Where must you use safety glass in public buildings?
The rules regarding safety glass are designed to protect people from injury through impact with glazing and they specify the type of glass to be used in locations where there is a risk of impact, such as doors, door side panels and low-level glazing.
In buildings where glazing could be mistaken for an unimpeded path of travel, it must also be marked to make it visible. This requirement does not apply to houses.
The rules are contained in Clause F2 (Hazardous building materials) of the New Zealand Building Code, which is part of the Building Regulations 1992. The compliance document for this clause references NZS 4223: Part 3: 1999 Code of Practice for Glazing in Buildings - Human Impact Safety Requirements.
The Building Code and compliance documents are administered by the Department of Building and Housing and can be seen on the building controls section of their web site. Standards are available from Standards NZ.
Date Modified: Tuesday, September 01, 2009
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