Rationel windows, with different sliding doors.

[Russell griffiths]

So went to the rationel showroom closest to me to find out they don’t actually do a lift n slide door in the size we want and that the quote we have had is actually for another make. 

Has anybody fitted rationel windows with a different door ???

[Mr Punter]

As long as they are the same colour and general style (modern, traditional etc) they will look fine.

[Adam2]

If from same supplier should use same glass in both as small differences will be noticable. If using different suppliers I would be cautious about having windows on the same side of the building being different to doors -I'm currently going through this conundrum!

 

[Mr Punter]

1 hour ago, Adam2 said:

If from same supplier should use same glass in both as small differences will be noticable. If using different suppliers I would be cautious about having windows on the same side of the building being different to doors -I'm currently going through this conundrum!

 

 

Really? We have several different glass specs on the same elevation - double glazed, triple glazed, toughened, laminated, different gap widths and pane thicknesses and I have not noticed any difference.

[gravelld]

This is quite common in my experience - Rationel have a lower maximum slider size than some other manufacturers.

[Adam2]

5 hours ago, Mr Punter said:

Really? We have several different glass specs on the same elevation - double glazed, triple glazed, toughened, laminated, different gap widths and pane thicknesses and I have not noticed any difference.

We're getting solar control glass and ideally want the optiwhite  range from pilkington, for the sliding doors a local supplier is fine to provide this but some of the European window companies won't commit to this and state an equivalent will be provided and although they may look similar I want to be 100% sure they will look 100% the same where we have a large window near a sliding door where they come from different companies.

[Mr Punter]

11 hours ago, Adam2 said:

We're getting solar control glass and ideally want the optiwhite  range from pilkington, for the sliding doors a local supplier is fine to provide this but some of the European window companies won't commit to this and state an equivalent will be provided and although they may look similar I want to be 100% sure they will look 100% the same where we have a large window near a sliding door where they come from different companies.

 

I have used low iron glass in some 25mm thick external balustrading without handrail and the difference in colour is noticeable, especially when looked at from the edges.

 

It lets all the light through, so make sure you have decent solar control. Does it work OK with low e coatings?

[Adam2]

6 hours ago, Mr Punter said:

It lets all the light through, so make sure you have decent solar control. Does it work OK with low e coatings?

Looking at the marked one below with more info here : https://www.pilkington.com/en-gb/uk/products/product-categories/solar-control/pilkington-suncool-range/pilkington-suncool-ow

 

[Oldsteel]

We are looking at Rationel alu-clad windows for our house and as far as I know they always work through local agents. Our local supplier quoted for Rationel throughout but said the 7m 6-panel aluminium sliding doors would come from a different supplier. So we have already accepted that the feature window will have to come from a different supplier so started to look around and found cheaper alternatives. Furthermore, all the windows on the front and sides of the house are standard sizes, while the rear are bespoke. We found Rationel are not competitive for the standard size windows, but are the best priced for the bespoke sizes apart from the sliding doors. So it is likely we will have three different suppliers, which is not ideal (and I note the comments above about glass) but when the difference is measured in £000s we will make it work. Look also at costs for fitting, these vary a huge amount between suppliers. Supply and fit is the way to go so the supplier takes 100% responsibility for the job. I have heard too many stories where we end up 'piggy in the middle' between the window supplier and the builder when things go wrong, as it seems they often do where windows are concerned.  

Edited August 31, 2019 by Oldsteel

[Oldsteel]

Update on this, we decided to go Rationel for all windows as they are offering triple glazed and we prefer the Alu-clad profile as opposed to pure aluminium. Cost slightly more but we are accepting we need to pay a bit more for better quality. Rationel don't do large alu-frame sliding doors so its another supplier for them (local firm). Having done a fair bit of research its my opinion that pure alu frames are a commodity, window suppliers buy in the extruded aluminium sections and make up the windows by adding the glazed panels. So it pays to shop around as the product is the same (despite what the glossy brochures say).