The Home Quality Mark (HQM) is an independently assessed certification scheme for new homes that award certificates with a star rating for the standard of a home’s design, construction, and sustainability.
The assessments are focused on the needs and expectations of people living in the home and show, with an HQM certificate, that the building meets standards that are significantly higher than minimum standards such as Building Regulation.
Assessment Issue 6.2 looks at the environmental impacts of construction materials. There are two routes to assessing this with HQM, Foundation and Comprehensive. These routes represent varying degrees of rigour.
The scope as detailed in the HQM technical guidance is as follows:
Element | Sub-element | BREEAM 'Location and use' category | Included | ||
1. Substructure | |||||
1 | Substructure | 1 | Standard foundations | 7. Structure, primary and secondary | Yes |
2 | Specialist foundation systems | Yes | |||
3 | Lowest floor construction | Yes | |||
4 | Basement excavation | N/A | No | ||
5 | Basement retaining walls | 7. Structure, primary and secondary | Yes | ||
2. Superstructure | |||||
1 | Frame | 1 | Steel frames | 7. Structure, primary and secondary | Yes |
2 | Space decks | Yes | |||
3 | Concrete casings to steel frames | Yes | |||
4 | Concrete frames | Yes | |||
5 | Timber frames | Yes | |||
6 | Other frame systems | Yes | |||
2 | Upper Floors | 1 | Floors | 3. Floor (including floor finishes) | Yes |
2 | Balconies | Yes | |||
3 | Drainage to balconies | 11. Other | Yes | ||
3 | Roof | 1 | Roof structure | 6. Roof (including roof finishes) | Yes |
2 | Roof coverings | Yes | |||
3 | Specialist roof systems | Yes | |||
4 | Roof drainage | Yes | |||
5 | Rooflights, skylights and openings | 2. Door, window | Yes | ||
6 | Roof features | 6. Roof (including roof finishes) | Yes | ||
4 | Stairs and Ramps | 1 | Stair and ramp structures | 7. Structure, primary and secondary | Yes |
2 | Stair and ramp finishes | 3. Floor (including floor finishes) | Yes | ||
3 | Stair, ramp balustrades and handrails | 11. Other | Yes | ||
4 | Ladders, chutes, slides | Yes | |||
5 | External walls | 1 | External enclosing walls above ground floor level | 8. External wall | Yes |
2 | External enclosing walls above ground level | 7. Structure, primary and secondary | Yes | ||
3 | Solr, rain screening | 8. External wall | Yes | ||
4 | External soffits | Yes | |||
5 | Subsidiary walls, balustrades, handrails, railings and proprietary balconies | 11. Other | Yes | ||
6 | Façade access, cleaning systems | Yes | |||
6 | Windows and External Doors | 1 | External windows | 2. Door, window | Yes |
2 | External doors | Yes | |||
7 | Internal Walls and Partitions | 1 | Wall partitions | 5. Internal partition, internal walls (including finishes) | Yes |
2 | Balustrades and handrails | 11. Other | Yes | ||
3 | Moveable room dividers | 5. Internal partition, internal walls (including finishes) | Yes | ||
4 | Cubicles | Yes | |||
8 | Internal doors | 1 | Internal doors | 2. Door, window | Yes |
3. Internal finishes | |||||
1 | Wall Finishes | 1 | Finishes to walls | 5. Internal partition, internal walls (including finishes) | Yes |
2 | Floor Finishes | 1 | Finishes to floors | 3. Floor (including floor finishes) | Yes |
2 | Raised access floors | Yes | |||
3 | Ceiling Finishes | 1 | Finishes to ceilings | 1. Ceiling (including ceiling finishes) | Yes |
2 | False ceilings | Yes | |||
3 | Demountable suspended ceilings | Yes | |||
4. Fittings, Furnishings and Equipment | |||||
1 | Fittings, Furnishings and Equipment | 2 | Domestic kitchen fittings , fixed furniture and equipment | 11. Other | Yes |
5. Services | |||||
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| N/A | No |
6. Complete Buildings and Building Units | |||||
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| To be broken down into other classifications | |
8. External Works | |||||
2 | Roads, Paths and Pavings | 1 | Roads, paths and pavings | 10. Hard landscaping | Yes |
2 | Special surfacings and pavings | Yes |
Please note that energy and water consumption queries are not within the scope of HQM calculations.
The Comprehensive route, suitable for calculation in One Click LCA, offers up to 19 credits and requires the use of the IMPACT tool and more detailed design information.
Note: The IMPACT database is extremely limited in the availability of data. The IMPACT database offers around 250 data points and is managed by the BRE. We are not able to enable more data to this database as we do not manage it.
1. Create a project and select the right calculation tool
Create a building project and select the 'LCA for BREEAM UK IMPACT-compliant' tool as the chosen calculation tool.
2. Fill the building materials query
Include the materials for elements required in the scope as detailed above and specified in the HQM technical manual and classify appropriately.
3. Fill in the calculation period
Set the calculation period to 60 years.
4. Fill in the building area
Fill in the Building area question form by entering the GIFA (Gross Internal Floor Area).
5. Submission
Step 1: Obtain the total Ecopoints result for the building, excluding the constructions (or parts thereof) in the following elements that are not located in or forming common areas: internal wall or partition, internal floor finish, and internal wall finish, internal doors, ceiling finishes.
Step 2: Obtain the total Ecopoints result for each home for just the constructions (or parts thereof) excluded in step 1 that are located in the home.
Step 3: Adjust the Ecopoints score from step1 by multiplying it by the home's % share of the total GIFA of all homes (but excluding areas in common). Where a home has sole use of an area in the building that is separated from the home (for example, an internal parking or storage space), this area should be included in the home's GIFA.
For example, if the building’s total GIFA is 400m² and the home's is 100m² then the % share is 25%. This manual calculation may not be required in all cases.
Step 4: In a copy of 'HQM Environmental Impact of Construction Products tool' complete all required inputs in the '(LCA)OverviewDetails' tab and the '(LCA)Inputs' tab and generate an XML file.
Step 5: Upload the XML file to the BREEAM Projects online HQM assessment tool. Click 'Calculate score'. The online tool will generate an Ecopoint score and allocate credits.
Step 6: From One Click LCA, download the HQM evidence report so you have all of the elemental construction descriptions and their respective classifications, quantities, total CO₂, and Ecopoints.