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New UPVC windows & doors are draughty

Snax192744
Posts: 11 Forumite

We had new french doors and two windows fitted a few weeks ago. There is a draught and the room is very cold as a result. We’ve had the window company back to several times to check for any gaps and add extra sealant, also the manufacturer has checked the windows.
Where do we stand if the windows continue to be draughty and not up to the standard we expected? I feel that we have wasted a lot of money on the new windows and doors.
I rented a thermal camera to check the windows and doors and it shows where there is air coming in or where the doors/windows are the coldest. There clearly is something wrong with them or they are just not good.
Has anyone else experienced this?
It’s not like we can return the windows! I’m not sure what the solution will be!
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Comments
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Where does the air come in?
Your thermal camera is useful - take screenshots - but also use the unimpeachable method of a smoke taper - video this.
There are only two reasons I can think of why new windows and doors can allow through a draught - the first is faulty or sub-standard products, and the second is incompetent installation, such as the frames being twisted or out of true.
It doesn't matter how expensive, or cheap, your doors/windows are, they should stop draughts as a basic minimum.
The solution is to address the cause, and for that you obviously need to ID this. Unless it's provably obvious, you may need to get a surveyor in to check and confirm.
Q - do you have LegProt on your house insurance? If so, great - call them up right away. They will guide you.
Whatever, I would suggest that allowing them to tweak or modify or add to existing opener seals should be off the table; the windows/doors are either of innately adequate quality, or they are not. For the latter, then need substantial replacement of the faulty parts - and clear evidence of what the cause is.
I'm concerned about this 'extra sealant' - where, exactly, was this applied?
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Thanks for your reply, that’s really useful. We will try smoke for draught detection!The draughts are coming through the door hinge, along the bottom of the door and in the corners of the doors.The extra sealant was applied outside around the windows, under the window sills. Also in the gaps of the frame beading (photo).I’ve also included two pictures from the thermal images for context. It’s hard to know what’s normal for windows in the winter. We had the room temp set at 20c and the lowest reading was 6c and in another picture it was 3c.1
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Snax192744 said:Thanks for your reply, that’s really useful. We will try smoke for draught detection!The draughts are coming through the door hinge, along the bottom of the door and in the corners of the doors.The extra sealant was applied outside around the windows, under the window sills. Also in the gaps of the frame beading (photo).I’ve also included two pictures from the thermal images for context. It’s hard to know what’s normal for windows in the winter. We had the room temp set at 20c and the lowest reading was 6c and in another picture it was 3c.I don't know enough about thermal cameras and expected temps to comment on the thermal pics, but hopefully someone else on here will.That beading mitre, tho', is shocking. Just for aesthetics it should be tight, but, yes - that will allow a draught through too.Either they are very poor at cutting 45o mitres - tho' no excuse as they have the equipment - or else that frame has been seriously distorted out of 'true'.Adding more sealant around the outside frame where the window joins the wall is probably 'ok', but begs the Q why they didn't do this properly the first time?Could we have some straight-on, full-window pics, please?What type of door did you have fitted? Again, a full-on pic might help.
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I agree the mitre's pretty poor, but the condensation around the joint suggests there's no air leakage at that joint. It is however, a cold spot - is the frame properly sealed to the outside wall along these edges?2
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ThisIsWeird said: That beading mitre, tho', is shocking. Just for aesthetics it should be tight, but, yes - that will allow a draught through too.There will be a rubber seal around the frame for the glazing unit to butt up against. The beading just pushes the unit on to the seal, so no draught. Looks like that particular bit of beading is in an opener. Should be fairly easy to check that it isn't distorted.The IR image suggests there is a cold spot along the bottom - I'd suggest removing the window board and injecting some expanding foam along the base of the frame.Her courage will change the world.
Treasure the moments that you have. Savour them for as long as you can for they will never come back again.1 -
FreeBear said:ThisIsWeird said: That beading mitre, tho', is shocking. Just for aesthetics it should be tight, but, yes - that will allow a draught through too.There will be a rubber seal around the frame for the glazing unit to butt up against. The beading just pushes the unit on to the seal, so no draught. Looks like that particular bit of beading is in an opener. Should be fairly easy to check that it isn't distorted.I gather this is a quick fix rather than refitting the beading.0
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Snax192744 said:FreeBear said:ThisIsWeird said: That beading mitre, tho', is shocking. Just for aesthetics it should be tight, but, yes - that will allow a draught through too.There will be a rubber seal around the frame for the glazing unit to butt up against. The beading just pushes the unit on to the seal, so no draught. Looks like that particular bit of beading is in an opener. Should be fairly easy to check that it isn't distorted.I gather this is a quick fix rather than refitting the beading.
Funnily enough, as Chris said above, a wee draught there should have cleared away a line of condensation!
We cannot tell whether it's a poor install from this side of the screen, so you may need to call in an independent surveyor.
Do you have LP?
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Think I’ve found a possible cause for the cold air coming through. One of the seals under the doorstep hasn’t been done properly. There’s a lot of gaps under the sill.0
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ThisIsWeird said:I'm not surprised there's a draught, since behind that beading is the frame which I believe includes the drain holes, open to the outside.
Funnily enough, as Chris said above, a wee draught there should have cleared away a line of condensation!
We cannot tell whether it's a poor install from this side of the screen, so you may need to call in an independent surveyor.
Do you have LP?1 -
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