Thursday 26 January 2012

DHF spells out implications of doorset CE marking to architects and specifiers

DHF members who make metal and timber doorsets are gearing up for big changes which are approaching concerning CE marking.

From July 1, 2013 it will become a criminal offence under the Construction Products Regulation to place a construction product covered by a harmonised technical specification - such as doorset - onto the market without a CE mark.

At the moment, CE marking of construction products, including doorsets, is governed by the Construction Products Directive (CPD). And the UK (along with Sweden and Ireland) regards CE marking of construction products as voluntary. From 2013 when the CPD is replaced by the new Construction Products Regulation, CE marking will be compulsory in all EU countries.

The DHF is actively encouraging its members to face up to the CPR challenge and is helping them to derive commercial benefit from the new legislation.

One way they are doing this is by improving communications between federation members and the architect and specifiers who choose their door and hardware products for their projects.

The DHF is working with the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) to provide information and support to architects and specifiers via their Continuing Professional Development (CPD) scheme. CPD offers RIBA members the chance to stay up to date and learn new skills. They do this by receiving information from organisations such as the DHF.


The DHF has produced a PowerPoint presentation on CE marking under the new Construction Products Regulation and its specific application to timber and metal doorsets. This will be presented to architects and specifiers around the country, and will spell out the benefits of specifying doorsets from DHF members.

The presentation defines the purpose of CE marking: to allow free circulation of that product throughout Europe. No European government can exclude a CE marked product (although it can regulate its use). It is not a quality mark (however, for safety-critical aspects such as fire, it does guarantee performance).


The presentation defines what a doorset actually is:  a product comprising doorleaf, frame and glazing, complete with all necessary hardware and seals. It is provided by a single supplier who takes sole responsibility for CE marking. It can delivered to the site pre-assembled, or in the form of a factory-prepared kit ready for assembly with simple tools on site.


It will still be legal to create doors assemblies from parts from more than one source on site after July 2013.  But a door assembly completed on site and made up of components from more than one source cannot be CE marked. And so the PowerPoint presentation spells out the many advantages of specifying CE marked doorsets. These are detailed in the Specifying CE marked timber doorsets guide that can be downloaded from the DHF website, www.dhfonline.org.uk .
 




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