back door fitting

[shrimp]

hey people just wondering if you can tell me whether i would need to get planning permission for fitting a new upvc back door in place of the rotten wood one we have?and how much this cost?
Cheers dazz

 

[joinerjay]

no permission req unless its a listed building

 

[Richard C]

In most cases you don’t need PP but replacement windows & doors must comply with the latest Building Regs. & have a certificate of compliance. If you can’t produce a certificate of compliance, it may cause problems when you come to sell the property. There are 2 ways to achieve this;

Use a FENSA registered installer who self certify & issue a certificate of compliance on completion or

Notify Building Control who will inspect the installation & issue you with a certificate of compliance; there is a fee for this.

Regards the cost; single fittings are always more expensive than a whole house job & it depends on the style & quality of the door but for a standard single door, budget on £300 - £500, installed.

 

[Doc Lenny]

In most cases you don’t need PP but replacement windows & doors must comply with the latest Building Regs. & have a certificate of compliance.

Richard is still the case if the afore mensioned back door is less that 50% glazed.

 

[Richard C]

In most cases you don’t need PP but replacement windows & doors must comply with the latest Building Regs. & have a certificate of compliance.

Richard is still the case if the afore mensioned back door is less that 50% glazed.

The situation as I understand it is: you can repair an existing door/window but replacements (i.e. where the frame is removed) must not only comply with current safety & U value regs. but you must not make things any worse than they were before as far as ventilation, access & fire escape goes; although it’s difficult to see how you could do this with a replacement door!

Front doors (doesn’t say anything about rear doors!) with less than 50% glass are exempt as if it’s made to full external spec. the overall U value will meet the requirements. You used to have to watch the specified air gap on glazing units, particularly where conservatories are concerned as they are exempt; but I think there are few companies now turning out windows (if any) made to lower than the full house spec. Where I think it gets a bit tricky to reconcile for DIY is that it’s not just the physical construction of the unit that must comply but the installation itself also has to comply or why have the self certification facility available to FENSA registered companies in the first place; & there are some real cowboys out there even FENSA registered ones!

 

[The-brickie]

Well said Richard!

Fensa was started (amongst other things) to avoid the overload at the BCO with inspections, and yes they have had a lot of problems with bad installations.

I didnt join because as a small company it was not worth it to me, I used the argument in my sales pitch, when asked why I wasnt with fensa, was that who would you rather have tell you the windows right, me and self cert or a BCO who will supply a completion cert?

Main area of proper fitting is usually bay windows and older properties that have no lintels over their windows. I.e structure.

 

[^woody^]

I wonder if anyone has done a Freedom of Information request to see just how many checks have been done of self certified FENSA work to see if it really is up to standard?

Its all really a nonsense, and just another bit of pointless bureaucracy.

I think I would have great difficulty in going out and trying to purchase a door or window frame set that does not conform, so what are the chances of any installation not being to the relevant standards? So why use FENSA or apply for b/regs approval?

If I went and bought a TV, the shop would be obligated to fill in a form and send this to TV Licensing, who would then check up on me for a licence or pay me a visit.

If conserving energy is so important, then why doesn't the merchant get the name and address of every customer who buys a window or external door, and send this to the local BCO for him to check that there has been a formal application or self certified work done?

 

[The-brickie]

Good points woody but most, if not all windows are now k rated glass as standard (as you say), its not that that the installations fail on. Lintels etc.

IIRC Fensa check two jobs for you to qualify then say that random checks will be carried out or percentage, say 1 in 50 if you a bigger company.

I was privy to a few Fensa news letters that expressed concerns over 'still too many' failed installations in the structure side of things.

 

[^woody^]

I understood that replacement window/door work was purely the replacement, and that if no alterations to the structure were made, then that was not covered under the scope of the self certification or BCO checks (unless the old frames were load-bearing)

So things like adequacy of lintels, DPC, closed cavities etc are outside the remit

The only part of the controlled work which is of a structural nature, is that the frame is adequately fixed, and that the installation must not make the building worse in terms of structural stability

 

[The-brickie]

Thats the size of it, mullioned windows that are removed that had brickwork bearing on it i.e NO lintel (quite common back in the day) and insufficient work to stop brickwork dropping.

Basically a new lintel is needed, trouble is alot of the so called surveyors that I have met had no building background so didnt pick up on that issue.

Then along rock the fitters, again in a lot of cases no building back ground, who throw the windows in quick sharp to earn their money. Pack up the frames and then pack the top of the glass to top of frame to support the brickwork above.

And yes I have seen it with these eyes lol.