ᐅ Is a manual override for roller shutters on a window required?

Hello,

I have the following problem.

My windows and balcony door are equipped with electric roller shutters. (I have a condominium in a multi-family building. It was built as a turnkey project.)
During the final inspection of the apartment, an inspector stated that the kitchen window or the balcony door must have an emergency release. There could be a power outage, and in an emergency, the roller shutters would not be openable. Because if there is a fire in the hallway (my apartment is on the upper floor), I would neither be able to ventilate the smoke nor escape onto the balcony. My kitchen window opens onto the balcony.

So, either a manual crank (in which case the roller shutter motor must be replaced; radio control would no longer work) or a battery backup (which is not available from my roller shutter manufacturer).
I have already informed the roller shutter installer about this. He is not aware of any regulations or requirements.

Of course, I want to avoid any problems with, among others, the household/building insurance if such a situation should occur.

Who can definitively tell me whether I really have to have a window equipped with an emergency release?
And who must cover the costs of the modification? The roller shutter installer should know this if it is indeed required!
My property developer only learned about this from the inspector at the final inspection, so they could not warn us earlier...

I am quite desperate...

Thank you very much
erika

Well, you need a second escape route... how you arrange that is up to you...

Mycraft schrieb:
Well, you need a second emergency exit... how exactly you do that is up to you...

But isn’t that the responsibility of the developer, who sold me the condominium as a turnkey property???

So if something were to catch fire in my apartment or hallway, the plastic roller shutter box wouldn’t stop me at all.

The thing can be opened in less than a minute. Without power, battery, or manual crank.

Hello Erika,

fraubauer schrieb:

During the handover of the apartment, an inspector said that the kitchen window or the balcony door must have an emergency release. There could be a power outage, and in an emergency, you wouldn’t be able to open the roller shutters.

That is correct.

fraubauer schrieb:

And who has to cover the costs of the modification? The roller shutter installer should know this if it is required! My builder only found out about this from the inspector during the handover. So he couldn’t warn us beforehand...

Your builder owes you the proper use of the condominium unit – how they coordinate this with their subcontractor, the window manufacturer, is not your concern.

Your builder should have known this; the escape routes per floor must be observed even in Bavaria!

Regards, Bauexperte

fraubauer schrieb:
But isn’t that the responsibility of the developer, who sold me the condominium turnkey???

It depends on who commissioned the roller shutters from whom.
If you ordered the roller shutters as an extra feature from the developer, then they are also responsible for ensuring a secondary escape route.
However, if you found a roller shutter installer yourself and commissioned them, the developer would not be responsible, since they had already provided for the secondary escape route, but you later made changes.
That said, the installer should be aware of this issue, as they have installed these components before.

That’s my opinion—half intuition, half logic.