Not having UPVC windows?

roddydogs

Grey looks great, and if I was in the market now I would seriously consider it, but will it still be fashionable in 10yrs time?, you can guarantee white will still be in the majority.

Teapot55

roddydogs said:

Grey looks great, and if I was in the market now I would seriously consider it, but will it still be fashionable in 10yrs time?, you can guarantee white will still be in the majority.

Yes, that’s a difficult one. Wood effect plastic was popular in the eighties but now seems dated. I guess that’s why I’ve been attracted to treated wood because it’s classic & grey aluminium subframes because they can be painted in a different colour when fashions change. 

avoidtheupsidedownbottles

ytfcmad said:
The current growth market in the UK window sector is Aluminium. I've been involved with the Grand Designs program 3 times and each time my customers client (the householder) used Aluminium. Nobody paints wood anymore if you want White buy Ali or if that's too costly then it's PVC. Wooden windows are great if they are of the highest quality. I've been involved with a lot of product into the type of homes you see on GD for years, every single one was either Ali or Wood

Interesting.   Can I ask:  how is thermal insulation maintained with ally frames?  Presumably there must be a thermal break otherwise they would get freezing indoors in winter, like the Crittal steel frames of yore.

grumbler

avoidtheupsidedownbottles said:

Interesting.   Can I ask:  how is thermal insulation maintained with ally frames?  Presumably there must be a thermal break otherwise they would get freezing indoors in winter, like the Crittal steel frames of yore.

- just an example

troffasky

ytfcmad said:

You wont find many if any housing associations fitting high quality Wood/Aluminium windows (Velfac is the biggest seller)

I've lived in a HA house built in 2009 for 5 years. It had nice wooden windows. They didn't paint them the whole time we were there and the paint was peeling by the time we left.

I think fat white plastic windows look really naff, second only to fake wood, but they probably are the most cost-effective long term.

ytfcmad

avoidtheupsidedownbottles said:

ytfcmad said:
The current growth market in the UK window sector is Aluminium. I've been involved with the Grand Designs program 3 times and each time my customers client (the householder) used Aluminium. Nobody paints wood anymore if you want White buy Ali or if that's too costly then it's PVC. Wooden windows are great if they are of the highest quality. I've been involved with a lot of product into the type of homes you see on GD for years, every single one was either Ali or Wood

Interesting.   Can I ask:  how is thermal insulation maintained with ally frames?  Presumably there must be a thermal break otherwise they would get freezing indoors in winter, like the Crittal steel frames of yore.

Ali windows have a Polyamide thermal break.