Exterior Doors Building Regulations
Are you building a new house, giving your interior a facelift with the latest exterior doors or redecorating an old building? You are required to look at the laid down regulations of entry doors and windows facilities. Sometimes you might find that the representation of the replacement door or window you are interested in does not meet the directives. To stay away from trouble and keep your project running, get a different idea.
Things like the door or window height, width and glass type are stated in the statute list. These orders are not meant to punish you. They have many benefits like saving you on the costs, and the doors selected to be fit in the reduction of heat loss and enhance carbon footprint. Wouldn’t you consider that helpful? Here at NorthTech Windows and Doors we have gathered some important information on what you are required to know about windows and exterior doors building by-laws.
1.   What Are Building Rules?
They are the laws associated with the building and outline of structures. The principal purpose why they exist is for the safety and well-being of the occupants of the house. People confuse building regulations with planning permission but there is a contrast between these two terms. Building regulations are meant to give a better environment by reducing heat loss and ensuring people in wheelchairs can get in a building comfortably while planning permissions handle the external construction. This could include installing windows where they have never been installed before or extending the backside of your homestead.Â
People who want to sell houses that were built before 2002 will incur an extra cost of restoring windows and doors because most of them do not match up to the building laws. The law expects the gates to meet some conditions like safety glazing, thermal efficiency, protection and entry to the building. It is expensive, but the advantages are enormous.
2.   What Are The Building Laws About External Doors?
These regulations were laid down in 2002, and this is why most buildings built before this time do not satisfy the requirements. Since then, if a property holder desires to install other exterior doors, they had to make sure that the glass meets the heat performance standards laid down. Building regulation policies recommend that an external door should have a height and width of 80 inches and 36 inches, respectively. For exterior fire doors, they should have an expanse of 0.33m2 while the width and height should be 450mm. Access doors that have met the requirements of the regulations have a step not higher than 15mm, and the entrance measures 775mm.
3.   A FENSA Certificate for External Doors?
Fenestration Self-Assessment Scheme is a Local Building Control representative that issues building regulations certificates. If you are putting up new construction, you will not need this certificate. If you are doing entry doors replacement and its make has more than 50% glass, you will need a FENSA certificate. However, for those whose exterior doors and windows are expected to separate a porch and a house, they do not require the certification.
4.   Building Regulations on Wheelchairs
The law asserts that all public structures should have wheelchair entry and those that building owners whose facilities do not meet this rule can have a lawsuit filed against them. The door thickness should be 32 inches, and the doorway should measure 23 and 27 inches. This way, persons on a wheelchair can have an easy entrance to the building.
It is essential to note that these laws are not only meant for health and well-being, but they also come in handy when it comes saving on energy consumption in your home. Whether you are building a new property, modernizing or doing a facelift to your old premises though entry doors replacement, you ought to follow the building rules. Stay away from court sessions and fines; they will cost you more than you would have spent heeding to the authorities.