendments.