LETTER BOX ADDS TO DOOR MISERY
FACT
The external doors must meet specified performance standards to demonstrate appropriate levels of security and fitness for purpose in particular PAS 23-1:1999 and PAS 24-1:1999 (now replaced with PAS 24:2007 since December 2007) in the UK.
The building owners and occupants rely on the door's tests results and the Certificate of compliance to the standards.
However, 4mln property crimes were recorded in England and Wales in 2006/2007 only and, as a matter of fact, few doors are safe. Residents and businesses suffer from arson, criminal and vandalism attacks through the external doors that were claimed by the manufacturers to be in compliance with the security standards.
Many door manufacturers have their doors tested for security standards with the letterplate either not fitted, or when it is in the closed position or specifically excluded from the test as in PAS 24:2007.
Then these doors are used with a letterplate because ‘the mail must go through’, but the letterplate is the only part of the property that is open 24 hours a day and it makes the property vulnerable.
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THE UNPROTECTED LETTERPLATE (LETTER BOX) IS OFTEN THE MAIN CAUSE OF THE ACCIDENTS, WHICH MANY DOOR PRODUCTS FAILED TO PROTECT AGAINST
The unprotected letter box exposes the premises to all four main risks defined by the Insurance Industry: from fire, water damage, malicious damage and weather- related damage.
It offers an easy and attractive route into the property for vandals, arsonists, thieves, burglars and terrorists whatever locks may be installed in the door. This security drawback often turns fatal for property occupants.
The risk of crime starting through the entrance door unprotected letter box is well known and identified by the insurance, Fire Brigade, Police Service, Master Locksmiths Association, etc.
Statistics on crime and incidents that have heavily featured in media reports have highlighted the need for improved security and draught proofing in the letter box without disrupting the mail delivery.
THE QUALITY ASSURANCE PROCESS OF THE DOOR WITH THE UNPROTECTED LETTER BOX COLLAPSES AT THE POINT OF INSTALLATION AND USE
WITH 248,300 BUILDING RELATED ARSONS MOST USUALLY STARTED THROUGH A LETTERPLATE IN ENGLAND AND WALES ONLY DURING LAST 5 YEARS IT DOES NOT ADD UP
Who Commits Arson and Why?
Source: The Home Office
Youth Disorder and Nuisance Criminal
Vandalism Financial Gain
Boredom Fraud
Excitement Concealing evidence of criminal activity (e.g. car theft/burglary)
Curiosity
Peer pressure Psychological
Gang Culture Mental Illness
Malicious Other
Revenge Attempt to be re-homed
Anger Family Argument
Frustration DrugsRacism/Clash of Beliefs Truancy
Homophobic
Personal Animosities
THE DIVERSE MOTIVES OF ARSONISTS, VANDALS AND CRIMINALS MEAN THAT NO HOME OR BUSINESS IS IMMUNE FROM AN ATTACK
Entrance doors with the unprotected letter box can be real killers. The common sense tells us that considering the shocking statistics and media reports and for the same reason you have your front doors locked you must also have security against crime and vandalism in your front door letter box.
HOUSE ENERGY LOSS
This security drawback is coupled with a significant loss of house energy and increased CO2 emissions from buildings into atmosphere through the letter box. In cold seasons it becomes worse and effects even buildings with the draught protected letter box, which is often jammed open for hours by the mail. As a result our energy bills go up and the enhanced greenhouse gas emissions through the letter box into atmosphere contribute to Global Warming and climate change .
External doors that provide less energy efficient options fail the current standards and regulations.
You have spent £1,500 - £5,000 plus (typical installation costs) for fitting an efficient and economical boiler, spent thousands of pounds on replacement windows, but your energy bills are still running high! What can be the problem?
Where new heating systems or insulation are being installed or existing system replaced, it is important that steps are taken to increase the energy efficiency of the property if possible.
The first place to look is at your exterior door(s). When you have draughts through your exterior door they result in dramatic efficiency losses for your property heating.
It is well known that draught sealing is one of the most significant home energy efficiency improvements you can make to your property and it may save 20% or more on your energy bills a year.
All you need, says the Energy Saving Trust, is to install a cheap, easy-to-fix brush or PVC seal on your exterior door and to cover the letter boxes too.
The question is: how do you cover the letter boxes?
On Google you will find a multitude of adverts selling an easy-to-fix letter box draught excluder with brush strips for placing over the letter box “to eliminate or reduce letter box draughts” for the cost around £5.
However, according to the Communication Workers Union, the over tight letter box brush draft seals and flaps is a major issue for a postman. Since it is very hard to overcome the resistance of the brush seals, secondary flaps and over-tight letterplates the long-suffering postmen often leave items of mail only half-inserted.
Just read Tip 10 from the Energy Saving Centre:
'Letter box draughts
Letter boxes are notorious for letting in a draught. One solution is to fit brush strip over the letter box. However, the downside is that these devices make it almost impossible to push newspapers and magazines fully through. This means that you'll probably arrive home from work to find that the newspaper will be rolled up and sticking out of the letterbox, and creating a worse draught than you would have had before the brush strip was fitted.'
It appears that these cheap and other not so cheap products work to reduce draughts only when the letterplate flap is closed – this is when there is not much draughts anyway.
The products are useless and even harmful when the letterplate flap is jammed open for hours by the part-inserted mail items because they give way for more letter box draughts, house energy loss and increased CO2 emissions from the property into the atmosphere contributing to the greenhouse effect and climate change .
MANDATORY LEGISLATION
Premises security, fire protection, energy saving and CO2 emissions reduction needs are long-standing priorities for all stakeholders in housing, crime prevention and energy saving and those demands are featured in the existing and forthcoming mandatory legislation.
Here are some examples:
• The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 from 6th April 2008
• Fire Safety Order from 1st October 2006
• European specifications ENV 1627-1630 for 'Burglary-resistance for windows and doors'
• Health and Safety at Work Act 1974
• Community Safety Strategy 2007/08
• The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (section 17)
• Parts B and M of the Building Regulations
• The Decent Homes Standard
• Code for Sustainable Homes – to meet Level 3 as a minimum from April 2008 onwards. The UK government has already established an implementation timetable for buildings other than dwellings. The first phase commenced on April 6 2008 with a view for the final phase to start from 1st October 2008
• EU Directive 2002/91/EC on the Energy Performance of Buildings:
(1) Article 4 of the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive - ‘Minimum energy performance standards’ came into force in the UK under Building Regulations Part L on 6 April 2006
(2) Article 7 has made it a legal requirement for buildings to have Energy Performance (or Efficiency) Certificates (EPC) that contains advice on how to cut CO2 emissions and fuel bills. EEC is a document which states the energy efficiency of a building based on the standardised way that the building is used. The main focus of the EPC is the amount of CO2 that is estimated to be released from the building
(3) In the UK domestic dwellings, no matter what size, require EPC since 14 December 2007
• Home Energy Conservation Act (HECA)
• The UK Government obligations under the Kyoto Protocol
Doors are absolutely critical to the safety of the premises and the occupants. The focus of the new legislation is enforcement now. Since the new mandatory legislation was introduced, protecting the letter box fitted in the external door is not simply a matter of common sense. It is essential now in all non-domestic premises for complying with the law.
Owners and managers of non-domestic premises need to be aware that with the latest Fire Safety Order they are personally responsible for the fire safety of their premises. In case of an accident they face the risk of not complying with the legislation, hefty fines and even the imprisonment. Under The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 it is the company rather than the managers that can be prosecuted.
The Fire Safety Order does not cover domestic premises. However, in domestic premises like flats, each external fire door is there to protect the common areas. If the external door of the flat fails to provide the fire protection to the common areas then it is very likely to be covered by the Fire Safety Order.
IF YOU DO NOT HAVE PROTECTION AGAINST FIRE IN THE LETTER BOX YOU COULD BE VISITED BY A CRIMINAL OR AN ENFORCEMENT OFFICER
WHO WANTS THE INSECURE DOOR?
If you want a secure and energy efficient door with a letter box than the products like CCTV, alarms, 'fire and smoke proof letterplate', secondary flaps, draught excluder with brush strips and letterplate system, etc., are useless in this respect.
With typical cost to install CCTV around £1,200 for one property plus annual running costs around £100 and with the average cost to install an alarm system in the home £400 - £1,000 plus annual running costs between £50 - £200 the CCTV and alarm systems:
• Do not offer physical protection
• Do not stop letter box draughts and CO2 emissions from the building
• May only be effective for police work after the crime has happened
• Do not identify criminals wearing their hoods up - the so called ‘hoodies’
• Expensive plus require maintenance
The secondary flaps and draught excluder with brush strips and letterplate system:
• Cannot stop introduction of liquid and solid hazards into the property
• Offer only limited obstruction to accessing the door locks
• Brush seals’ and over-tight letterplates’ resistance cause problems to postmen
• Cannot stop letter box draughts when jammed open by the mail items
• Cannot stop CO2 emissions from the building into the atmosphere when open
Products like anti-arson letter box with a fire extinguisher:
• Cannot stop introduction of liquid hazards into the property
• Cannot be fitted at low level
• Late start of the extinguishing action
• Fire extinguishers require periodic maintenance checks and/or replacement
• Affixed with screws that damage the door
• The design is dull
The internal hooded letterplate (cowl) product:
• Cannot stop introduction of liquid and solid hazards into the property
• Cannot be fitted at low level
• Cannot stop CO2 emissions from the building into the atmosphere
• Affixed with screws that damage the door
Therefore, in case you are considering a new external door or improving the existing one you may wish to seek clarification from the door supplier over this issue:
IS YOUR DOOR UP TO THE JOB?
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