Advice for Engineers and Designers on signing NHBC Certificates.
- NHBC certificate Section C must be signed by an independent engineer
- The designer is not permitted to sign section D of the NHBC certificate HB 353B
- Section D must be signed by the Timber frame Certifier (who must not be the designer)
- Assuming that the Timber Frame Certifier is an engineer, Section C need not be signed
- If the TF Certifier is not an engineer (and some are) then an engineer (who is not the designer) should sign Section C
- The HB 353B forms are issued to TF certifiers for them to certify designs, not to complete parts and pass them on
The next edition of ‘Standards Extra’ should carry an article to ensure there is no ambiguity on who should do what. After this, NHBC may well do some auditing to ensure the system operates as we have described.
