craig

All I can say, is as as a supplier it is important to us to ensure that the planning before installation is undertaken and the relevant equipment etc. is onsite and all the materials. We only use a select team of installers across the UK. and very happy with them. The last year for us (me personally), has been extremely difficult after the loss of a key part of team due to his untimely passing. Everything was/is on my shoulders and I was struggling with that. We haven’t been perfect, I haven’t always been on top of calling people back or responding to queries. Workload was and is huge. I had/have a team to bring up to scratch on everything, training them getting them to understand the products/details/sections/elevations/floor plans/logistics/timings - everything. As well as deal with everyday quotations/orders/installs and personal life. I’ve struggled with this and was down in the dumps for a while, recognising the problem and admitting to it was the breakthrough and I’m in a better place mentally now. It’s the first time I’ve experienced depression, normally an upbeat person and always positive, which was all stress related and I’m never stressed. I’m normally the “shit happens, find a solution” guy in all aspects of life. It wasn’t the case for 6 months or so and it got the better of me. The team are all pulling together and getting things done. I’m not here to have a go at anyone supplier or installers but sometimes, something else is happening and when things do not go correctly. It’s how it’s resolved that’s important. To us though, it’s important to use airtightness foil, compriband, pu foam. It’s important that the order is thoroughly discussed and checked before production commences. It’s also important to us, to install the product as per manufacturers instructions. PU foam is fine above a slider but has the defection rates of lintel been taken into account? PU becomes a solid and if the lintel deflects and the tolerances haven’t been adapted to suit, operational issues occur. It’s good practice to use compriband only on the heads of sliders to mitigate compression on the head and operational issues as a result. As when it does go wrong, we’re responsible and a blame game doesn’t start, as we didn’t install or the customer/builder didn’t check things when signing off. How are they supposed to know what all the jargon means? We aren’t infallible but we are honest.

If you think it confuses you, imagine how it is for us as a “competitor”, sometimes I look at prices and ask how the **** are you selling at that price? Your given it away. Other times it’s the exact opposite and I’m thinking “you’re taken the **** at that price”.

Ask them for the datasheet(s) from the glass supplier if possible.

You got the specs? I can run it through Calumen / gaurdian configurators.

Not uncommon but worrying, pretty scary when you think about it.

https://www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/headings/4418?currency=EUR&day=8&month=8&year=2019 I may have been on the wrong section or need to check again but would it's 3% 3rd country on this link, it differs on products we import so may have been on another page.

I would need to see the glass specification sheet, what coatings they have used, spacers and gas used. Sounds wrong to me, satin finish is a "modern" alternative to patterned glass but it shouldn't impact the value by the value mentioned.

That's a big drop, are you sure it's still triple? That's a double glazed Ug value in all honesty. Triple glazed, has the opaque glass in the centre, it doesn't have any coatings on it and the value for the glass is generally not massively impacted. It can go from a 0.5Ug to a 0.6 but generally it's the decimal place that will change (i.e. 0.52Ug to 0.55Ug for example) as well as the LT value, G Value changing but not a drop like that unless it's went to double.

Basically put, 20% import, 6.5% 3rd country for wooden and plastic, aluminium is 20% import & 6% 3rd country You can find the tarriff calculator here https://www.gov.uk/trade-tariff

S***e, I’ll have a look when I get the office. I have the information saved we received.

Toughened is fine but Part Q is going full SBD, it is already in Scotland for new builds. However, it boils down to interpretation by the BCO and different regions.

Part Q is a shift towards SBD as standard for all new builds. Laminated outer pane on all ground floor windows. Irrespective of location or window type.

Anything below 800mm will need to be toughened/laminated. Anything within 300mm of a external door will need to be toughened/laminated.

It’s the same thing, all ground floor windows with laminated glass. Pas24 tells you the laminated glass should be P2A lamination or better.

I’m not in @AnonymousBosch? two things, one mentioned above by @dpmiller the other is to put a little stopper in place so it doesn’t hit the tap when turning but still allows it to turn a little but also tilt.

Personally, I would go with timber alu over uPVC (however that is a personal preference).

Fensa is for replacement windows, all it does is prove your windows have been fitted by a competent person registered with Fensa and you receive a certificate for doing so. Confirming that they have been fitted by a registered installer and fitted to BC standards. The installer, not the manufacturer or supplier are fensa registered. When the supplier installs, they are both supplier and installer. You do not need to be Fensa registered to replace windows in an existing property, it helps but is not essential.

1: Do not skimp on the thermal envelope. Buy what your budget allows you to and what you like. 2: uPVC is generally more thermally efficient (profile dependant). 3: Aluclad windows in a coastal area are fine, it’s the hardware that takes a battering not the cladding. If possible get a coating applied, otherwise it oxidise and fail. 4: uPVC aluclad are a good choice and you can match them with timber versions fairly easily (manufacturer dependant). 5: Adding a foil internally, is just bringing the uPVC product inline with the cost of timber alu windows. At the end of the day, it’s what you can afford and what you like/want that counts. Shop around, listen to the advice on offer and see what options are available to you.

All shifting towards SBD as standard, basically boils down to security. Laminated outer pane on ground floor windows. That must resist a physical attack by an opportunist/casual burglar. Doors and windows must be manufactured to a design that has been tested and shown to meet the security requirements of British Standards publication PAS 24 (equivalent EN standard RC2 is acceptable). PAS24 is published by the BSI. PAS 24 provides a method for testing and assessing doors and windows in relation to security. All ground floor and accessible doors must have suitable laminated glass with a security value of P2A or better. Windows do not require laminate glass for PAS24 but must have a locking handle.

Just use a fixed window, saves a lot of hassle and allow space for glass to be replaced should it need to be. If just using glass, which you can do. You need to factor in glass replacement should it need to be. It’s not that we don’t want to just supply glass and prefer the whole unit, it’s more practical and responsibility falls with the manufacturer/supplier. When it’s just glass, whose responsible when the proverbial hits the fan?

Yeah straight forward. Cover plate on handle, pull and twist left or right to uncover handle screws. Unscrew handle and remove handle and spindle. On vertical side of door, screw at locking point which connects to the cylinder, remove and pull cylinder out.

Is it a full cylinder or a half cylinder? Easy to tell, do you have handles inside and out (full cylinder), or inside only (half cylinder). I’d go direct to Internorm with the issue, it’s covered under warranty. However, you “might” have a fight on your hands to prove issue always existed and is a hardware fault. Otherwise, take sliding door handle off, take cylinder out. The cylinder size should be displayed on it. You’ll be happy to pick one up from usual suspects if need be. I might even have one in the office.

18mm, is the optimum space between panes.

For Glass, it’s pretty much down to a couple of values and it will be supplied from the usual suspects. I personally look to supply 48mm glass unit, 18mm space between the panes, psi value of .040 or below and argon gas filling. That’s the optimum unit in my view for a 0.5Ug. You can play around with the coatings to vary that Ug. Frame and style wise, it’s down to performance of the system, look/style and functionality. Which is a personal choice.

The problem is everyone lumps the m2 price for every item, including sliding doors / lift & slide doors, entrance doors e.t.c. Not everyone has the same products or doors for example and over inflates the m2 price for comparisons. It is a good baseline but it’s not perfect.