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Quiet Corner |
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Buyer Beware:
Quality Differences
PVCU strengths and weaknessesI will be as brief as I can and try not to bore you:
There are great many very good window and door systems, and the fabricator (actual manufacturer) can usually make a window up in one of two ways. For inherent strength, how do you tell the best from the worst? Well, I couldn't name
names, could I? But there is one major difference, which applies to virtually all makes, and it is easy for the layman to spot. All PVC-U windows and doors have the outer frame welded at the corners, whereas the transoms (horizontal bars) and the mullions (vertical bars) can be either 'mechanically jointed' (screwed together) or 'fully welded'.
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This picture shows a front door with a 'mechanically' jointed middle rail, which has become detached on the right-hand side from the lock stile, opening up a gap nearly a quarter of an inch (0.3cm) wide. |
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Note: It costs the manufacturer a lot more money in labour to make 'fully welded' frames, as well as the use of pretty expensive additional machinery, which is why some manufacturers shy away from making fully welded. I myself believe that fully welded frames are far superior to mechanically screwed-together frame joints. Reinforcement in PVC-U frames:
PVC-U window and door frames should not bear weight, and they are usually reinforced by the fabricator in the right places and as specified by the extruder or systems supplier. Normally the computer program will advise the fabricator on what to reinforce, the criteria being relative to the size and style of window and to the type of openers it has.
Note: all frames used for conservatories should always be fully reinforced. Either aluminium or galvanised steel profiles are slipped into normally the largest of the hollow chambers, but the metal itself does not go right to the corners and is not even closely butted, let alone actually welded. These pictures illustrate profile shapes,
weatherproofing gaskets and sealed unit make-up of a typical high-quality,
multichambered, reinforced window system. The best place you could go to next is:
My personal 'must have' checklist for buying new windows. ALSO my scam-exam test tells you far more about any individual estimate than my ‘buyer beware’ pages ever can because I have had to generalise very much on my website. Once you have put your estimate through the free test and had your results, you can then get an individual full five-page written report for a modest cost, and this should complete ALL the information you will need to be really clued in before you make any important decisions. Do my free scam-exam estimate quality test.
Links to other pages on PVC-U:
PVC-U - all about
PVC-U - the origins
Replace wood with PVC
Does PVC-U go 'off-colour'?
PVC-U colours and finishes and repainting
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