craig

He's a character alright but a great guy, straight talking and no nonsense. Does a great job and knows what he wants to do and achieve and by when.

Hope everything goes well, better it happened now than find out further down the line when not a lot can be done about it.

We read a few of the sites ourselves, our focus is to all but our appeal tends to be with the self builders / one off builders. We find the topics / posts extremely useful and think supplier / client interaction, should be encouraged more.

Yes, we have numerous projects with non certified windows. You'll find a lot of suppliers will use the non certified product. For Instance, Internorm tend not to use the certified product because the certified product costs about 25% more (at least that used to be the case, I would need to double check if they have had any of the standard systems certified). Certification is a marketing tool, it does also make the certification process a little easier but only just. You don't need and are not required to use any certified product on a Passive build. You just need to prove the product you are using, does what is claimed. You do this by 3rd party certifications, which the supplier should be able to supply. They will generally be supplied with thermal calcs as well. Its important that these values are available at a very early stage, so that these can be entered into the PHPP. If not available, the certifier will generally use standard values advised by the supplier/manufacturer and apply a penalty until the values/certificates are available. I would also say that the shell of any build is not one to skimp on, the shell is what brings the savings. The bells and whistles are things which can be added/tweaked further down the years if need be. Difficult/costly to alter the shell later - I personally wouldn't advise skimping on windows but I'm biased in that view.

The ground level expands out to the back but doesn't impact the windows above. The windows at the front side are bricked up, the windows further back are not going to be impacted by the building so won't be bricked up. However, the light etc. to those windows will certainly be impacted.

It's a generalisation I appreciate that, not all architects are and will be the same. However, the amount of drawings we receive and request from architects, are scaled drawings without a window schedule and without measurements for the windows being suplied. How and why? if you don't pay attention and something goes wrong, who's at fault? If you do pay attention and something does go wrong, that can happen but what I mean by paying attention is that it reduces "or should" reduce the chances of something going wrong. Of course it would be, I wouldn't blame the architect for that either but I bet that's a deviation from the approved plans with or without consent from BC. I appreciate that and sorry to hear that happened. We are not all perfect, by a long shot and mistakes do happen. Mistakes can be avoidable though. I bet the supplier, installers didn't look at the details supplied which resulted in the problems encountered?

I go back to what I said on another topic about windows "if" attention to detail is done in theory nothing should go wrong. To be honest, I blame architects. Why? Windows seem to be an after thought, no schedule, no dimensions, no section details supplied. That's why window companies in my opinion seem to have a bad name. lack of details is an issue.

It's a shame that happens @lizzie puts those of us trying to do a good job down. We're not all perfect by a long shot. Sorry to hear of the bad experience you have suffered. Sounds like the owner is trying to put right the wrongs.

No worries, this should work on the Internorm window as well, it works with our system.

Put simply, they have a fantastic product but like many manufacturers - they are let down by retailers and failings in their business model. I can't see the model of stacking retailers high lasting long in the U.K., it may work in Europe but will fail here. The exception to this is EcoHaus but they seem to concentrate on volume.

It's a very simple solution, the way the sash is designed makes it difficult to fit one due to space and the gearing. However, what you need to do is purchase Mila restrictor, catch and then remove one of the screws located on gearing which fixes the gearing to the frame and won't effect the gearing movement. The picture shows we used a mushroom pin, however that has been refined and we use the standard catch - it can only take one screw so gorilla glue is required for the 2nd screw location on the catch. However, it needs to be this type of restrictor from Mila. Until a a better solution is found, this is the best we have come up with and works extremely well and like it should be present.

@PeterW for TP652 88mm depth and expansion 8/15mm you are looking at £9.58 per metre, it comes in 6 metres rolls, roll cost would be £57.49 excl. VAT.

They did, we had them introduce it about 8 years ago for a project in Glasgow. As to whether they still offer it I don't know. I can give you information on how to retrofit one, if needed.

I'm glad something is happening and a response received. Hopefully it was Internorm that replied and it wasn't handed straight back to the supplier.

So many suppliers and so much choice, it comes down to what are you looking for and what do you want to achieve? What type of window are you after, tilt turn, turn tilt/reversible/outward opening. My personal preference for ease of operation is turn tilt, those less abled bodied find it easier to operate. Do you want supply only, or do you want a one stop shop (installation included). Do you have large windows/sliding doors? Some suppliers may not be able to achieve the sizes required. The rain issue mentioned above can happen on outward opening windows, just as much as inward windows. The fact the windows blow open would indicate no restrictor catch was specified/fitted - this also happens on outward opening windows (blowing open). Shop around, look at the different systems. Obtain some quotes and compare apples with apples.

Illbruck will only supply direct to suppliers, Im not sure who exactly but I can give you a cost on Monday if you like?

Does away for the need of expanding foam and membrane tape internally. Its basically 3 products in one.

Sorry my bad, I meant to type TP652. http://www.illbruck.com/en_GB/products/product-finder/product/tp652-compriband-trio-plus/

Just a quick note, the FM230 is now discontinued by Illbruck who only sell the FM330 now. You may still be able to buy it from retailers but not directly from Illbruck. The TP600 is a good tape but if you can use the TP602, it will mean you only need one product rather than two and does the job of tape (membrane), compriband and foam.

I think Thomas may be under .co.uk but it's been a long time since I had any contact with either of them.

Thomas Hagen Andreas Simmer is the head of UK based in Austria (or was based in Austria).

You should, great kit and great company.

The glass will have a marking, depends on where the glass was made to be honest. If UK, usually a kite mark, if EU it will usually have the EN number etched into the glass or spacer. Thats to do with the toughening/lamination of the glass. The gas filling isn't marked anywhere and it's a case of believing the written documentation supplied. The solar coating will have a slightly different tint to it but it's difficult to tell.

This is unfortunate @recoveringacademic and I'm glad no one was injured. Everybody pulling together and helping out and postponing deliveries and holding deliveries in the factory (if required) shouldn't be an issue. As discussed, we'll happily assist in anyway shape or form, and we'll hold the delivery if required. Hopefully things can get back on track fairly quickly.

In life you get unscrupulous people, who can claim to be something they are not. To be a certifier isn't easy, the training/exam is not easy. A list of accredited certifiers can be found here http://www.passiv.de/en/03_certification/02_certification_buildings/03_certifiers/01_accredited/01_accredited.php It's a scary process but if you need assistance, I can put you in touch with a certifier and or PH consultant/Architect, who I respect and trust and who I know, know what they are doing and been in the game a while.