SECURED BY DESIGN
A note on security and safety considerations of letterplates
Richard Morris from door security and hardware specialist , UAP Ltd , discusses the security and safety implications of letterplate specification .
» LOCATION , LOCATION , LOCATION may still be the housebuilder ’ s mantra , but building homes that meet the needs of occupiers relies on the detail of the specification , not just the postcode . Estate agents like to refer to ‘ kerb appeal ’ and attention to detail begins at the front door , including the humble letterplate .
Much of our correspondence may be paperless these days , but homes still need a letterplate where letters , circulars and newspapers can be posted . Located prominently on the front door of a house or an apartment , the wrong choice of letterplate can be an eyesore . More importantly , perhaps , poorly specified letterplates can also present a security risk , fire safety issue or problems with access and Disability Act compliance , which is why it ’ s important to understand the potential specification pitfalls and what to look for when selecting a product .
Overcoming Vulnerabilities
Historically , letterplates have been the most vulnerable part of a door , enabling thieves to ‘ fish ’ through the aperture to retrieve keys from hallways and gain access to properties . This vulnerability not only includes gaining access to the property but has commonly be used to fish for car keys , resulting in car theft while the occupier sleeps . Often , homeowners don ’ t understand the risks of leaving keys conveniently placed on a console table in the hall or a hook near the door until a thief has fished for them .
Stricter compliance for letterplate design has been in place since the TS008 standard was introduced in 2016 , effectively preventing key fishing and manipulation of the thumbturn cylinder , which opens the door from inside the property . TS008 letterplate fixings must also be capable of withstanding 1.2kN ( 122.366kgs ) of force application , held for ten seconds at each end of the letterplate . This helps in preventing an intruder gaining unrestricted access to the aperture .
But security is not the only risk . Fire safety is also an important consideration and , in multi-occupancy buildings , containing a fire within the property where it started , rather than allowing it to spread throughout the building , is just as important as preventing fire from spreading from common areas into individual homes . That ’ s why fire doors are required as the front doors to individual apartments within multioccupancy buildings , or for doors that lead onto shared balcony walkways . For these environments , not only is TS008 compliance required to ensure security , but the letterplate must also provide a fire rating equal to the rating of the door and , following the Grenfell Tower tragedy , specifiers must be more vigilant than ever in ensuring the chosen letterplate delivers a robust and proven level of fire safety .
Alongside these safety and security considerations , of course , the letterplate must also allow items defined in the postal services standard BS EN 13724 : 2013 to completely pass through the aperture without being damaged .
Design Challenges
The challenge for companies developing TS008 compliant letterplates has been that the additional design features required to make letterplates safer and more secure in order to meet the standard have often resulted in practical and aesthetic issues .
Many new build homes have narrow hallways , and the standard response of designing letterplates with a bulky cowl on the interior side of the door sometimes makes it impossible to fully open the door .
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APRIL 2024
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