Following the publication of Approved Document Q in Wales, security is incorporated into the building regulations in Wales for the first time.
Effective since 1st November 2018, Approved Document Q (Wales) sets security requirements for new dwellings in England. The approved document sets out reasonable standards for doors and windows to resist physical attack by a casual or opportunist burglar by being both sufficiently robust and fitted with appropriate hardware.
To meet the requirement, 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 a building.
Ground floor, basement and other easily accessible windows (including easily accessible rooflights) need to be secure windows. A window that has been shown by test to meet the security requirements of PAS 24 would be considered a secure window.
According to PAS 24, where doorsets, coupled side panels and windows adjacent to doorsets contain glass, each glazed area shall include at least one pane of laminated glass meeting the requirements of BS EN 356:2000, Class P1A or higher.
Where windows contain glass and non-key unlocking hardware, each glazed area shall include at least one pane of laminated glass meeting the requirements of BS EN 356:2000, Class P1A or higher.
Specifically for bespoke timber doorsets, any glazing which, if broken, would permit 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. Insulting glass units need to incorporate only one pane of Class P1A glass.
6.8mm Pilkington Optilam™ achieves BS EN 356 Class P2A (which is higher than P1A), so would satisfy this requirement. Please note that 6.4mm Pilkington Optilam™ does not achieve Class P1A.
The requirement does not apply to replacement windows and doors.
For more information on glass for security applications, please click HERE.
To read Approved Document Q in full, please click HERE.