THE FABRICATOR

ALUMINIUM –THE
COLUMN
Civil war security
Ispent some of my formative years growing up in a
characterful Cotswold cottage that featured several
architectural quirks. We won’t go into the single glazed
windows that regularly iced-up on the inside in winter, nor
the downstairs loo come to that, but I remember the
imposing front door well. It was what Ican best describe
as a solid oak bi-fold featuring cast iron studwork.
Although the cottage was small, for some reason the front
door opening was larger than normal and the door,
reputed to date from the 17th century, could be opened
halfway to afew feet wide before opening fully. The story
goes that the door dated from the time of the English civil
war when you had to be abit careful about who you let in
when they came knocking. The story was further
embellished on the basis that anearby road was called
Gunhouse Lane and said by some local wags to be the
location of one of Cromwell’s armouries. Perhaps this was
all the fanciful work of acreative estate agent, but an
interesting tale nevertheless.
To pass the PAS24...
Iwondered to myself recently how that front door would
perform in aPAS 24 test. One thing is for sure, it would
perform much better than the back door of the cottage,
which was areal case of sublime to ridiculous. Presumably
dating from the 1970s, the back door was woefully
inadequate in the security department, and while the large
clear glazed panel provided valuable daylight for the galley
kitchen beyond, it did make manipulating the lock
thumbturn through the letter box much easier. While this
saved us from being locked out on afew occasions with the
judicious use of abent bucket handle, it was no joke that
we were burgled this very same way. Fortunately we didn’t
have much worth stealing and no one was at home at the
time, but it was an unpleasant experience.
Property crime decline
It is ironic that apparently we did not think of security in
the 1970s as much as our forefathers did in the 1670s, but
Iguess it comes down to the level of threat. The most
recent crime statistics for 2014 to 2015 from the Crime
Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) show marked
reductions in property crime since peak levels in the
1990s. The CSEW indicates that, while there have been
long-term declines across most types of property crime,
the falls have been pronounced in vehicle-related theft,
domestic burglary and criminal damage. There are many
theories as to why property crime has fallen but there is
some evidence that improved household security is a
factor, with increases in the use of window locks and dead
locks, for example. It is to be hoped that the introduction
of Part Q1 for new dwellings can be shown to contribute
further to this trend. With CAB members, we have put
considerable effort into getting to grips with Part Q1 and
clarifying the requirements, as well as contributing to the
revision of PAS 24 under way. We are aiming to publish
our first set of AD QFAQs early in 2016 to provide further
timely advice to members. ❐
20
Justin Furness
CAB technical director Justin Furness addressing
delgates atthe CAB 2015 technical conference
“The story goes that the door
dated from the time of the English
Civil War when you had to be a
bit careful about who you let in
when they came knocking...”
For further information on CAB and its activities –contact
Julie Harley on 01453 828851 or email
julie.harley@c-a-b.org.uk
The Fabricator 2015