On Wed, 02 Jun 2004 19:05:22 +0100, a particular chimpanzee named
tarquinlinbin randomly hit the keyboard and
produced:

Our man says this is a problem though because it would not be in
compliance with building control regs with regard to fire escape. The
bottom line is that it seems me must have side openners on the bedroom
windows to allow escape but the rest,i.e ground floor and landing
windows,could be top openers.

If the windows are not in compliance with the reg then a FENSA reg/or
building control cert cannot be obtained.

Our man says he usually obtains the building control cert in
preference to FENSA as FENSA only inspect a small proportion of
installs whereas local authority building control inspect all installs
that they certify.

Replacement windows from April 2002 have to comply with the Building
Regulations' requirements for thermal efficiency, and have to be no
worse in terms of other requirements than they were previously. So if
the windows didn't have openings suitable for means of escape before,
there is no requirement to do so now. [IIRC there was a requirement
on installers to make sure that at least one window on a first floor
had a suitable opening, but this wasn't a requirement of the Building
Regulations. I think it may have been a bit of Trading Standards
legislation.]

With replacement windows, there are two 'routes' to complying with the
Building Regulations; an application to the local Council or having
the windows installed by a FENSA-registered installer.

With the first, the Council checks that the windows meet the
requirements, for a fee, and issues you with a certificate if all is
OK. With the second, the installer 'self-certifies' his own work (and
in theory issues a notice to the Council that he's done so, and should
issue you with a certificate). The Glass & Glazing Federation who
oversee the FENSA scheme should do spot checks to make sure that the
installers are complying, but this has nothing to do with any
particular installation, rather a check on the installers.

I don't know how much it costs to register with the GGF, but given
that a typical application to a Council costs about £50-70, then a
reasonably-sized company would quickly rack up a bill in the
£thousands in the course of a year if they weren't FENSA registered
(unless they were throwing the onus onto the householder, in which
case I would be asking for that money off the bill).

Whether you choose to make an application is up to you (like whether
you choose to pay road tax on your car), but it may come back to bite
you if you choose to sell.
--
Hugo Nebula
"The fact that no-one on the internet wants a piece of this
shows you just how far you've strayed from the pack".