0.8 — South African market: SANS 10143 + SANS 10400 (roadmap ZA.1, built on REG.1)

Status: candidate, for the owner meeting of 2026-10-26. Written 2026-10-25.

South African practice works to its own drawing standard (SANS 10143, building drawing practice) and building regulations (SANS 10400, the National Building Regulations application). This note lists what selling into that market means for the lineup, what we have today, and a suggested order. Every SANS figure below is from memory and must be checked against purchased copies of the current editions before anything ships.

1. Where we stand today

There is no South Africa support in the code: no SANS references, no en-ZA locale, no SA presets. The residential side of BimCraft is written for US codes, as hard-coded values rather than a profile:

crs-db.json (CadCraft, BimCraft) has some South African entries; the Lo zones and the axis handling are not checked yet.

Key point: the first job is to turn these values into regulation packs (US/IRC = the first pack, SA = the next; see § 1a, REG.1), not to edit them in place.

1a. The proper granularity: regulations by jurisdiction, in the library (roadmap REG.1)

South Africa should be the first country, not a special case. Building regulations are set at the country level first, and later we can drop down to state/province → county/district → city. The rule packs live in LibraryCraft, so they stay up to date outside the application: a corrected stair limit or a new edition is a new library version, not a new release of the apps.

Why the library fits

The library already has what this needs: versions of an item, follows (LibraryFollows), Check for updates / Update / Update all in the apps (§6.3 of docs/LIBRARY-SPEC.md), licenses, attribution, reviewed submissions, verified makers and an offline cache in Studio. A regulation pack is one more item kind beside equipment, furniture, symbol, detail and material (libitem.js KINDS, LibraryCatalog::KINDS).

The jurisdiction tree

Each level inherits the level above and can add, change or remove single rules. A project picks its place (from its site location or by hand), and the apps merge the chain: country → state → county → city. The check report shows where each rule came from ("City of Tshwane by-law, overrides SANS 10400-M 4.2").

Model codes fit the same way: the IRC 2021 pack is a base that a US state pack names ("adopts IRC 2021 with these amendments"), the way a country pack is the base in South Africa.

What a pack holds (data only, never code)

• Rules, declarative: what they apply to (element class or room type), the property, a comparison, a value with its unit, the clause number, and a short plain-language label we wrote ourselves. No scripts: library items come from the community, so a pack must never run code.
• Defaults and presets the apps use: stair limits, wall assemblies, timber sizes, roof build-ups, electrical symbol set.
• Edition and dates: the standard's edition, the date it came into force, and (where known) the date it stops applying.
• Drawing practice (SANS 10143 and similar) as a separate pack kind: templates, dim styles, hatches, title block. A city can name its submission sheet rules the same way.

Rules for keeping it safe and correct

1. A project pins its pack versions. Rules change during a project; a building is checked against the edition in force when it was submitted. Updates are offered ("A newer SANS 10400-XA pack is available"), never applied silently.
2. Who may publish: regulation packs come from verified makers only (us, or a named professional body or practitioner), reviewed like other submissions. Every pack shows who published it and when it was last checked.
3. Copyright: packs carry numbers, units and clause numbers, never the standard's text (SABS, ICC and others sell it).
4. Not legal advice: every check report says the checks help, and the registered professional and the local authority decide.
5. Offline: packs in use are cached with the project (and in Studio), so a check works without a connection.

Order

First slice, built in /lab (2026-10-25)

BimCraft's dev build (/lab/bimcraft) has the first slice of REG.1, so the idea can be seen and discussed. It is an add-on, not part of the app (owner 2026-10-25: "we don't want this in every app"): the bundled regs add-on, off until switched on in Settings › Add-ons. Core BimCraft only gained one generic hook (add-on API 1.2, api.rules, docs/ADDONS-SPEC.md) and knows no regulations itself; switching the add-on off puts the built-in stair limits back.

• Two packs in assets/apps/bimcraft/dev/addons/regs/packs/: us-irc-2021 (the numbers BimCraft's stair tools have always used, plus ceiling height and window area) and za-sans10400 (a small South African sample). The format is cadcraft-regulation-pack v1: jurisdiction (country, later state, county, city), base for inheritance, edition, review state, and rules with a clause number.
• Settings › Building regulations (a section under Add-ons) — since 2026-10-26 a checkbox tree of packs in sets by country (paid packs tagged with their price, each pack opening to its trust state, edition, source, maker, the pack it builds on and its rules), how ticked packs that disagree are handled, and Upload a regulations file (a pack of your own, kept on this computer, "Your pack"). Every ticked pack is checked. A test pack from a made-up maker (us-sample-maker-stairs, paid, built on the IRC) shows how other makers' and paid packs appear.
• Stairs take their limits (and their starting riser and tread) from the pack. The same stair is judged differently by each: a stair built under the South African sample at 200 mm risers and 250 mm goings meets it, and is flagged against IRC (197 mm and 254 mm).
• Schedules › Building regulations checks every named room (wall height, window area and openable area as a share of floor area) and every stair against the pack, with the clause for each row. "Open full schedule" shows it wide.
• Not built yet: loading packs from the library (they are files beside the add-on; loading goes through one function, so a library source changes nothing else), a project pinning its pack versions, state, county and city packs (the code already follows base chains and has tests for them), the SANS 10143 drawing pack, Part XA, the submission set, and packs in CadCraft, CivilCraft and DetailCraft.

The South African numbers are not verified. Searches found no public text of SANS 10400 (SABS sells it), only a study aid for stairs and non-South-African codes for light and ventilation. So the pack is marked "not checked", every rule says "not confirmed", and the app shows that wherever the pack is used. Part O edition 4 (2025) may have changed how ventilation is worked out. The numbers need checking against the purchased standard, ideally by a South African practitioner, before anything ships.

Next: the packs belong in the Library, so people can submit their own (owner 2026-10-25)

A regulation pack becomes a kind of Library item (like Materials in 0.7, which has no geometry either), grouped by jurisdiction on /library, so anyone can submit the rules they prefer or need, and the add-on offers the bundled packs and the Library's. What that needs: the kind in LibraryCatalog and both validators (LibraryItemFormat.php and the byte-identical libitem.js copies), a preview tile (the pack's name, jurisdiction, edition and rule count), the items API filter, the submission and review flow, and the add-on's loader. Decisions it needs:

1. Trust. A submitter can write review.state: "reviewed" on anything. In the Library the add-on must show the Library's own standing (verified maker, reviewed by us) and who submitted it, and show a person's own pack as "your pack", never as "reviewed".

   Recommendation (2026-10-29, rec12) — for your review: Already decided: owner decisions of 2026-10-26 in this doc: a pack shows the Library's own standing and who submitted it, and a person's own pack is "Your pack", never reviewed. Regulation packs (REG.1) build this.

   Owner answer (2026-10-29): Approved as recommended.

2. Who may publish for a place. Anyone can submit a personal pack; a pack that is the one for a country or city (a "reference pack") is reviewed by us or a verified professional. Suggested: personal packs are private to the submitter and their team until reviewed.

   Recommendation (2026-10-29, rec12) — for your review: Already decided: anyone can submit and we credential the submitter; authoritative packs come only from certified government sources with reference links (owner 2026-10-26, this doc).

   Owner answer (2026-10-29): Approved as recommended.

3. Licence and the standards' copyright. Packs carry numbers, units and clause numbers only. The submission check should refuse long quotations of a standard's text.

   Recommendation (2026-10-29, rec12) — for your review: Approve: packs carry numbers, units and clause numbers only, and the submission check refuses long quotations of a standard. This follows the clean-room rule and copyright.

   Owner answer (2026-10-29): Approved as recommended.

4. Updates. A pack is a versioned item (the Library already has versions, follows and "Check for updates"); a project should pin the version it was checked against (REG.1c).

   Recommendation (2026-10-29, rec12) — for your review: Approve: packs are versioned Library items and a project pins the version it was checked against (REG.1c). It reuses the Library's existing update path.

   Owner answer (2026-10-29): Approved as recommended.

Owner decisions (2026-10-26)

1. Apps: regulation packs reach BimCraft, CadCraft, CivilCraft and DetailCraft in 0.8 (through the same Building regulations add-on, decision 8, and the shared Problems system; core apps stay regulation-free).

   Recommendation (2026-10-29, rec12) — for your review: Already decided: owner decisions of 2026-10-26 in this doc: regulation packs reach BimCraft, CadCraft, CivilCraft and DetailCraft in 0.8 through one add-on.

   Owner answer (2026-10-29): Approved as recommended.

2. Publishing and trust: anyone can submit, and we credential the submitter. The packs we list as authoritative come from certified government sources only (the body that issues or adopts the code), each with reference links to that source. Authoritative packs must stay authoritative: people must be able to see that, and nobody else's pack may pass for one. During testing we add a few packs from other makers, to prove other entities can add theirs to the Library.

   Recommendation (2026-10-29, rec12) — for your review: Already decided: owner decisions of 2026-10-26 in this doc: we credential submitters; authoritative packs only from government sources; a few other makers' packs are added in testing.

   Owner answer (2026-10-29): Approved as recommended.

3. Price: everything is free for now. Makers may want paid submissions, so the Library needs that feature (a pack with a price).

   Recommendation (2026-10-29, rec12) — for your review: Already decided: owner decisions of 2026-10-26 in this doc: everything is free for now; the format and Library get a price field, no checkout in 0.8.

   Owner answer (2026-10-29): Approved as recommended.

4. 0.8 jurisdictions: US IRC 2021 (the base), South Africa SANS 10400, and two proof packs: a US state on IRC 2021 and a South African metro by-law on SANS 10400, so that both inheritance chains are proven.

   Recommendation (2026-10-29, rec12) — for your review: Already decided: owner decisions of 2026-10-26 in this doc: US IRC 2021 and South Africa SANS 10400, plus a US state pack and a South African metro by-law as proof packs.

   Owner answer (2026-10-29): Approved as recommended.

5. Authority levels: every kind of source is allowed, but each pack records its level of authority, and users choose which levels they want applied. The proposed levels, highest first (to be confirmed):

   1. Adopted law: the rules in force in a place, sourced to the act, regulation or ordinance that adopts them.
   2. Government issued: published by a government or statutory body.
   3. Model code / standards body: ICC, SABS, NFPA and similar (e.g. the IRC before a place adopts it).
   4. Professional body or verified maker.
   5. Community / your own pack.

   Recommendation (2026-10-29, rec12) — for your review: Approve: confirm the five authority levels as written (adopted law, government issued, model code or standards body, professional body or verified maker, community or your own); each pack records its level and users pick which levels apply. The doc marks this "to be confirmed", so tell the REG.1 session if you want a different list.

   Owner answer (2026-10-29): Approved as recommended.

6. Credentialing government sources: both routes. (a) Staff review plus an account on the agency's official domain (.gov, gov.za, …) marks a maker as a "Government source". (b) Until agencies arrive, we author the government packs ourselves, cite the source with links, and agencies can claim the packs later.

   Recommendation (2026-10-29, rec12) — for your review: Already decided: owner decisions of 2026-10-26 in this doc: both routes (staff review plus an official-domain account, and our own packs citing the source until agencies claim them).

   Owner answer (2026-10-29): Approved as recommended.

7. Where it lives in an app (replaces the first slice's single pack dropdown):

   • Settings › General › Add-ons: the "Building regulations" add-on stays global, switched on once.
   • Settings › <App> › Regulations: the library list, where the user chooses which packs are listed (available) in the panel. These settings, the default ticks and the default way of handling packs that disagree are all saved here.
     • A list of checkbox items in collapsible sets. Sets follow the place (country → state/province → county → city). Each set has its own checkbox (all on, all off, or some on) and opens or closes to show its packs, each pack with its own checkbox. A pack's row shows its name, edition, authority level and maker credential.
     • Paid packs are marked: a "Paid" tag with the price, and the maker's "Buy from maker" link. There is no checkout in 0.8 (decision 9).
     • Upload a regulations file: a section to add a pack file (cadcraft-regulation-pack JSON). It is checked with the same validator as Library packs; a file that fails is refused with the reasons. An uploaded pack is kept on this computer, listed under its place as "Your pack" (authority level Community / your own pack), never shown as reviewed or authoritative, and can be removed again. Submitting it to the Library is a separate step.
   • A new "Regulations" app panel: the listed packs, each with a checkmark, and each expandable to its rules so single rules can be unticked. Ticked packs and rules are checked against the active drawing, and the ⚠ Problems panel follows the ticks.
   • Saved in both places: the app settings keep this computer's default ticks; the drawing file keeps its own ticks (BimCraft: in the IFC, beside accepted problems) together with the pinned pack versions. A drawing that has ticks of its own uses them, so a colleague opening it gets the same checks; a drawing without any starts from the defaults.
   • When ticked packs disagree (e.g. riser IRC 197 mm vs SANS 200 mm), the user chooses how that is handled: a default in the app setting, which the panel can change for the drawing. The choices are: check each pack on its own and report each; the strictest limit wins; or the lower level of an inheritance chain overrides.

   Recommendation (2026-10-29, rec12) — for your review: Already decided: owner decisions of 2026-10-26 in this doc (the Settings tree, upload as "Your pack", the Regulations panel). The next entry replaced the single pack list with install by region.

   Owner answer (2026-10-29): Approved as recommended.

8. Structure: one engine, packs installed by region (owner 2026-10-26, "this might just be a HUGE add-on library").

   • One add-on, the engine: "Building regulations" (checks, Settings tree, upload, Regulations panel), the same add-on in BimCraft, CadCraft, CivilCraft and DetailCraft. There is no add-on per country: add-ons are code (one engine to review and update; store builds may not download code, ADDONS-SPEC § A.11), while packs are data, which every build may download.
   • Settings › Global › Building regulations: the person picks the countries or regions they work in once, for every app ("Add a region" over the Library's index of regions: pack count, size, paid packs).
   • Packs are Library data installed per region on demand. Only installed regions are downloaded and kept for offline use. The Library publishes a small index per country, so only the index grows with the library.
   • Settings › <App> › Building regulations shows the tree for the installed regions only (plus uploads). A drawing that names a region that isn't installed offers to install it ("Install South Africa (3 packs, 40 KB)").

   Recommendation (2026-10-29, rec12) — for your review: Already decided: owner decisions of 2026-10-26 in this doc: one "Building regulations" add-on, packs installed per region as Library data. Tier-3 packs are in /lab; South African numbers are marked unverified.

   Owner answer (2026-10-29): Approved as recommended.

9. Paid packs: 0.8 builds the price field into the format and the Library (paid listing, licence terms), but no checkout yet. It also allows "the maker sells elsewhere, we link" (a Buy-from-maker link). We might take a fee later.

   Recommendation (2026-10-29, rec12) — for your review: Already decided: owner decisions of 2026-10-26 in this doc: the price field and a Buy-from-maker link are built into the format; no checkout in 0.8.

   Owner answer (2026-10-29): Approved as recommended.

Build progress (2026-10-26): step 1, packs as a Library kind (REG.1a), is in place: kind regulation (migration 057), the PHP validator kept rule for rule with the add-on's (LibraryRegulations::clean), one pack id per item, a per-country index and API (/api/v1/library/regulations[/<CC>]), a title-sheet card and a rules table on the item page. IRC 2021 and SANS 10400 are in the Library as CadCraft packs (SANS still "not checked"); the made-up test maker pack stays in the lab add-on only. Steps 2 and 3 done 2026-10-27 in /lab/bimcraft: Settings › Global › Building regulations (a tree of countries from the Library, ticked = installed on this computer for every app), the app tree limited to installed regions, and the Regulations panel (packs and single rules ticked per drawing, saved in the IFC). Tier 3 done 2026-10-27 in /lab/bimcraft (owner: "a drawing that passes inspections … get the permits smoother"; "all of it in parallel"; span tables "encode the numbers as data"): electrical (outlets, lights, smoke alarms), foundations (footing depth with the place's frost depth, footing size from Tables R403.1(1)-(3), slab), wall framing (stud spacing and height from Table R602.3(5), every header against Table R602.7(1)) and floor joists (Table R502.3.1(2), the weakest of the four species); 21 city packs carry the building department's design criteria (frost depth, snow, wind, seismic category, climate zone). Rafter, ceiling-joist and IECC energy tables are in the IRC 2021/2024 packs as data, not checked yet. 2026-10-27 (regs-08): rafter, ceiling-joist and energy checks are in (energy compares insulation layers; roofs and windows are notes until the model records R/U), REG.1c pins and the update offer, the merged chain on each rule, the check report as PDF with "No representation.", the Cape Town by-law proof pack (no rules: the by-law is zoning), the paid-pack item page, and tools/regs/sync.mjs. Next: step 4 per app (CadCraft, CivilCraft and DetailCraft need the add-on host pieces and their own checks; docs/0.8-sessions/regs-08.md).

Tests: node bin/test-bimcraft.mjs --regs (46 checks, including a real model with windows placed through the real ops) and node tools/bimcraft-test/browser-regs.mjs (27 checks in /lab on the showcase house: off by default, on, a stair judged by each pack, off again, and the choice kept after a reload).

2. SANS 10143 — building drawing practice (CadCraft + BimCraft output)

• Metric throughout. Dimensions in mm with no unit shown; levels in metres to 3 decimals (+1.250).
• Scales: 1:100 / 1:50 / 1:20 / 1:10 / 1:5 for buildings; 1:200 / 1:500 for site plans.
• Sheets: ISO A-series.
• Title block fields SA practice expects: erf number, township, client, SACAP-registered professional and registration number, drawing number, revision.
• Line weights, material hatches and symbols: brickwork, concrete, timber, insulation, DPC; door/window marks (D1/W1); north point; grid referencing.
• Vocabulary: erf (erven), stoep, geyser, building line, servitude, coverage, bulk/FAR, SG diagram.

This is a template + dim style + hatch + symbol pack: cheap to build and immediately visible.

3. SANS 10400 — National Building Regulations (BimCraft checks and defaults)

Part XA — the differentiator

Every submission must show XA compliance by climate zone (zones 1–6): fenestration (glazing area vs. floor area, U-values, SHGC), roof and wall R-values, and hot water. Practitioners do this today in spreadsheet calculators. A built-in XA fenestration and envelope check in BimCraft's energy module (energy-bim.js), producing the compliance sheet for the submission set, would sell on its own.

Related standards

4. Survey and civil (CivilCraft, map layers)

• Hartebeesthoek94, Lo zones (central meridians on odd degrees, Lo15–Lo33).
• Y = westing, X = southing: both axes are sign-flipped compared with what most software assumes. This is the classic import trap and needs a test.
• Heights: SA Land Levelling Datum / SAGEOID2010.
• Cadastral: erven and SG (Surveyor-General) diagrams.

5. Market and business

• Copyright: SABS sells the SANS texts; we cannot ship them. Buy the set, encode the numbers ourselves, cite clause numbers. Several parts have newer editions (XA had a second edition), so every preset carries its edition date.
• POPIA (SA's GDPR equivalent): the privacy terms must cover it.
• Pricing: ZAR with 15% VAT; $35/month is steep in rand terms → consider regional pricing. Check Stripe support for South African customers on our account.
• Load-shedding and data costs: offline work (Studio) and small downloads are real selling points.
• Competition: ArchiCAD and Revit dominate architecture practice; AutoCAD for drafting.
• Language: English first (en-ZA spelling; the site stays US); Afrikaans a nice extra.

6. Suggested order

7. Questions for the meeting

1. Is South Africa a 0.8 market, or a later one? (Steps 1–2 are useful for every non-US market anyway.)

   Recommendation (2026-10-29, rec12) — for your review: Already decided: yes for the rules side: SANS 10400 is a 0.8 jurisdiction (2026-10-26). South African drawing presets (SANS 10143) are a smaller extra, wanted but not promised for 0.8.

   Owner answer (2026-10-29): Approved as recommended.

2. Buy the SANS 10400 set + SANS 10143 (cost from the SABS webstore) — who holds the copies?

   Recommendation (2026-10-29, rec12) — for your review: Your action: buy the SANS 10400 set and SANS 10143 from the SABS webstore (price not checked) and keep the copies private. Packs carry only numbers and clause numbers, so nothing is copied; until bought, the South African numbers stay marked unverified.

   Owner answer (2026-10-29): Approved as recommended.

3. Is there an SA practitioner or reviewer we can work with to check presets and the XA output?

   Recommendation (2026-10-29, rec12) — for your review: Your action: find one South African architect or engineer (a Discord member or a customer) willing to check the presets and the energy output. Until found, keep everything labeled not reviewed.

   Owner answer (2026-10-29): Approved as recommended.

4. Regional pricing for ZAR: yes or no?

   Recommendation (2026-10-29, rec12) — for your review: Decline: no rand pricing in 0.8: Stripe's rand support is unchecked and the Team Cloud Plan price should not be split by country until you decide it. Revisit with real South African customers.

   Owner answer (2026-10-29): Approved as recommended.

5. Which first: the drawing pack (visible, cheap) or the XA check (differentiator, larger)?

   Recommendation (2026-10-29, rec12) — for your review: Approve: build the drawing pack first (visible and cheap); the energy-check (XA) is larger and needs the practitioner reviewer first.

   Owner answer (2026-10-29): Approved as recommended.

6. Afrikaans translation: in scope or not?

   Recommendation (2026-10-29, rec12) — for your review: Decline: no Afrikaans in 0.8. English with en-ZA spelling first; Afrikaans is a nice extra for a language session later.

   Owner answer (2026-10-29): Approved as recommended.

7. Regulation packs in the library (REG.1): agree on country level first, with state → county → city later?

   Recommendation (2026-10-29, rec12) — for your review: Already decided: owner decisions of 2026-10-26 in this doc: 0.8 starts at country level (US, South Africa) and proves the lower levels with a state pack and a metro pack.

   Owner answer (2026-10-29): Approved as recommended.

8. Who may publish regulation packs: only us at first, or verified professionals from day one?

   Recommendation (2026-10-29, rec12) — for your review: Already decided: owner decisions of 2026-10-26 in this doc: anyone may submit, we credential, and only government sources are listed as authoritative.

   Owner answer (2026-10-29): Approved as recommended.

9. Are regulation packs free for everyone (like the rest of the library), or part of the Team Cloud Plan?

   Recommendation (2026-10-29, rec12) — for your review: Already decided: owner decisions of 2026-10-26 in this doc: free for now; a price field exists for makers who want paid packs.

   Owner answer (2026-10-29): Approved as recommended.