Yale is proud to sponsor Clearview ’ s Industry Issues Guide

New Regulations Challenge the Industry

With the passing of “ T ” day , the implementation date for the new requirements of Approved Document F , the sun ’ s still rising , and the sky hasn ’ t fallen in ( yet ).

We have seen a range of responses but what is clear is that due to the historic low levels of compliance since these requirements were introduced over 25 years ago this time the government are serious about compliance , with the responsibility squarely and legally with the installer to comply and fabricators have a responsibility to supply a compliant product .

There have been many mooted ways to try and work around the requirements which has led government to clarify a few of them including the night vent position not being a compliant route . Installing a window can only

2000 EQA ^* , 2500 EQA ^* , 4000 EQA ^* and 5000 EQA ^*

be certified by a member of a competent person scheme if the work complies with the Building Regulations , which includes the requirement that ventilation for the building has not been made less satisfactory during the work .

A disclaimer signed by the homeowner stating that they do not wish to have background ventilators or that they will be installed in future is not a suitable way of complying with the Building Regulations . Work must comply with the Building Regulations and competent person schemes must monitor their registrants and act against any installer who is found to have carried out non-compliant work . Neither is purchasing an indemnity policy is also not a suitable alternative to meeting the requirements of the Building Regulations .

Having worked on these regulations for a long period of time now it is clear that the compliant installers and

fabricators will come through to the fore in the market . The trickle vents are now firmly in the centre of the hardware market as they become a standard window component .

Here , opportunity for increased revenue and margins are clear for the supply chain with the availability of basic , better and best premium finishes to match in particular linear wrapped uPVC profiles . Especially as in most instances depending upon the window design and the aesthetic needed the size of a trickle vent doesn ’ t in general need to increase .

Where before the new regulations were required , you would have used an old design of 4000mm ² which gave you an equivalent area of c2500mm ² , you can either fit the latest generation of trickle vents available in most profile colours where a 2500mm ² EQA is about half the width of the old 4000 trickle vent , or for

SAME TRICKLEVENTS 5000 , 4000 , 2500 & 2000 EQA LESS TIME NEEDED FOR ROUTING AND INSTALLATION roughly the same width on the window fit 5000mm ² EQA .

So , for compliance you can roughly do what you did before using the same number of vents to achieve the 4000 , 8,000 and 10,000 EQA requirements depending upon the room ?

The biggest change is the scope in the replacement sector where most windows will now need trickle vents fitted to comply . Either replacing and not making worse the vents fitted to the window being replaced or following the guidance for habitable rooms and kitchens ( 8,000 EQA ) or non-habitable rooms ( 4,000 EQA ) with some caveats and exclusions .

But there is still one area that I get feedback on which is the “ grey ” market and those who may not look to comply and undercut the pricing on jobs . A reasonable concern , however , surely this is just another reason to introduce doubt on these suppliers in that if they decide not to comply with their legal requirements to supply background ventilation into a property , what other shortcuts and omissions are they also will to undertake ? How good is there quality going to be and how long will the windows perform for ?

CLEARVIEW-UK For more information . COMor to find your local stockist visit : glazpart . com / products / trickle-ventilation JULY 2022 to see our range of BBA and LABC certified vents or call 01295 264533 to speak with one of the team .

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