Do I have to ask for safety glass, or is it automatic?

It is the installer’s responsibility, and a competent one will specify it without being asked. Mentioning it at quotation stage costs nothing and tells you quickly whether the person quoting knows the Approved Document.

My existing window has no safety glass. Is that a problem?

An older window installed before the requirement applied is not retrospectively illegal, so you are not obliged to act. It is still a genuine risk at low level, and it is a sensible thing to correct when the pane is next replaced for any reason.

Does a conservatory need safety glass?

Yes, and more of it than a house does, because so much of the glazing is at low level and in or beside doors. The roof is treated separately again, with overhead glazing normally laminated so that nothing can fall through.

Regulations · 07 of 19

Where does a window legally need safety glass?

Approved Document K defines critical locations where glazing must be safety glass: anywhere below 800mm from the floor in a wall or window, and anywhere below 1500mm in a door or in the panels immediately beside one. Safety glass in these positions is your installer’s responsibility, not something you have to specify, but it is worth knowing because it is the most common thing a cheap quote quietly leaves out.

This is the one building regulation that exists purely to stop people being cut, and the one most likely to be missed on a low quote. It is also easy to check for yourself afterwards.

The two critical locations

Approved Document K sets out where glass is considered to be at risk of human impact. There are two zones, and they are easy to measure.

Below 800mm from the floor, in any wall or window. This catches low cills, full-height windows and anything in a stairwell.
Below 1500mm from the floor, in a door, and in any glazed panel within 300mm of the edge of a door. The higher zone exists because people fall into doors, and because a door swings.

Glass in those positions has to either break safely, be small enough to be low risk, or be permanently protected by something you cannot get past, such as a guard rail.

Toughened or laminated, and how to tell

Both satisfy the requirement, and they fail very differently.

Toughened glass shatters into small blunt pieces. It is the usual choice, and it is cheaper.
Laminated glass holds together on an interlayer, so the opening stays closed. It is the better choice beside a door lock, at low level where a child could fall against it, and anywhere security matters.

Every pane of safety glass carries a permanent mark, usually etched into a corner, giving the standard and the manufacturer. If you want to check a finished job, look in the corners of every pane in those two zones. No mark means it is not safety glass.

Restrictors, guarding and upper-floor windows

A separate requirement in Approved Document K deals with falling rather than cutting. Where there is a drop on the far side of a window, guarding is needed, and a window whose opening light starts low on an upper floor is the usual case.

In practice an installer satisfies this in one of three ways: the cill is high enough that no guarding is needed, a guard rail or an opening restrictor is fitted, or the window is specified not to open at low level at all.

Restrictors are also a child-safety measure quite apart from the regulations, and they are inexpensive. If you have young children, ask for restrictors on every upper-floor opening light, and be clear that they must be the type releasable from inside, because a window that cannot be opened in an emergency creates a different problem — see fire escape windows.

Questions

Do I have to ask for safety glass, or is it automatic?: It is the installer’s responsibility, and a competent one will specify it without being asked. Mentioning it at quotation stage costs nothing and tells you quickly whether the person quoting knows the Approved Document.
My existing window has no safety glass. Is that a problem?: An older window installed before the requirement applied is not retrospectively illegal, so you are not obliged to act. It is still a genuine risk at low level, and it is a sensible thing to correct when the pane is next replaced for any reason.
Does a conservatory need safety glass?: Yes, and more of it than a house does, because so much of the glazing is at low level and in or beside doors. The roof is treated separately again, with overhead glazing normally laminated so that nothing can fall through.

Note This guide is general information about England and Wales, not advice about your specific property. TrustedGlazing is an introducer and does not install, survey or quote. Rely on your installer's survey and your local authority for decisions about your own home.