DIN 18055 “Criteria for the application of windows and external doors according to DIN EN 14351-1” is valid with effect from November 2014, and contains the minimum requirements applicable in Germany.
DIN 18055 “Criteria for the application of windows and external doors according to DIN EN 14351-1”, which include, for example, thermal protection or heat insulation, the resistance to wind loads or watertightness against driving rain, for which ift Rosenheim has developed a practical online tool with the help of which the requirements can be easily determined.
So far, the requirements for windows and external doors in Germany have been distributed in different regulations and legislation. These normative principles have now been consolidated into a national standard at the request of the windows industry. Thus, DIN 18055 assists in obtaining the requirements with limit values and classifications more easily for a construction property in Germany. The following characteristics have been handled primarily in chapter 4:
Resistance to wind and snow loads for roof windows;
Air permeability and watertightness;
Resistance to impacts and load-bearing capability of safety devices;
Sound or heat insulation and reaction to fire;
Radiation properties;
Operating forces, mechanical strength and burglar resistance;
Durability and behaviour with different climates;
Freedom from barriers;
Use of glazing or doors that safeguard against falling and which have emergency exit locks or alarm door locks.
Recommendations and other explanations on the requirements are furnished in the Appendices A to E.
There was a significant change for the wind load assumptions made for a building that are now determined on the basis of Eurocode 1, DIN 1991-1-4. This led to a minor stringency that nonetheless, is being taken into account in the tables and the ift online tool “Usage recommendations FE 14/2”. A sample calculation for the resistance to wind loads is provided in the FAQ section at www.ift-rosenheim.de/faq.
Another change to the draft version so far has been to the requirements of water tightness to driving rain and resistance to wind loads for external doors. You can now differentiate between the protected and unprotected installation location and position. As a result, there is considerable relaxation for barrier-free external doors.
With the help of DIN 18055, the work of tendering and CE marking has been simplified considerably since the requirements have been specified clearly and unambiguously, and have been consolidated into one standard. There are no changes as far as CE marking and declaration of performance; however, they should comply with the recommendation. For this purpose, the comments to DIN EN 14351-1 contain detailed explanations, practical examples and all normative principles necessary as well as references. The ift recommendation for use that is available online enables window classes for wind load, driving rain and air permeability to be determined easily and in conformity with the standard.