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According to the award-winning Northamptonshire based fabricator, retailers run the risk of losing out on business through the over-specification of laminated glass on ground floor windows.

Kush Patel, Deputy Managing Director, Emplas explained: “To achieve PAS24 and Secured by Design it is a requirement for laminate glass on all ground floor or easily accessible doors or accessible windows within 400mm of a door.

“This is designed to stop an intuder smashing a window and simply leaning in to release the door from the inside or to any accessible windows that are designated as fire escape.

“It’s a requirement in Part Q in new build and replacement markets if you’re installing replacement windows to an SBD specification.

“What it doesn’t do, is create a general requirement for laminated glass in ground floor SBD specifications – only those that are within 400mm of a door, or designated fire escapes.

According to Patel, misinterpretation of requirements under Part Q but particularly SBD, has meant some retailers have missed out on business because of the significant up-lift on laminated glass.

He continues: “If you’re specifying laminated glass in an SBD accredited window, you’re looking at a 6.8mm laminate and around a 50% up-lift compared to a standard glazing unit.

“If you’re going head-to- head with a competitor who is switched onto the fact that it only needs to be specified if a window is within 400mm of a door, or an accessible fire escape window, then your quote is going to be way out.”

Emplas has introduced a wholesale simplification of SBD creating dedicated tick box specifications as part of its online ordering process. This means that rather than having to remember and select requirements under Secured by Design, Emplas customers can simply input window dimensions and then tick an SBD option.

This automatically pulls in all required data for an SBD upgrade of that window or door including everything from maximum heights and widths to locking mechanisms and cylinder combinations to reinforcement – and any requirement for laminated glass.

“It makes things a whole lot simpler”, continued Patel. “Our customers can log in, input details as normal and then simply tick a box to confirm that the window or door they’re ordering needs to be manufactured and supplied to a Secured by Design Standard. It takes the guess work out of the process as well as saving time.”

Windows from Emplas are manufactured in Profile 22’s new Optima system. As well as offering Typical U-values of 1.4W/m 2 K, it also features local thickening of walls to deliver increased screw pull-through. This is combined with 8-point locking (9 on larger sizes) with heavy duty SAC bolts providing up to 300 per cent greater contact area against competitor shoot-bolts.

Emplas’ composite door range is supplied as Secured by Design as standard. Two thirds of its composite door business now runs through its 5-day delivery time range.