Steel is the best line of defence, writes Jenni Turner, Director of the Steel Window Association.
The Steel Window Association recently announced a new initiative under which W40 and EB24 steel windows are accredited as a "police preferred specification" by the Association of Chief Police Officers scheme for "Secured By Design". As a result, all manufacturing members of the SWA that have joined the "Secured By Design" scheme now produce windows that meet the "Secured By Design" standards.
Commenting on the initiative, SWA President John Chamberlain said: "Within the industry we have always known that modern steel windows are the most secure available and this is now backed up by the independent "Secured By Design" accreditation scheme.
Undoubtedly many developers and refurbishment contractors will utilise steel windows to comply with planning considerations when addressing period properties, or they prefer the slim but strong sections to maximise light transmission as well as transom lengths. It is when specifiers are seeking to optimise protection for occupants that steel can truly claim to have no competition.
Indeed, steel window are the automatic choice for the fenestration in prisons, police stations, court buildings and many other categories of public building. Home Office figures indicate that not only are most burglaries ‘opportunistic’ crimes, but one in five perpetrators enter a home through an unlocked door or window. Actually breaking a window – especially a contemporary sealed unit containing toughened glass – causes too much noise, making the criminal fear interruption. But the alternative of trying to force the frame really is a non-starter in the case of steel windows unless tools heavier than those used for the British Standard tests are ready to hand.
The weakest area in most window assemblies is the mounting point for the hardware and with the early PVC-U windows, even normal usage often caused the screws to work loose. The manufacturers have improved this by locating handles and hinges over the reinforcement bars, but steel screws threaded into steel frame sections is still the best answer.
The Steel Window Association recommends a number of measures to optimise the resistance to forced entry of doors and windows. These include fitting internal bolts to the top and bottom of all entrance doors, while they should all have minimum five lever mortice deadlocks. This means that even if a burglar enters a house through, perhaps, an open upstairs window, they cannot subsequently open the ground floor doors to easily carry out property.
Door hinges
Door hinges must not only be sturdy and correctly mounted, but fitting hinge bolts is an effective means of enhancing the assembly’s resistance to jemmying. SWA members supply locking handles, mortice deadbolts and concealed bolts on new door and window assemblies, while locking devices are also available for retrofitting to existing frames.
Lock replacements
Handles having cylinder locks operated by removable keys can often be supplied as direct replacements for those originally fitted to residential side hung and pivot windows. These will generally have a retaining nut or pin on the glass side of the handle mounting plate which can be removed using a special tool. The correctly handed, compatible locking handle is then fitted in place and the nut or pin retightened. Trickle ventilation can also be facilitated by specifying two position locking handles which allow the window to be ‘cracked open’ rather than shut fast.
On the latest generation W40 steel windows there is the further option to specify the concealed multi-point cremone bolt system. As with timber and PVC-u alternatives found across the sector, the geared handle causes multiple bolts to engage with keeps in the frame. While the other frame materials might succumb to sustained attack, a burglar would probably need a blow torch to cut through a steel window frame featuring multi-point locking. Or there is a wide selection of security devices such as clamp locks which secure the peg stay of a top hung opening light to the stay rest. Other proprietary devices specifically developed for steel window will prevent movement of the frame or ironmongery.
Members of the SWA are well used to meeting the aspirations of clients for different levels of security right up to Loss Prevention Council guidelines on bandit resistance. There is absolutely no point in going to the trouble and expense of fitting a multi-layered laminate glass, possibly offering ballistic resistance, if the frame does not exhibit the strength to match.
In respect of the glazing it is also important to consider its method of retention. In fact the adhesive sealants and metal beads employed in modern steel window systems make deglazing the frame a significant obstacle for would be intruders. All windows manufactured by SWA members using hot rolled sections to BS 6510 are given the corrosion protection of hot dip galvanizing to BS 729, while cold rolled sections are also available, all being suitable for finishing with one of the polyester powder coat systems available in a full choice of RAL or BS colours.
A Specifiers Guide and list of members is available form the Steel Window Association.
Ring: 020 7637 3571, e-mail: [email protected], or look at the SWA website:
