Enersign Windows/Sliding Doors

[Dan F]

Hi,

 

Has anyone used Enersign windows/doors (http://www.enersign.com/startseite.html)?

 

They no longer have a UK representative/reseller but are able to specify/supply from Germany. I am waiting on a quote.

 

The specs look very good, and the detailing whereby a lot of the frame gets built into the wall (if I understood correctly) looks like it would look really good in a contemporary design.  They also supply with external venetian blinds.

 

Any thoughts/experiences?

 

@jack These are the same as the Pazen windows you used I think, so interested to understand why you chose these over the Austrian brands.

 

Thanks,

 

P.S. Information/specs in english can be found here: http://www.enersign.com/fileadmin/user_upload/Download/ENERsign_primus_Broschure.pdf

 

 

Edited June 12, 2019 by Dan Feist

[jack]

49 minutes ago, Dan Feist said:

@jack These are the same as the Pazen windows you used I think, so interested to understand why you chose these over the Austrian brands.

 

Had a quick look and it seems Pazen went bust due to the bankruptcy of two suppliers. A real shame - it was a family business run by some really nice people (we visited them before ordering). I see Enersign bought the business, but are you sure that Enersign only supplies these windows and not others as well? That said, the brochure looks like the Pazen brochures, although it's been a while since I've seen ours. Certainly the ENERstore blinds on page 6 of the brochure above look like what we have. 

 

50 minutes ago, Dan Feist said:

The specs look very good, and the detailing whereby a lot of the frame gets built into the wall (if I understood correctly) looks like it would look really good in a contemporary design. 

 

This was one of the major selling points for us, but I'm not sure I'd make this choice if I were doing it again. While this detail looks nice from the outside, when looking out from the inside the view is curtailed by the external reveal being in line with the frame. Naturally this is worse with the deep external reveals you get with the thick walls used in highly insulated houses.

 

You also need cladding contractors who are meticulous about lining up the the reveal with the frame. We didn't notice until it was too late, but our contractor (the second - we fired the first) was pretty relaxed, and different amounts of the frame is visible from window to window. Bear in mind also that you still see the frame even if it's completely behind the cladding, because the depth of the frame is still visible. It's much more noticeable in light cladding (we have white painted brickwork in some areas).

 

56 minutes ago, Dan Feist said:

@jack These are the same as the Pazen windows you used I think, so interested to understand why you chose these over the Austrian brands.

 

One reason was the concealed frame detail mentioned above.

 

Another was that I was hearing very mixed reports about Internorm installations even back then, plus the quotes we got from Internorm were no cheaper than Pazen.

 

We had trouble getting quotes from another supplier I was interested in using (can't remember who that was now).

 

It came down to Pazen and Gaulhofer in the end. Interestingly, we were put off Gaulhofer when I showed their local agent Tomas (who sadly passed away a few months ago - see thread elsewhere) our drawings when I met him at Ecobuild. I had a really interesting chat with Tomas, who made some useful points about detailing and installation. He also took one look at the elevations and said that they couldn't supply some of the windows as single tilt-and-turn, because they were too heavy even for the heaviest duty hinges. I therefore foolishly didn't end up getting Gaulhofer to quote.

 

When we visited Pazen right before signing off the deal, the owner/MD spent quite a lot of time going through all of the technical drawings with our architect (he's a mate of ours, so we splurged on a £50 return ticket to bring him along!) As soon as he got the big windows at the front he pointed out they couldn't do them, just like Tomas had! By this stage it was far too late to start considering Gaulhofer, so we just bit the bullet. I suspect this cost us many thousands of quid.

 

The Pazen windows are very good quality. In fact, a passivhaus specialist I met described them as "the Rolls Royce" of alu-clad windows. Unfortunately, we were let down badly by the installers, as catalogued repeatedly on BuildHub.

 

If I were doing this all again, the main thing I'd be looking at other than window quality and price is making a billion percent certain that installation would be done by the supplier in accordance with installation details agreed up front.

[Dan F]

Thanks, @jack, that all very very useful!  I'll report back via this thread if/when Enersign Germany get back to me with a quote. 

 

I have requested quotes for Rational/Gaulhofer/Internorm/Schuco also in the meantime.