› Flat Chat Strata Forum › Talkin’ ’bout a renovation › Acoustic glass – minor renovation? › Current Page
Guess what, Fair Trading declines to offer a definition of what double or triple glazing is.
I received an email this morning that says “the Regulation does not provide further definition of ‘double or triple glazed windows’.”
Yeah, I know. That’s why I asked the question.
It went on to say that you should check with the glazier to see what kind of double glazing you want and then with your strata committee to see what they allow.
If they say you need a by-law, and you disagree, then take it up with mediation and then NCAT. So it’s not a minor renovation then, is it?
“To assist in confirming the type of glazing proposed and to confirm compliance or otherwise with the provisions of 28(e), the lot owner may wish to obtain advice/information from the glazier confirming the type of glazing proposed and discuss this again with the owners corporation,” says a Fair Trading spokesperson.
If a lot owner does not agree with the owners corporation’s determination that the work is a major renovation requiring a special resolution and a by-law, the next step in the dispute resolution process is for the lot owner to apply for mediation with NSW Fair Trading .
If mediation is declined by the owners corporation or if it is unsuccessful, the lot owner then has the option to apply to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) to seek an order.
So Wim Jansen (below) is right. Even just thicker glass requires a change of window frames and that requires a by-law.
If you are interested in secondary double glazing that doesn’t require changing the windows, and therefore has no need for by-laws, Google “clip-on double glazing”.
But if you are going to need by-laws anyway, check out our sponsors Windowline to see how much it would cost to install fully integrated and much more efficient double or triple glazing.
Meanwhile, why do the regulations specify double and triple glazing as being a minor renovation since fully integrated double glazing would require by-laws?
Logic dictates that it can only be secondary or clip-on double glazing that doesn’t require a by-law and why Fair Trading can’t just come out and say this, and amend the regulations accordingly, is beyond me.