CP — UK Codes of Practice Single-File Series Overview (5 Standards)

📐 CP (Code of Practice) is an early British series of engineering documents prepared by BSI’s Codes of Practice Committees, providing recommended requirements for the design, construction and operation of buildings and civil engineering works. Unlike mandatory standards, codes of practice emphasize “good practice” and engineering judgement, bridging regulations and standards. This overview covers five CPs addressing protection against ground water, structural aluminium, centralized hot water supply, machinery foundations and safe use of cranes, illustrating the typical fields of UK engineering codes of practice.

1. Standard List and System Framework

The five CPs covered in this overview are listed below, spanning building waterproofing, structural engineering, water supply, mechanical engineering and lifting equipment safety.

2. Technical Content of Representative Standards

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CP 102:1973 — Code of Practice for Protection of buildings against water from the ground

This code gives design, material and construction recommendations for protecting buildings from ground water. It distinguishes two structure types: Type A structures (waterproofed structures requiring the protection of an impervious membrane) and Type B structures (structures without a membrane, relying on the watertightness of the concrete itself). For Type A, the code details requirements for the impervious membrane (mastic asphalt tanking, bitumen sheet tanking), externally and internally applied tanking, pumping, and basements carried on piles where tanking is used; for Type B it specifies joints in concrete structures, floor/wall junctions, reinforcement arrangement, cover to reinforcement, pumping and construction. It also gives damp-proofing for walls and floors at or near ground level, including materials for damp-proof courses, durability, effect of movement, location, continuity and site work. In addition, the code covers inspection and repair of concrete basements, including pressure grouting and repair by waterproof renderings.

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CP 118:1969 — Code of Practice for The structural use of aluminium

This code gives design, material, fabrication and erection recommendations for the structural use of aluminium. On materials it specifies alloy designation, selection, relevant standards, structural sections and tolerances; on loading it covers dead load, live or imposed loads and impact effects, wind, temperature and other loads; on design it gives permissible stresses, combined stresses, temperature limitations and thicknesses, and addresses tension members (axially and eccentrically loaded), struts (axially and eccentrically loaded, torsional buckling, battened, laced and welded struts, maximum slenderness ratio), beams (deflection, section properties, permissible stresses, lateral buckling, end loads, built-up beams) and thin plates, webs and flanges (local buckling in compression, shear buckling, and buckling due to combined bending, axial compression and shear). It also specifies joints (bolted, riveted, welded, glued and others), fatigue (loads and stresses, permissible stresses, classification of members), testing (static and fatigue acceptance tests), fabrication and erection (bolting/riveting, welding, glued joints, inspection and safety) and protection (environment, painting, metal spraying, metal-to-metal contact surfaces).

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CP 342-2:1974 — Code of Practice for Centralized hot water supply — Part 2: Buildings other than individual dwellings

This part gives design, material and site-work recommendations for centralized hot water supply systems in buildings other than individual dwellings (offices, schools, hospitals, hotels). On materials and equipment it covers boilers, combined boiler/cylinder units, materials for boilers and internal treatment, boiler mountings, flue pipes, cleaning tools, calorifiers, hot water storage vessels, cold water feed cisterns, pipes and fittings, electric immersion heating elements, valves, taps, towel rails, circulating pumps and thermal insulation. On design it covers temperatures, consumption and storage, particular requirements for individual dwellings, character of water, standby plant, sump pumps, boilers and boiler siting, chimneys and flue pipes, hot water storage vessels (including storage calorifiers or indirect cylinders), siting of storage vessels, safety and fire precautions, pipework, discharge rates and probable demand, pipe sizing data, primary and secondary circuits, draw-off pipes, cold feed pipe, open vent pipe, automatic air eliminators and air bottles, draining, circulating pumps, extent of insulation, mixing valves, spray taps and prefabrication. On site work it covers cleanliness of installation, boiler bases and installation, flue pipe, storage vessel supports, pipework installation and fixings, vent pipes and venting, draining, and joints for galvanized, copper and stainless steel pipes.

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CP 2012-1:1974 — Code of Practice for Foundations for machinery — Part 1: Foundations for reciprocating machines

This part gives guidance for designing foundations for machinery that may produce periodic disturbing forces, especially reciprocating machines. It provides recommendations for designers and interested parties on machinery foundations, covering data to be provided by the machine manufacturer (mass, out-of-balance forces and moments, speed, operating range), data on ground and site conditions, design criteria (amplitude limits, frequency ratio, resonance control) and concrete foundation design. It defines a coordinate system with six degrees of freedom, gives amplitude limits for the foundation block (Figure 3) and typical reinforcement details (Figure 4), and gives strength requirements for concrete for block foundations (Table 1). Appendix A gives a step-by-step design procedure, Appendix B gives a design example for a foundation block for a machine with out-of-balance forces and moments, Appendix C gives moments of inertia and area of the foundation block, and Appendix D is a bibliography. On site work it covers technical control of foundation construction, the responsibilities of the civil engineering contractor, workmanship, and testing and measurement of vibrations.

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CP 3010:1972 — Code of Practice for Safe use of cranes (mobile, tower and derrick cranes)

This code gives recommendations for the safe use of mobile, tower and derrick cranes, covering the qualification requirements for driver, slinger and signaller, choice and selection of crane, siting, erection and dismantling, procedures and precautions, safe working loads and operational conditions, testing, ropes, slinging and handling of loads, and maintenance. It distinguishes the three crane types and gives requirements for each. The general part also covers legislation, relevant British Standards, general considerations, personnel requirements, crane selection, siting, erection and dismantling, procedures and precautions, safe working loads, testing, ropes, slinging and handling, and maintenance. The annexes provide numerous figures, including basic terminology of a typical jib crane, overhead electric lines, side loading on jib, crane signals, rope handling and wedge/socket terminations, multiple-legged slings, use of rope grips, mounting types and jib types on mobile cranes, rope and suspension systems, a typical truck crane with outriggers, transportation and travelling, tower types and jib types on tower cranes, static base types, rail-mounted and truck-mounted tower cranes, tower extension equipment, tying back a tower crane, and base configurations of scotch and guy derricks.

3. Key Technical Points

The key technical points of the CP series can be summarized as follows:

These codes of practice reflect the UK engineering tradition of “performance-oriented, good-practice-based” guidance: they give recommended methods and limits while emphasizing engineering judgement and site quality control.

4. Engineering Practice and Application

🏗️ Building works: CP 102 is used for damp-proofing and waterproofing basements and below-ground structures; CP 118 is used for the design and fabrication of aluminium structures (roof trusses, curtain-wall supports, space frames).

🚿 Water supply: CP 342-2 supports design of centralized hot water systems in schools, hospitals and offices, guiding pipe sizing and equipment selection.

⚙️ Machinery and lifting: CP 2012-1 is used for the design of reciprocating compressor and generator foundations; CP 3010 is used for managing crane safety on construction sites, an important reference for building and installation safety.

5. FAQ