New windows don't comply with building regs

iwantadoggy

We live in a 120 year old house, in conservation area. The old windows were rotten so we needed new windows fitted, and the conservation officer said they had to be wood and be of similar appearance to the original windows. The only visible difference between the old and new windows is that the new ones are flush sash rather than casement that the old windows were. 

We could only find one local company to quote and they have just fitted the windows. Whilst the frames themselves look great and much better suit the house, they have made a terrible bodge job of the fitting. We have a builder here at the moment and he advised we don't pay any money until they have rectified the issues.

However... the first thing the builder said was that the upstairs bedroom windows don't meet fire regs as the opening section is only 380mm wide, and the hinges they have used means the max opening width when they are open is 300mm. I believe building regs state the opening has to be 450mm?

Where do we stand with this? I would have expected a window fitting company to comply with building regs when they did the quote surely? If not, they should have told me shouldn't they? Does it matter that we are in a 120 year old house in a conservation area? I signed a contract saying to check that the windows were to my specification, but there is no mention of the size of the openings. What should I do?

MikeJXE

iwantadoggy said:

We live in a 120 year old house, in conservation area. The old windows were rotten so we needed new windows fitted, and the conservation officer said they had to be wood and be of similar appearance to the original windows. The only visible difference between the old and new windows is that the new ones are flush sash rather than casement that the old windows were. 

We could only find one local company to quote and they have just fitted the windows. Whilst the frames themselves look great and much better suit the house, they have made a terrible bodge job of the fitting. We have a builder here at the moment and he advised we don't pay any money until they have rectified the issues.

However... the first thing the builder said was that the upstairs bedroom windows don't meet fire regs as the opening section is only 380mm wide, and the hinges they have used means the max opening width when they are open is 300mm. I believe building regs state the opening has to be 450mm?

Where do we stand with this? I would have expected a window fitting company to comply with building regs when they did the quote surely? If not, they should have told me shouldn't they? Does it matter that we are in a 120 year old house in a conservation area? I signed a contract saying to check that the windows were to my specification, but there is no mention of the size of the openings. What should I do?

Yes it does matter

I remember a few years ago My niece had new windows in her pub 17, The back got approved by the LA but the front did not and she had to change them 5 

Although they looked exactly as the old they weren't casement 

The window company should be responsible for the fire escape regulations 

Mr.Generous

Just to add it's an easy job to change a hinge setup to a fire escape hinge, and that some modern fire escape hinges act as a normal hinge until you press something down, then the window fully opens. Difficult to explain, but actually a good safety feature to prevent kids falling out.

silvercar

Pretty sure there is some caveat, that if you can’t get windows to open wide enough for current regulations, if they are replacements they have to open at least as wide as the previous windows.

iwantadoggy

Mr.Generous said:

Just to add it's an easy job to change a hinge setup to a fire escape hinge, and that some modern fire escape hinges act as a normal hinge until you press something down, then the window fully opens. Difficult to explain, but actually a good safety feature to prevent kids falling out.

Fire escape hinge wont help. The window openings are only 390mm wide and according to building regs they need to be 450mm. I wasn't aware of this until the builder working on our house mentioned it. I would have expected the window company to know this though andanufature the window accordingly.

iwantadoggy

silvercar said:

Pretty sure there is some caveat, that if you can’t get windows to open wide enough for current regulations, if they are replacements they have to open at least as wide as the previous windows.

Can you tell me where I can find this? We can't find any mention of it in the building regs and the builder working on my house is unaware of it.

FreeBear

iwantadoggy said:

silvercar said:

Pretty sure there is some caveat, that if you can’t get windows to open wide enough for current regulations, if they are replacements they have to open at least as wide as the previous windows.

Can you tell me where I can find this? We can't find any mention of it in the building regs and the builder working on my house is unaware of it.

https://www.richmond.gov.uk/window_replacement_means_of_escape_in_case_of_fire - Your windows will fall under refurbishment, so as long as they do not make things worse, no breach of regs.

Part B covers fire safety. Note that Section 2.19 is for new dwellings, not old ones like yours.