Contract Retail Therapy Talk THE WHEELS HAVEN'T FALLEN OFF. WELL, NOT YET... In his latest column, Roy Frost, Listers Group MD, discusses the impact of Part F and how while things might be calm at the moment, he feels ‘a big tsunami’ is about to hit... The world didn’t grind to a halt on the 1st January 2000, and the window industry didn’t grind to a halt on the 15th June of this year. We’re used to hype, the media is full of it, but unlike the Millennium bug, the ramifications of Part F are real, even if we haven’t felt them yet. To recap very quickly, since the 15th June if you’ve been fitting replacement windows and doors, you should have been supplying them with trickle vents – even if they weren’t there in the first place. If they were, whatever you replace them with must deliver the same level of ventilation. If they weren’t, new windows will have to deliver a combined EA of 8,000mm 2 if the windows are being installed in a habitable room or kitchen, and 4,000mm 2 EA in bathroom. I’m not going to go into new build because in a sense that’s easy. The requirement will be specified. Do I think it’s a good idea? Well, in principle yes. In practice, I’m less enthusiastic. I’m not going to delve too deeply into the relationship between Part L, energy conservation and Part F, ventilation, other than to say they’re intrinsically linked and can sympathise with those who pointed out in the months leading up to their introduction, what they saw as a contradiction. You don’t, after all, improve a window’s thermal performance by cutting a big hole in it. But that doesn’t mean that ventilation isn’t important. It is. We’re running around making properties which were never designed to be air-tight, air-tight. And that comes with some big risks to health. Poorly vented rooms have been linked to a raft of health problems. Condensation and mould are only the start Listers Group MD Roy Frost the – impact is potentially massive, so making sure that rooms are adequately vented is important. Point of sale problems The problem for us as suppliers is that the products that we currently offer, while far better than they were, are still not the prettiest and that creates a problem at point of sale and installation. We ran through the scenario with Certass at our customer day earlier this year. Installer A comes in, pitches and quotes but they explain that they’re a requirement; Installer B pitches in with a similar window and says, don’t worry, you don’t need them. As a fabricator, we and our competitors don’t know where windows are being fitted. It could be a scenario where a room has two, three or four windows, where the EA of 8,000mm 2 for a habitable room can be met by putting trickle vents in only two of those windows. The point is we don’t know, so we have to supply what we’re asked to supply. The onus is on our customers to do what is required to meet regulations. Do I think they will? certainly I think the vast majority of our customers will do the right thing and we’ve geared up our production to meet that demand. Let’s not forget that there is a manufacturing cost too – it takes more time in routing. But will everyone? Well, we know the answer, and that means that if you’re doing the right thing, at some point you’re going to lose out to someone who isn’t. That brings us onto enforcement and back to my original point that while you may think Part F has been just another storm in a teacup, that big tsunami that is going to hit is still only a ripple far out at sea. Part L, Part F and revisions of Part Q (which is also looming on the horizon) are wrapped up in the Government’s Future Homes strategy, and it’s not going to let one part fall behind. While you’re still certifying through competent persons schemes, at some point inspections are inevitable. If Certass, Fensa or any other competent scheme inspects a site and finds that it is out of scope of the regulation, it is obligated to refer it to the Building Control Inspectorate – and with a further 1,000 inspectors being recruited, the Government has issued a clear statement of intent. Prosecutions at some point in the very near future are inevitable. If you’re running a retail business, whatever you may think about the contradictions that you see in the legislation, it’s worth bearing that last point in mind. Roy explains more on how Listers is preparing for Part F on Glaze Tube. View here: https://glaze-tube. co.uk/how-listers-is-prepared-for-part-f/ Contact Listers: 01782 391900 www.listerwindows.co.uk/ @ListerTF 16 T I SEPTEMBER <strong>2022</strong> PRACTICAL CONTENT FOR THE GLAZING INSTALLER & HOME IMPROVEMENT SPECIALIST
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