The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), has agreed to changes proposed by the GGF to Approved Document L of the new Building Regulations that come into force on the 15^th June this year.

Following representations by a number of members, the GGF’s Technical Team, in consultation with members of the Systems House and Aluminium Groups, highlighted an issue to DLUHC regarding the way that U Value calculations were to be made for ‘non-standard’ Doors, especially bi-folding and sliding glass doors.

Under the new Approved Document L, the GGF highlighted that it would be impossible for some larger multi-pane doors to comply with the uplifted regulations, due to conflicts in the proposals to calculate U Values.

After discussions took place with DLUHC, the government department agreed to amend the basis for calculating U Values for non-standard doors, in particular larger bi-folding and sliding patio types. These include a further door size of 2000 x 2180 for multi leaf doors, together with a tolerance of 25% on the sizes that can be used. The amendments bring the calculations more in line with BS EN 14351.

Kevin Jones, Technical Officer for the the GGF said: “It would have been impossible for some larger multi-pane doors to comply with the uplifted regulations if they had to calculate them at the smaller standard size, as the glass to frame ratio would have been far from what was actually installed, and thereby not accurately reflecting energy in use. In some cases it would have been impossible to calculate a figure. I am delighted that the DLUHC have been very responsive to our proposals and have moved to make the amendments to the calculation formula as quickly as it was possible to do so.”

Chris Beedel, Head of Government Advocacy & Stakeholder Relations said: “This change to Building Regulations is a testament to the excellent work undertaken by the GGF Technical Department and the strong relations we have built with key government personnel. It is another example of the influence that the GGF and its members have in representing a significant proportion of the industry.”

This is to date the only major change that has been made to any of the Approved Documents published in December 2021 and this change will have a significant positive impact for GGF Members and the wider industry.

It once again exhibits the influence the GGF and its Members have in representing a significant proportion of the industry.