Home Security

Alarms
Government statistics have shown that around 60% of burglaries carried out on homes fitted with burglar alarms are unsuccessful. This suggests that burglar alarms are a useful deterrent for prospective criminals, but before you rush out and buy a brand new security system follow a few of our tips on security devices for your home.

The British Security Industry Association suggests that householders use a professional alarm installation company registered with a police recognised "alarm inspectorate" - so ask to see your security company's registration documents, and look for the following accreditation:

• NSI (National Security Inspectorate)
• NACOSS (National Approval Council for Security Systems)
• ICON (an approval scheme run by NSI)
• SSAIB (Security Systems and Alarms Inspection Board)

Only speak to installers that offer you a free survey and written quotation without obligation, and turn away companies that try to shock you with stories or statistics about burglary. Burglaries are less common than most people think and violent attacks on people in their homes are extremely rare. You should consider reporting any firms that use shock tactics to your local police or trading standards.

There are a few different types of alarm system. The first, and most common, is the traditional "bells only" system. When professionally fitted these cost around £500 to install plus another £65 per year for a maintenance contract.

Do it yourself
If this is too expensive for you, fit a DIY system. Although the DIY type may not be as reliable as a professional system, simply having an alarm can be a deterrent, as most burglars tend to choose the easy option. Take a look around your area, and if most homes have an alarm and yours doesn't, you probably stand more chance of being burgled. Of course, this does depend on many other factors, such as having a dog, or how good the other security features of your home are.

The more expensive option is a "monitored alarm", which may be worth thinking about if you have a lot of valuable property, or you live somewhere isolated. Monitored alarms are connected to an "alarm receiving centre" where someone will alert the police if an intruder is detected. They cost between £800 and £900 to install and around £200 each year for monitoring and maintenance.

The big difference between a bells-only and a monitored burglar alarm is police response. You need to know that the police will not respond to a bells only alarm unless they receive confirmation from you, your family, or someone else nearby, that there is a burglary in progress.

Top technology
Police will respond to a monitored alarm when an alarm-receiving centre notifies them. However, from October 2001 newly installed monitored alarms must also use "confirmation" technology to receive a police response. Here, people at the alarm-receiving centre check using either CCTV (to see an intruder), an audio connection (to hear an intruder) or something called "sequential confirmation". Sequential confirmation sounds a bit complicated, but basically this means detecting an intruder using sensors in a number of different places in or around you home - to spot if someone is moving around.

Before deciding on the type of alarm to install check with your insurance company first. They may offer discounts off your premium depending on the type you have fitted and the kind of installer you use. This could help make your choice a little easier. If installing your own alarm, make sure it meets BS6707 requirements. And if you get a professional in to install it, ensure they meet BS4737 standards.

Smoke AlarmsYou're twice as likely to die in a fire at home if you haven't got a smoke alarm.

A smoke alarm is the easiest way to alert you to the danger of fire, giving you precious time to escape. It's cheap, easy to get hold of and easy to fit. There's no excuse for not having one.

But many people who have smoke alarms are in danger too. The alarm could be in the wrong place, there may not be enough smoke alarms for the size of their home, they may not have checked their alarm recently or the batteries could be missing.

DETECTION METHOD
The detection method determines how well the alarm spots different kinds of fires. There are two detection methods - or you can combine both.

Ionisation alarms are sensitive to free-burning fires with flames - for example, chip pan fires. They detect these fires before the smoke becomes thick.

These are the cheapest and the most widely available smoke alarms. They start at under £5. You can find them in supermarkets as well as DIY and electrical shops.

Optical alarms are more effective at detecting slow-burning fires, like overheated electrical wiring. They are less likely to go off accidentally or when you're cooking.

Optical alarms are more expensive, starting at about £15. They are not quite as widely available, but are easy to get hold of in DIY and electrical shops.

Combined
Combined detectors are effective at detecting slow-burning as well as flaming fires - which are both common types of fire.

The cheapest combined alarms actually cost less than optical-only alarms - starting at about £5. And they're about as easy to find as optical-only alarms.

Safety Glass
Glass should not be thought of as just a functional material to let light into an area; it can also be used to add decorative effect. But it is important to choose the right kind of glass for the right place so the final job is effective, attractive and safe. The wrong type of glass used in the wrong position can be unsatisfactory and present a serious hazard to personnel safety.

Types of glass
There are a number of different types of glass, in a range of patterns and tints, and it is important to decide which is most suited for a particular job.

'Ordinary' sheet glass
This glass is made by passing the molten glass through rollers; this process gives an almost flat finish but the effects of the rollers upon the molten glass makes some distortion inevitable. The glass can be used in domestic windows etc. but the relatively low cost of float glass (with its lack of distortion) has tended to restrict ordinary sheet glass to glazing greenhouses and garden sheds where the visual distortions do not matter.

Sheet glass can be cut a glass cutter and no special equipment is necessary. The glass is often available in standard sizes to suit 'standard' glasshouses, these sizes tend to be comparatively cheaper than glass cut to size.

Float glass (plate)
Float glass gets its name from the method of production used to manufacture it. The molten glass is 'floated' onto a bed of molten tin - this produces a glass which is flat and distortion free.

Float glass can be cut using a glass cutter and no special equipment is necessary. Float glass is suitable for fixed and opening windows above waist height.

Energy efficient glass
Some manufacturers produce float glass with a special thin coating on one side which, allows the suns energy to pass through in one direction while reducing the thermal transfer the other way. The principle behind this is the difference in thermal wavelength of energy transmitted from the sun and that transmitted from the heat within a room.

The special coating often gives a very slight brown or grey tint to the glass. The coating is not very robust and would not last very long if subjected to normal cleaning or external weather conditions - for these reasons, this type of glass is normally only used in sealed double (or triple) glazed units with the special coating on the inside.

Patterned (obscured glass)
Made from flat glass, this type has a design rolled onto one side during manufacture. It can be used for decorative effect and/or to provide privacy. Patterned glass is available in a range of coloured tints as well as plain.

A variety of pattern designs are available, each pattern normally has an quoted distortion number, from 1 to 5, 1 being very little distortion, 5 being a high level of diffusion.

On external glazing, the patterned side is usually on the inside so that atmospheric dirt can easily be removed from the relatively flat external face.

Toughened (Safety glass)
Toughened glass is produced by applying a special treatment to ordinary float glass after it has been cut to size and finished. The treatment involves heating the glass so that it begins to soften (about 620 degrees C) and then rapidly cooling it. This produces a glass which, if broken, breaks into small pieces without sharp edges. The treatment does increase the surface tension of the glass which can cause it to 'explode' if broken; this is more a dramatic effect than hazardous.

It is important to note that the treatment must be applied only after all cutting and processing has been completed, as once 'toughened', any attempt to cut the glass will cause it to shatter.

Toughened glass is ideal for glazed doors, low level windows (for safety) and for tabletops (where it can withstand high temperature associated with cooking pots etc.

Laminated glass
As the name suggests, laminated glass is made up of a sandwich of two or more sheets of glass (or plastic), bonded together by a flexible, normally transparent material.

If the glass is cracked or broken, the flexible material is designed to hold the glass fragments in place.

The glass used can be any of the other basic types (float, toughened, wired etc.) and they retain their original breaking properties.

Some laminated glass is laminated for other reasons than just keeping any broken glass in place, some provide decorative internal finishes to the glass while others act as fire breaks.

Wired glass
Wired glass incorporates a wire mesh (usually about 10mm spacing) in the middle of the glass. Should be glass crack or break, the wire tends to hold the glass together. It is ideal for roofing in such areas as a garage or conservatory where its 'industrial' look is not too unattractive.

Wired glass is generally not considered a Safety glass as the glass still breaks with sharp edges.

Wired glass is available as clear or obscured.

Mirrors
Mirrors are usually made from float glass 4-6mm thick, and silvered on one side. Mirrors are available for use without a surrounding frame, these usually are made from a type of safety glass. Old mirrors, and modern mirrors supplied within a frame, should not be used unframed as any damage to them might cause the glass to shatter dangerously.

Picture frame glass
Glass (and plastics) are available specifically for picture framing, these tend to be referred to as 'diffused reflection' glass or plastic. They have high transparency but low reflective properties to reduce reflections when the picture or photograph is viewed.

Most of these materials can easily be cut by the average diy person providing suitable tools and safety precautions are taken.

Fire Doors
FIRE DOORS (GENERAL)
Fire resisting means that the construction so designated is capable of resisting the action of fire for not less than half an hour resisting, the passage of flame and providing insulation as defined in under the prescribed conditions of test appropriate to such construction in accordance with the current British Standard 476.

Where are fire doors required?
All doors to staircase from corridors or rooms, corridor partition doors, all doors to Laboratories, Workshops, Storerooms, Plant Rooms, Service Ducts, Kitchens & Tea Points; and to define fire compartments.

Certain circulation areas, which extend the escape route from the stair to a final exit or to a place of safety, entrances & lobbies; all doors leading onto external fire escapes (except the top door) and doors between basement and upper floors etc.

Corridors that are protected from adjoining accommodation by fire resisting construction – principally: corridors in dead-end conditions (that is where escape is only available in one direction) all doors leading off the corridor including offices.

UCL Design Requirements for fire doors:
Generally - All fire doors on circulation routes should open in the direction of escape and should not be double swing, but rebated to ensure intumescent and smoke seals work correctly. The exception is doors forming a mid corridor smoke break, these may be double swing but must have smoke seals/brushes.

Vision Panels - All doors should have Vision Panels (VP) provided, except where there is a need for privacy (i.e. WCs or sleeping accommodation) or specific need (e.g. Dark Rooms). All doors on circulation routes or corridors, stair enclosures MUST have Vision Panels that should comply with Disability Access requirements (see approved Document Part M the Building Regulations) as well as being fire resisting where necessary.

Smoke Seals – In addition to Intumescent strips, which are standard on new fire doors and form part of the upgrading of older fire doors, certain doors MUST be fitted with ‘Cold Smoke Seals or Brushes’. In general, all fire doors leading onto stair enclosures, protected corridors (Dead-End conditions) and corridor partition doors, protected lobbies and doors to all sleeping accommodation are to have smoke seals. It is recommended that these are the brush type and NOT rubber strip type, as they are not as durable and long lasting in maintenance terms, as brushes.

All fire-resisting doors should be:
Gaps & Hinges - Close fitting to the frame with a maximum gap of 5 mm but 3 mm is the accepted working gap and hung by 1½ pairs of all metal hinges with a melting point of not less than 800°C (both nylon and nylon bushed hinges are unacceptable).

Self Closing - Fitted with an effective self-closing device capable of closing the door tight against the stop, overcoming the resistance of any latch or lock.

Doors – Quick Fire Door Information
If a Vision Panels or glazing is required in a fire door or partition then the glazing has to be Fire Resisting Glazing of 30 / 60 minutes integrity (FRG30/60) meeting BS 476: Part 22 - 1987 - Fire tests on building materials and structures. Methods for determination of the fire resistance of non-load bearing elements of construction.

Glass Types meeting FRG30:

• Georgian Wired:
•    6 mm Polished Plate Georgian Wired (PPGW)
• Pyro Clear Glass:
•    5 mm FIVESTAR
•    6 mm PYROSWISS
•    6 mm PYROSHIELD

Note 1: It is very important to be able identify Pyro FR Glazing by the use of an ‘Acid Etching’ with the trade name in the corner of the pane and marked with BS 476 Part 22.

Note 2: If the Acid Etched Trade Name or BS 476: Part 22 information is NOT visible then the GLAZING WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED AS FRG30 – AND MUST BE REPLACED!

Note 3: ‘Safety’ glazing that is marked with BS 6206: 1981 is NOT FIRE RESISTING GLAZING – and is often is mistaken for FRG30 and is not acceptable!

Glazing to FRG30 in design, imbedded in intumescent paste rebates etc

Fanlights above fire doors are to be sealed so they cannot be opened and the construction to meet either FRG30 or FR30, as required.

OTHER ISSUES
Other issues with older doors:

WARNING - ASBESTOS!

Caution - A considerable number of doors have been previously made up to notional FD30 by the use of asbestos sheeting. Identification of these doors can be hampered as the asbestos warning labels become missing! Seek Advice if unsure or old door which has been sheeted on one side through the Safety.