Residential projects + building regulation compliance = SECURE HOUSE
Over the last 12 months, we’ve completed several large residential projects across the UK and that means meeting (and usually exceeding!) a wide variety of building regulations to deliver truly sensational work that more than meets clients’ expectations.
Here at Secure House, we have over 30 years’ experience in delivering bespoke residential housing projects working alongside building contractors, architects, quantity surveyors, site managers, interior designers and, of course, the end clients themselves.
With any residential project, irrespective of size or scale, building regulations are part of the job and we pride ourselves on being able to offer expert advice when it comes to ensuring that every single window and door not only meets regulations but surpasses requirements.
Building regulations relating to residential dwellings
The contractor had specified aluminium windows and doors for this particular project that we undertook in the summer. We have installed thousands of aluminium windows and doors and there are many considerations to take into account, not just overall design and finish.
Meeting building regulations is key when it comes to doors and windows. So, we had to ensure each window and each door we used would satisfy demands and that’s where we need to look at each relevant regulation in more detail to explain the importance.
Split into different Parts, we had to meet with Part L, Part Q and Part M building regulations relating to residential dwellings. Here’s what each means!
Part L
Part L refers to the ‘conservation of fuel and power of buildings’ and is designed to ensure that buildings are energy efficient.
Both doors and windows are vital to helping conserve energy within any property.
If they’re not fitted correctly or inferior materials are used, the heat will escape out and you’ll end up with a cold, energy inefficient property.
A Part L compliant door or window is one that has a high thermal efficiency, often referred to as the U-value.
The lower the U-value number the more efficient the product is.
U-value
The U-value governs how much heat a surface can transfer at any period of time. This is measured in watts per metre2 Kelvin. To meet Part L a door or window must reach 1.6W/(m2K) or less.
With lots of glazing i.e. surface area in this project, we insisted on a U-value of 0.95 to provide unrivalled efficiency throughout the development.
As we all know, security is a vital element in any residential or commercial property.
Since we’re all about keeping people and assets safe, this another area in which our doors and windows excel.
It allows us to exceed Part Q of the building regulations which relate specifically to security.
Part Q
Part Q is designed to ‘ensure the prevention of unauthorised access to dwellings’.
As such, every door or window that is installed must be able to withstand physical attack by a burglar or intruder.
PAS 24 is a minimum standard in this area and all of our products exceed this.
So, for this project our high burglary resistance Class 3 frames were used as they will protect the property from any highly skilled intruder.
We must also make mention that every door and window is fire compliant to FD60 meaning that each door or window is designed to hold back a fire for up to 60 minutes thereby preventing it spreading and giving residents ample opportunity to escape in the event of a fire.
Part M regulations
Finally, it goes without saying that we worked very hard to ensure that the project met Part M regulations.
Part M refers to the ‘ease of access to, and use of, buildings, including facilities for disabled occupants or visitors.
Wider than standard doorways and easy to use handles and locks were just some of the elements we focused on.
If you’d like more information about this project or you’re planning your own residential project, please don’t hesitate to contact us on 0207 8594207 or email info@secure-house.co.uk
