The Building Regulations, Approved Document N details acceptable standards for glazing materials and protection, including the critical areas shown in Figure which require safety glazing.
The critical locations are defined as follows:
- glass within 800 mm of the finished floor;
- glass within 1 500 mm of the finished floor and contained in a door or adjacent side panel.
Glazing is accepted as safe if it satisfies one of the following definitions:
- It has ‘safe break’ characteristics determined in BS 6206: Specification for impact performance requirements for flat safety glass and safety plastics for use in buildings.
- It is robust or in small panes (see below).
- It is permanently protected by a screen