Building Control ...
Replacement glazing
- Introduction
- What is replacement glazing?
- Procedure
- Local Authority route
- What regulations do the windows have to comply with?
Introduction
From April 2002 all replacement glazing has come within the scope of the Building Regulations.
Anyone who installs replacement windows or doors will have to comply with new thermal insulation performance requirements.
It is important that you receive the necessary consent, as solicitor’s now specifically check this when you sell your property. If you cannot produce the appropriate documents it may cause problems with the house sale.
What is replacement glazing?
Where one or more windows or roof lights are replaced in a dwelling - in addition any door where more than 50% of its area consists of glazing.
The replacement of individual panes of glass in any of the above does not require approval.
Procedure
There are two ways that approval can be obtained for this work:
Your installer can use the FENSA scheme, this is a government approved self certification scheme that controls the work of installers through independent quality checks by surveyors employed by FENSA. To be eligible your contractor must be registered with FENSA. Ask for proof that your contractor is pre-registered with FENSA before signing any contractural documents.
At present only domestic replacement glazing schemes are controlled by FENSA.
All non - domestic schemes must obtain approval from North Tyneside Building Control.
For details of the scheme please contact:
FENSA
Tel: 020 7207 5874
In all cases where your contractor is not registered with FENSA you will need to submit a Building Notice to North Tyneside Council before the work is carried out.
Local Authority route
Either you or your contractor must submit a Building Notice to North Tyneside Council at least 2 days before commencing work - there will be a standard charge for this work (Please refer to our charges section).
When your Notice has been accepted, usually within a few days, you may commence the installation after having informed Building Control of your expected date of installation.
We will then undertake inspections of the work, usually at commencement and again at completion.
On satisfactory completion you will be supplied with a Completion Certificate which should be retained with your property details in the event of future sale. Ensure that this certificate has been issued prior to paying the installer’s final payment (this should be agreed at signing of contract stage.)
What regulations do the windows have to comply with?
Thermal insulation
The replacement windows will need to meet new increased thermal insulation requirements – maximum U- value 2.0 W/m2k. The double glazed unit should be 16mm air gapped, argon filled and have a low emissivity coating eg. “k” glass.
Please ensure your supplier can prove the units will meet the new requirements, as the Building Control Surveyor will need to see this proof before issuing a completion certificate. We would particularly recommend that you leave any labels on the glazing in place until after a satisfactory inspection has been carried out by the Building Control Surveyor.
Means of escape
All first floor windows in dwellings should ideally have opening lights large enough to allow you to escape through them if you were trapped in the room by a fire. This also applies to certain rooms in bungalows. To meet this requirement all such windows should have an unobstructed openable area of at least 0.33m2;be not less than 450mm high and 450mm wide. The bottom of the openable area should be less than 1100mm above the floor.
If your existing windows do not have opening lights which meet the above requirements, we would suggest for your own safety, that you take the opportunity to provide them in the replacement windows. This is not a however a requirement of the regulations, which simply state that the replacement windows must be no worse than those they replace in this respect.
Safety Glazing
Low level glazing (glazed areas within 800mm of floor level) and glazing in doors within 1500mm of floor level should generally be of a type so that if broken, it will break safely. In practice this means it should be either laminated or toughened. Ordinary glazing can be used in small pane sizes however, provided the glass is sufficiently strong to resist breakage.
It should be noted that glazed areas within 800mm.of floor level on upper floors must be designed to a barrier to give protection from falling.
Structural safety
If the replacement windows are wider than those they replace, or involve the replacement of bay windows, then the Building Control Surveyor will need to be satisfied that proper structural support is provided above the window. In older buildings, the timber frame of the window was often sufficiently strong to carry the load of a wall or roof above it without a lintel. Obviously in these cases either a lintel needs to be installed when the window is replaced, or the new frame carefully reinforced to carry the load.
Ventilation
The Building Regulations require that adequate ventilation is provided for people in the building and this should be considered when deciding on the size of opening lights in the replacement windows. For most rooms, one or more opening windows totalling 5% of the floor area, with background "trickle" vents totalling 8000mm2 will be adequate. For kitchens, utility rooms and bathrooms an extract fan is also normally required.
Combustion Air to Fires and Heating Appliances
In some cases the existing windows may contain a permanent vent to supply combustion air to a heating appliance, although this is now rare. If this is the case however you should ensure that either the replacement window contains a similar permanent vent, or that some other means of providing the required ventilation is installed at the same time.
It is advisable to have your appliances checked out by a registered installer eg. CORGI in respect of gas appliances.
Accessible Thresholds
Many newer properties are now provided with level access thresholds and your new doors must not make the access worse – nor reduce the door clear opening width.
