The new security requirements introduced in Approved Document Q are explained by Kevin Underwood, Technical Director at the British Woodworking Federation and Wood Window Alliance
Last year the government introduced changes to the Building Regulations in England that brought in a requirement for security: Approved Document Q. Many sites have not yet had to adopt the new requirement as it does not apply to work started before 1 October 2015 or to work subject to a building notice. Neither does it apply to full plans application or initial notice submitted before that date as long as work on site has started, or will start before 1 October 2016.
The new requirement Q1, states that reasonable provision must be made to resist unauthorised access to any dwelling and any part of a building from which access can be gained to a flat within the building. This new requirement only applies to new dwellings, including dwellings created by a change of use of an existing building, for example a barn conversion, and therefore does not apply to extensions to an existing dwelling nor to the refurbishment of an existing dwelling.
Guidance for complying with the requirement is given in Approved Document Q and is mainly focused on the provision of secure windows and doors. For the purpose of compliance, it is not important how the window or door is provided as the requirement applies equally to fully assembled windows and doorsets or windows or door assemblies that are completed on site. There is also guidance for when a door assembly is installed into a lightweight construction, such as could be the case for internal flat entrance doors, for the walls either side of the door assembly to be reinforced to prevent access to the door locks.
The requirement affects all easily accessible windows and access doors into a dwelling including flat entrance doors, the entrance door into a building that contains flats, and the door between a dwelling and an integral garage unless the main garage door or doors are themselves secure doors. Easily accessible windows and doors will generally be those within 2 metres vertically of ground or basement level, a balcony, or a flat or shallow pitched roof. In these circumstances windows and doors must resist attack from a casual or opportunist burglar by being sufficiently robust and fitted with appropriate hardware.
Approved Document Q describes suitable products as being secure, and describes three methods to determine whether or not a window or door could be considered to achieve that status. They could be manufactured to a design that has been shown by test to meet the security requirements of PAS 24:2012, or they could be manufactured under the control of a relevant certification scheme, or, in the case of timber doors, they could be manufactured in accordance with a series of rules. While the Approved Document does not provide rules for secure windows, the precedent set by the guidance for door assemblies has encouraged organisations such as the British Woodworking Federation and Secured By Design to prepare such guidance.
PAS 24:2012 describes test methods to assess the ability of a window or door assembly to resist entry. It contains testing to the old version of PAS 24 for door assemblies and BS 7950 for windows. It also accepts testing undertaken in accordance with the European test methods given in BS EN 1628 to 1630 as long as these tests are supplemented by the lock manipulation tests that are omitted by the scope of these standards. When following the test methods in PAS 24:2012, doors are subjected to more onerous testing than windows. It is therefore an advantage to test a product as a window rather than as a door assembly. Where it is uncertain what type of testing should be applied, for example where a window is the same size as a door, then the description given in the European terminology standard BS EN 12519:2004 is a useful guide. A door provides access while a window does not. So, if a product provides access then it’s a door and should be tested as such. However a product is tested, the test evidence can be shared by manufacturers of a similar product or cascaded by a window or door system supplier.
A requirement of PAS 24:2012 is that all glazed doors, and windows with non-keylocking hardware, must be fitted with at least one pane of glass which achieves class P1A when tested in accordance with BS EN 356:2000. This glass is likely to be 6.8mm thick laminated glass and, when compared with a more usual 4mm thick pane, could affect the cavity width of a glass unit and, therefore, consideration should be given to the resulting U-value of the window or glazed door.
As it will be necessary for flat entrance doors to be secure doors and also provide fire resistance, any changes to hardware that are made to provide enhanced security must not compromise the fire resistance. For example, if a multi-point lock is fitted, the manufacturer or installer of the door assembly must ensure that the documentation supporting the fire resistance permits the fitting of a lock of that type.
One final consideration is that even though most windows and external doorsets should be CE marked in accordance with the harmonised Standard BS EN 14351-1, the introduction of a security requirement will not affect CE marking. This is because burglar resistance, as it is termed in the Standard, is not an essential characteristic and so there is no opportunity or need for a manufacturer to declare a burglar resistance class on their declaration of performance. â–
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Kevin Underwood
Technical Director
British Woodworking Federation and
Wood Window Alliance
Tel: 0844 209 2610
