Valuable advice on how to meet the new security requirements within the English Building Regulations has been published by the Door & Hardware Federation (DHF) which represents the UK’s leading manufacturers of door and window hardware and locks.
For the first time, the Building Regulations require new homes to incorporate measures to resist unauthorised entry by casual or opportunist burglars.
The DHF Guide to Approved Document Q of the Building Regulations advises architects, specifiers and housebuilders how the new provisions of Document Q can be met, specifically by choosing doors and window hardware that meet the required standards.
The guide also gives comprehensive information on how the performance of doors and windows can be checked and assessed.
The new security obligation under Document Q covers main entrance doors, windows and interlinked doors to integral garages in houses. It also covers external entrance doors to apartment blocks and to individual apartment doors that open into common areas.
Document Q states that doors and windows will meet the new security requirement if they are sufficiently robust and fitted with appropriate hardware. The DHF Guide provides practical guidance on how this can be achieved.
In particular, the guide describes how all easily accessible doorsets providing access should comply with PAS 24:2012 or other standards that provide similar or better performance to ensure they are secure.
In the case of bespoke timber doorsets, the guide details the security standards required for construction materials and door hardware components including locks, hinges, letter plates, door limiters and glazing.
The guide also lists the applicable standards relating to windows to meet the Document Q obligation that all easily accessible windows and rooflights should be secure.
Said DHF general manager and secretary Michael Skelding: “Door and window suppliers now need to demonstrate to the housebuilder that the products to be installed meet the requirements of Document Q. In addition, Building Control Officers will need to check and assess the evidence offered by the contractor to determine whether the installed doors and windows comply with the relevant standards.
“The DHF guide recommends that third-party certification is obtained from a UKAS-accredited certification body that has checked and assessed the evidence relating to the doors and windows. This will make the process more efficient for both the contractor and the Building Control Officer.”
The DHF Guide to Document Q can be downloaded from http://bit.ly/1ULu3XV
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