Residential blast protection

Residential blast protection applies tested blast products to private homes where the threat assessment identifies a bomb risk. ArxBridge supplies and installs rated doors, windows and retrofit film for high-risk UK residences, working from the security consultant’s assessment.

• EXV45 to EXV10Classes matched to the threat
• Doors, windows, filmProtection for the whole envelope
• Consultant-ledSpecified from a threat assessment
• Planned around the householdPhased installation, room by room

About residential blast protection

Most blast protection serves commercial and government sites, but private residences can face a bomb threat too: the threat assessment, not the building type, decides. Residential blast protection takes the same tested products, doors, windows, glass and film, and applies them to a house or apartment. The engineering is identical; the planning is domestic. The Blast range overview sets out the products involved.

The work starts with a security consultant, who sets the threat and the required performance for each elevation. ArxBridge then surveys the property, matches tested systems to the openings and installs with the household’s routine in mind.

Discretion matters. The products look like high-quality doors and windows; the rating is in the construction, not the appearance. Neighbours see a well-finished house, not a fortress.

Which rating do you need for residential blast protection

The consultant sets the class; the survey sets the product. Bedrooms above the ground floor may need less than the entrance elevation, and the specification should reflect that rather than blanketing the house. The blast ratings guide explains what each class means.

The consultant leads. Residential blast work without a threat assessment is guesswork. Engage the security consultant before any product is chosen.

Inside residential blast protection

The doors are steel doorsets to the same EXV classes as commercial work, finished to a domestic standard: panelled faces, quality ironmongery and colours that suit the street. The blast engineering hides inside the leaf and frame.

Windows are laminated blast systems in frames that match the house: flush casements for period properties, contemporary sections for new builds. Where the original windows must stay, for example in a listed facade, film is bonded to the existing glass as the alternative.

The installation is phased room by room. Dust, noise and access are managed around the household, and each opening is secured the same day it is worked on.

Residential blast protection with combined ratings

Forced entry resistance is the usual companion: a home that needs blast protection needs intruder resistance too. Residential security doors covers the LPS 1175 side, and the two ratings can be combined in one doorset. Ballistic protection is the other pairing where the threat includes firearms: residential ballistic security covers FB rated doors and glazing for homes.

Fire performance applies where the doors sit in compartment lines, and the fire ratings guide sets out the E and EI classes. Each rating needs its own evidence on the same construction.

Do not let one rating crowd out the others. The specification should list blast, forced entry, ballistic and fire as separate lines, each with its evidence.

Where to use residential blast protection

The common thread is a documented threat, not a postcode or a property type. Detached houses, apartments and listed buildings have all carried blast specifications. The residential and housing sector page sets out the wider context.

People usually commission this work after an incident or a change in circumstances; the consultant’s assessment turns that into a measured specification. Employers sometimes fund the assessment for staff at risk, but the work itself is specified for the property, not the job title. The banking and finance sector page describes one setting where this arises.

Where the property is leased or the facade is protected, film and internal measures carry more of the load; where the building is owned outright, replacement systems do.

Cost and lead time factors for residential blast protection

The number of openings is the main driver, then the EXV class. A full envelope of rated doors and windows is a different project from an entrance and ground floor package.

Period properties add complexity: non-standard openings, listed status and conservation constraints all extend the survey and the approvals. New builds are simpler: the openings are regular and the structure takes the anchors easily.

Phasing around the household extends the programme but keeps the house liveable. Agree the room sequence before work starts and hold to it.

How to specify residential blast protection

1. Get the assessment. The security consultant defines the threat and the performance for each elevation.
2. Survey the property. Record every opening, its construction and its condition.
3. Match the systems. Choose tested doors, windows or film for each opening from the assessment.
4. Check consents. Listed status and conservation areas may limit what can change externally.
5. Phase the work. Agree the room sequence with the installation team before anything is ordered.