The tangible benefits of aluminium replacement windows

Aluminium replacement casement windows can be powder coated in any RAL colour, and offers property owners the opportunity to have all sorts of dual colour effects, such as say a “Mock Tudor” exterior with black outer frames and white sashes (or vice-versa) and internal frames to match the decor of the room.

Whilst aluminium is still available in a silver anodised finish, the vast majority of aluminium windows fabricated in the UK today have a high quality, highly durable powder coated finish instead.  Also nowadays, aluminium frames usually have a polyamide “thermal break”, preventing the formation of condensation on the internal frames, which sometimes occurred on non-thermally aluminium fenestration products of old.

Powder coated aluminium will not fade and will last longer than UPVC over a lifetime. Aluminium is 100% recyclable, so is extremely environmentally friendly, plus being a metal it offers even more security, flexibility and strength than UPVC. Most UK manufacturers should be able to offer customers aluminium windows in a single or dual colour finish, along with matching front doors, back doors, in-line sliding patio doors, French doors, plus sliding and folding doors in any RAL colour in matching profiles.

In the case of independent aluminium double glazing manufacturers and installers Hazlemere Windows, all their bespoke casement double glazed windows can be manufactured to be either A, B or C rated, depending on each customers design and thermal requirements., as each aluminium casement or vertically sliding sash aluminium window is individually made to order from scratch, so every Hazlemere aluminium window is tailor made to each aperture

All side opening vents can have easy clean/fire escape hinges fitted, which is a requirement under England and Wales Building Regulations for all habitable rooms, especially bedrooms. All opening vents have a lockable night vent facility to allow for the flow of air on warm days whilst keeping the property under lock and key.

Hazlemere’ s aluminium frames are made from the finest extrusions and feature mechanically jointed corners, with a choice of a) an attractive sculptured frame appearance or b) square contemporary frame inside and out. Most aluminium manufacturers should be able to offer a choice of aluminium profiles, colour and bead options.

Hazlemere aluminium casement windows have a 75mm deep (front to back) thermally broken frame by a polyamide strip and a high security multi-locking locking system as standard. All their aluminium doors come with high security dog-bolts and toughened safety glass to BS6206. High security external glazing beads prevent removal of sealed units/panels from the outside by unwanted intruders.

The 24mm wide aluminium double glazed unit is 4mm/16mm/4mm, a combination of low iron outer float or toughened clear or obscure safety glass, a black Swiss V warm edge spacer bar, 90% Argon filled, and an inner soft coat float or toughened glass pane. This glazing specification achieves a centre-pane U Value of 1.2 W/m2K. The combined U-Value of Hazlemere’s â€ŔA” rated aluminium double glazed windows 1.64 W/m2K.

The bottom line is that aluminium profiles offer slimmer sight lines than UPVC profiles, so consequently there is a greater glass area, which delivers more light, solar gain and affords better aesthetics and external views. Unlike UPVC aluminium does not need steel reinforcing so can deliver larger windows, greater openings and wider conservatory roof spans. Also lower quality UPVC products can be prone to fade, especially if in direct sunlight, whereas powder coated aluminium will not fade, plus expands and contracts far less than UPVC.

UPVC windows, doors and conservatories simply cannot offer the range of colour choices as standard that aluminium can, although UPVC as a more mass market product is generally less expensive. Aluminium is a superior material, but does costs slightly more, so as with most consumer decisions – the choice is yours!