RC1
Resistance to body force: pushing, kicking, lifting. No test with tools, so no minutes either. For a window on an upper floor that cannot be reached from outside, this is enough.
Security
A burglar
is in a hurry
Almost nobody breaks glass. It makes noise and it cuts. What actually happens is a screwdriver between frame and sash, one short lever movement, and the window is open. Anything that makes that movement slow works.
Four layers
What actually stops a window
They only work together. One of the four on its own achieves little, and that is exactly where most brochures mislead.
- The hardware
Mushroom cams hook behind a steel keep. With an ordinary roller cam the sash simply slides over it. We fit multipoint locking only, as standard, not as an option.
- The handle
A lockable handle with a pressure cylinder stops the handle being turned from inside after someone drills through the glass. This is the cheapest of the four measures.
- The glass
Laminated safety glass cannot be pushed out of the frame: the interlayer holds the panes together. That same interlayer damps noise, so this choice pays twice.
- The fixing into the wall
The strongest window in the world helps nothing if it sits on too few anchors in a crumbling joint. This is the layer nobody sees and the one we always check.
Classes
RC2, RC3, RC4, RC5: what the class really measures
The resistance classes come from the European standard EN 1627. In a lab, someone tries to force an opening with a fixed box of tools, and the class tells you how many minutes the window holds out. What you need at home depends on how reachable your facade is from the street.
RC2
An opportunist with a screwdriver, pliers and wedges, for three minutes. Glass of class P4A. This is the class that makes sense for everything reachable from the ground or from a flat roof.
RC3
A practised burglar who also brings a crowbar, a small hammer and a hand drill, for five minutes. Glass P5A. Heavier, more expensive, and rarely needed on an ordinary house. We propose it when the facade is screened off and nobody would hear anything.
RC4
An experienced burglar with a heavy hammer, axe, chisel, bolt cutter and cordless drill, ten minutes. Glass P6B. Meant for shops and rooms that hold real value, not for a terraced house.
RC5
Power tools join in: drill, reciprocating saw, angle grinder. Fifteen minutes, glass P7B. If you searched for WK5, it is the same class under its old German name.
RC6
A sledgehammer, an iron wedge and the heaviest power tools, twenty minutes, glass P8B. Protection for buildings where you would expect a safe, not a bedroom.
Watch one thing in any proposal you receive: a class applies to the complete window as a whole, tested with its glass, its hardware and its fixing. A profile that is available in RC2 but installed with ordinary glass and ordinary screws is not an RC2 window.
If a quote says RC2N, the window was tested without any requirement on the glass: same locking hardware, ordinary glazing. And WK2, WK3 or WK5 are the names from the older German pre-standard. Since 2011 the classes are called RC, and WK2 corresponds to RC2.
Questions
About security
Can my existing window be made safer?
Often yes, and it costs a fraction of a new window. Lockable handles, extra keeps and sometimes additional cams on the existing sash. We tell you honestly when it is worth doing and when the profile is simply worn out.
Does my insurer have a requirement about this?
Some policies attach a discount or a condition to a resistance class. Check with your broker before ordering, because the class then has to appear on the invoice and in the file.
Is a roller shutter enough?
A shutter that locks and cannot be pushed up genuinely helps. An ordinary shutter without anti lift slides open with two hands. The difference is a few euros of parts.
Does my house need RC4 or RC5?
Almost never. For windows you can reach from the ground, RC2 is the sensible choice, and RC3 for a facade nobody overlooks. From RC4 upwards everything gets heavier: thicker profiles, glass of another order, and a wall that has to take those forces. A window is never stronger than its fixing.
Can someone who sells nothing look at my house?
Yes. Every Belgian police zone or municipality has a burglary prevention adviser who comes to your home for free and points out the weak spots. On besafe.be, your postcode tells you who that is. With that advice in hand, you also know better what a quote should contain.
We look over your facade
Which window is easiest to reach, and what it costs to make just that one slow. That is usually the conversation that pays off most.
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