Jump to content

Laminated glass


Recommended Posts

Only where it was mandatory at the time.  My view is that there is never a "one size fits all" answer to security, as the risk varies a very great deal from one area to another.  For example, my mother always used to leave the house unlocked, and her car unlocked with the key in the ignition.  She did this for decades, and I only found out about the car being left like this when she wanted to sell it, rang me and asked if I could come over and get the (rusted in) key out of the ignition.

 

Behaving like that in an area with a higher level of crime would be asking for trouble, and I can see that fitting laminated glass etc might be sensible for a minority of locations where there was a significant risk of burglary by breaking through glass.  According to our local crimestoppers contact, most crimes around here tends to be opportunistic, with the thieves targeting the easiest places to steal from.  Most burglaries don't involve breaking windows, it seems there are simpler, quieter, ways to get into most houses.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 minutes ago, Russell griffiths said:

That would be my common sense approach to it @JSHarris but is laminated glass not mandatory in part Q of the building regs. 

 

Depends whether that pane of glass provides access, it seems:

Quote

“any glazing which, if broken would allow someone to insert their hand and release the locking device on the inside of the door should be a minimum of class P1A in accordance with BS EN 356:2000. Double- or triple-glazed units need to incorporate only one pane of class-P1A glass.”

 

For non-opening glazing then it doesn't look as if laminated glass is needed, and arguably if the locking mechanism inside the door or window cannot be operated by someone putting their hand in through a broken glazing unit then it wouldn't need laminated glass, either.  Maybe a bit of a tenuous argument, but having key-operated locking mechanisms inside, with the keys not left in the locks, might comply with the letter of the requirement, if not the spirit of it.  Anything that disables the lock from inside would seem to comply.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

37 minutes ago, Russell griffiths said:

Who the bloody hell writes this stuff. Why can they not be clear every rule can be read in a different context depending on how you look at things. 

 

I get the strong feeling that some of the interpretations of building regs are a result of "if the only tool you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail" mentality.  The regs make no reference to needing laminated glass, they simply state that any ground floor door or opening window must provide a degree of protection from someone breaking the glass, putting a hand in and being able to unlatch it.  Laminated glass is one possible solution, but not the only one.  Anything that stopped the window/door from being opened by a hand poked through would comply with what Part Q actually stipulates.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

When checking if we could use a certain set of bifolds, I asked our Building Control guy about this and I specified they were not laminated, and he said 'either laminated or toughened'. Our joiner was of the same opinion. I'm sure others have said only laminated. Might be worth you asking your BC as thats what it comes down to.

Edited by Roz
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Toughened is fine but Part Q is going full SBD, it is already in Scotland for new builds.

 

However, it boils down to interpretation by the BCO and different regions.

Edited by craig
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...