uPVC Windows Guide

One of the problems that homeowners face when they purchase uPVC windows is that these windows do need to be fixed from time to time.  Many owners are puzzled by this fact, given that they were under understood that window repairs would be a thing of the past once they installed these windows.

While it is true that the uPVC in the windows is a material that will not degrade for many lifetimes, there are not many manufacturers that will give more than a 10 year guarantee on moving parts within the window unit.

In addition to this, the window manufacturing business is remarkably fickle and even if the windows of a property do create problems within the guarantee period, often you will find that the company that sold the windows and that should be responsible is no longer in business.

As with guarantees offered with many products, is it often the case that just as the manufacturer’s guarantee on a product runs out that the product begins to give trouble.  In relation specifically to PVC windows you will often find that the 10 year portion of the guarantee extends only to the uPVC frame and not to the ancillary hardware such as uPVC window handles and door handles.  The guarantee on these items may not extend beyond a year.

So what do you do if you find yourself in the position of having uPVC double glazing windows and perhaps also doors that are relatively newly installed in your home and which are starting to give you trouble, apart from simple window glass replacement if one gets broken.

Many property owners will obviously first contact the supplier and installer that they initially hired to put in their windows when they bought them.  Or perhaps they will have to call in another company if the company that sold or installed the products are no longer in business.  A representative will most likely call to their home and may point out to the property owners that the guarantees have run out on the relevant parts for the windows that are giving trouble.  This person may even suggest that the best course of action would be to replace their windows with more up to date window or door units.

For most homeowners this is a horrifying scenario as they spent a large amount of money installing these windows in the first place.  But the good news is that in many cases, repairing windows that have developed problems is often not necessary.

There are locations where you can source many different parts for uPVC windows.  Naturally the company that you are dealing with would much rather install entirely new windows in your home as that is their business.  But there are many other companies out there who supply parts for uPVC window repairs and also parts for uPVC doors and if you can source one of these companies you may well be able to sort out your problem.

Sourcing new locks, handles or hinges for your specific windows may not be the easiest thing to do.  However once you have tracked them down any good locksmith should be able to fit them for you.

If a company is in the business of supplying spare parts for PVC windows, then they will have in stock supplies from many major manufacturers of these products.  Such manufacturers may include Coldseal, Avocet, Ferco, Fuhr, Saracen, Surelock, Yale and other popular manufacturers of window and door products.  These companies normally do not just engage in supplying parts for uPVC windows, and will probably be able to help you with parts for timber sash window repairs, replacement sash windows, aluminium casement windows and any other types of windows or doors.

Properly trained staff at these businesses will be able to tell you how to identify and order the parts that you need and how to distinguish between different brands.  In many cases the company will not be dealing with you directly, but with a locksmith or general repair person that you have taken on in order to sort out the problem.

While it would probably be better to be able to call in to the premises of the company with your faulty parts, this is not absolutely necessary.  As there may not be such a company located near to you, trained personnel from these companies are used to identifying the make and type of parts from photographs supplied by customers.  It will also be necessary to be able to supply the relevant measurements in order to help ensure that the wrong parts are not selected.

Many of these companies offer next day postal delivery once your order has been placed and can also offer bulk discounts for larger orders.

The main thing for any homeowner to realise is that having faulty uPVC windows and doors does not mean that they necessarily have to be replaced.  Talk to your supplying company in the first instance regarding window repairs, whether you need window glass repair, want upgraded replacement glass or have a problem with some other part of the units.

However if they recommend that you have a problem with your windows that cannot be solved, do not be afraid to look further for a second and even a third opinion.  Perhaps engage the services of a good locksmith or repair person and do plenty of research online.  Exhaust all other possibilities before you bow to the advice to have your windows replaced.

Should you be considering building a new home, or perhaps wish to upgrade windows of your existing residence, you could consider the option of installing vinyl windows.  These windows, which are also known as PVC or uPVC windows have many benefits to offer a property owner.

A vinyl window came into prominence several decades ago and since that time it has become the market leader worldwide in window sales.  They are popular with builders and individual homeowners alike for a variety of reasons.

Vinyl is a material that is used in double glazing window in order to make a hugely efficient window unit.  Double glazing comprises simply two sheets of glazing placed on top of each other and separated by a gap of circa 16mm.  Into this sealed space is placed a gas, which has excellent insulation properties.  This gives the windows their excellent insulation properties and makes them suitable for property owners that want to improve the thermal capacity of their homes.

Vinyl replacement windows are becoming very sought after by property owners, either for their own homes or for properties that they rent out.  With the fact that the price of heating oil for keeping homes warm in wintertime has risen sharply in recent years and is continuing to rise, most of these people realize that they have to make their homes more energy efficient, if they have not already done so.  So such actions as insulating attics, fitting external cladding and installing new vinyl windows instead of persisting with ineffectual window repairs are becoming more and more important.

In addition to being energy efficient, windows made from vinyl are very secure given that they have quality uPVC window handles fitted and multi point systems for locking in the framework.  They are also very easy to maintain and once they have been installed in a home they need never be re-painted.  This is in contrast to wooden windows that do need to be re-furbished every five years or so, depending on the prevailing weather conditions.

Timber windows that are not kept weather sealed will warp or rot over time.  This is not a problem that has to concern owners of properties, which have vinyl or PVC windows installed.

Depending on the window glass or glazing that is used in completing the window unit you can have windows that are specially adapted to particular conditions.  Glazing can be installed that improves sound suppression or glare from sunlight for example.  However just standard double glazing will help to block out normal sound pollution from most homes.

All in all a vinyl replacement window possesses a lot of positive attributes that will help make a home look more attractive, and will improve its energy efficiency, thereby saving the homeowner money.

The surprising aspect of all of this is that new vinyl windows are more competitive when it comes to price than most other types of windows.  In pricing comparisons between quality timber, aluminium and vinyl windows, the vinyl or uPVC window prices will always be very competitive.  So for quality windows at a price that is highly competitive, one would have to consider the option of windows made from vinyl.

If you are considering purchasing windows for your new home, or replacing your older windows with a more energy efficient type, you might be interested in the following 9 brief points which are made regarding PVC.  A quality PVC window with good double or triple glazing will provide you with a window unit that will raise the thermal capacity of your home, if other factors such as attic insulation are also considered.

As with any product on the market, there are always questions regarding the effectiveness of PVC as a product and its possible detrimental effects on the environment.  The following points will hopefully answer some of the queries that homeowners may have.

1.    Value: The PVC in a PVC window will outlast most of the materials in other windows and performs better than them.  When it comes therefore to getting value for money with uPVC window prices you are gaining on two fronts.  Because PVC windows are long lasting you will not have to change them for a long time and because they are very energy efficient your fuel bills will be lower over the lifetime of the windows and subsequently you will save money.
2.    Durability: About 90% of the applications PVC is used for are what would be called ‘long life’ applications.  This description aptly applies to PVC windows and doors and also to such products as uPVC cladding.  Some studies have shown that in relation to windows and their profiles, 40 years is the projected lifespan.  This is more than any manufacturers will give a warranty for – in fact most will only cover the windows for ten to twenty years – but that is to be expected.  uPVC windows and doors will survive well against corrosion, inclement, prolonged weather and impact damage.
3.    Good for the environment: Advanced production technology has meant that the resin manufacture for PVC now can save a lot of energy in the production of PVC and this means less greenhouse gases are being produced when manufacturing companies are producing PVC.
4.    Part-produced from renewable resources: About half of the ‘feedstock’ required to produce PVC comes from salt.  As salt is abundant and renewable resource, PVC doors and windows are being produced from ‘feedstock’ that can be renewed and the same cannot be said for some other commonly used building materials.
5.    Low maintenance: PVC or vinyl windows will require little or no maintenance throughout their lifespan.  This is a fact that is both beneficial to the homeowner and to the environment, as for example, other window types will require painting every few years, which will produce undesirable paint emissions.  Over the lifetime of a timber window for example, a homeowner could have to paint the window possibly a dozen times.  This can lead to a large accumulation of emissions and leftover paint, brushes and paint tins that all have to be disposed of.
6.    Recyclable: Improvements are being made every day worldwide with regard to recycling PVC.  There have been various initiatives introduced  by governments involving PVC manufacturers and the building industry and these initiatives have seen a dramatic rise in the ability of  PVC recycling.  Vinyl2010 is one such major voluntary initiative taken by the PVC industry, which looks at all parts of the PVC cycle, raises awareness of issues that need to be addressed within the industry and promotes action where necessary.
7.    Tested fire performance: Due to the fact that PVC has a chlorine base, it is an inherently flame retardant material, which does not easily catch fire.  For example the ignition temperature of PVC is circa 390 degrees celcius as against an ignition temperature of circa 250 degrees celcius for timber.
8.    High Standards of manufacture: Manufacturing PVC is a process that, like most processes of production, is strictly monitored to ensure that consumer health and welfare is protected.  Emissions that are produced during the production of PVC have to be monitored by the Environmental Protection Agencies of the various countries involved.
9.    Versatility: PVC is a highly versatile product that can be used to produce a PVC window of almost any style.  Whether a homeowner requires PVC sash windows,  casement windows or bay windows does not matter – all of these window types are easily manufactured and marketed at a competitive price.

Residing in some countries does not present a problem with regard to insulating your residence, whereas if you live in a country with a damp or cold climate, then you will know that insulating your home is a priority. There are many different aspects to home insulation that need to be looked at as part of an overall package, and but one of the most crucial sections is window insulation.  To this end uPVC windows are the windows that consistently comes out on top when consideration is given to window insulation properties.

Proof of this point can be made by looking at countries like Great Britain or Ireland, where a major percentage of the windows fitted are uPVC windows.  The reason for this is that these countries have the type wet and mild climate that a uPVC window is ideal for insulating against.  Another point to make with regard to a mild, wet environment is that timber windows suffer greatly in this weather, unless they are regularly maintained and re-painted.

If you have studied the benefits that a uPVC window can bring to your home and are considering installing PVC windows, you should also take into account the following points.

Have a budget in mind before you start negotiations with any suppliers of uPVC double glazed windows.  In relation to this point, you should also bear in mind that the cheapest quote you will get is not necessarily the best.  There are a large amount of these window suppliers both online and offline and quotes they will give you for uPVC window prices will have to be weighed against each other carefully.  However, if you do proper research and take your time selecting a suitable product, you may well find cheap uPVC windows that still have all of the attributes that you expect form a good quality window.

Not only is a PVC window excellent at helping to insulate your property, but it will also make your home more secure.  A lot of burglars enter a home through a window and having quality windows locks and quality uPVC window handles does help ensure that you make illegal entry to your home difficult.

As you are taking the step of installing uPVC windows in order to improve the insulation of your home, you should give serious consideration to the various types of glass and seals that are being offered with the windows you are purchasing.  Keep in mind the window energy rating (R-value) of the PVC-u window.  This is a numerical value given to a window that takes into consideration the energy balance of the unit (window and frame).

Considering the many advantages of uPVC windows it is easy to see why they are the most selected window by homeowners in studies carried out.  There are many suppliers of PVC windows online and also offline in your own geographical area.  Type ‘uPVC window’ into a search engine and you will not be short of choices and look up local suppliers to compare what they have to offer.  You can narrow the results you will get from the search engines by inserting ‘ uPVC sash windows ‘ or other more descriptive terms.

There are many advantages to uPVC windows, but the argument rages on as to whether uPVC windows or replacement  windows are environmentally friendly or not.  There are many differences between timber and uPVC windows and that is without even starting to throw the various advantages and disadvantages of an aluminum widow into the mix.

The process that is required to make PVCs is highly toxic and this in turn leads to toxic by-products.  On top of this, the point is made that the biggest problem with regard to uPVC windows and doors is their disposal at the end of their useful life – which seems to range between 10 and 30 years.  Some say that PVC is very easy to recycle but others counter by pointing out that in practise very few PVC windows are recycled because of the difficulty in separating the component parts.  Neither can it be incinerated because of it’s composition.

uPVC windows discolour !!  Some go yellow and while this is bad enough, others go a sort of  pink!  There are various reasons put forward for this discolouring problem, but without going into too much unnecessary detail as to the cause, the remedies are few.  You cannot paint PVC  windows, and anyway,  isn’t the lack of need for painting one of the main reasons you wanted UPVC windows in the first place?

Very bad weather or severe extremes of weather can cause cracking, expanding or warping to your double glazing, PVC windows.

PVC windows are not that flexible in design or in execution – this can hamper the creative artist in you when you are designing your rooms!

uPVC windows are simply not as pleasant on the eye as traditional windows.  Again this is a claim that is hotly disputed by the PVC fanclub.  In many case the argument is dependant on the  type of building the windows are going into.  If they are being inserted into a new build, modern structure that allows for the wide, bulkier window frame that PVC windows by necessity provide, then they will look well.  However if you are putting them into your turn of the century (19th to the 20th century that is), attractive brick, terraced residence, maybe they won’t fit in quite so brilliantly.

Once you have fitted uPVC double glazing or triple glazing windows, whether you install them yourself or get an installer to do it, no matter what type and style of window you install, they cannot be easily taken apart if they are in need of repair.  By this we do not mean simply changing a pane of glass, rather more structural repairs.  This can make them more expensive to maintain, as against a traditional window, which a regular carpenter or handyman will have a go at.

So there you go – food for thought if you are thinking about dumping those timber windows on the woodpile and investing in some shiny, spanking new PVC ones.