djcdan Posted March 26, 2021 Share Posted March 26, 2021 I hadn't given this too much thought, but it's come to the point of confirming external cill specification to our window supplier (Rationel). What is better; concrete cills or aluminium supplied by Rationel? I'm leaning towards aluminium as you can tell from the list below, but happy to get other opinions. Pros of aluminium: requires less maintanence doesn't require painting initially cill matches the colour and finish of the glazing frame cills installed at the time of kit erection reducing the workload on the brickie Our largest window (sliding door) is 3.6m wide, potentially quite costly to supply and with little access to the rear, difficult to fit Pros of concrete: Allows for a shorter profile aluminium cill to potentially look more streamline Does anyone has opinions or feedback on this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jack Posted March 26, 2021 Share Posted March 26, 2021 One thing that annoys me a bit about aluminium cills is that they're noisy when it rains. Big drops fall off the head of the window onto the cill. They're more annoying than the general sound of rain because they're a lot louder, and they're intermittent. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Punter Posted March 26, 2021 Share Posted March 26, 2021 +1 to @jack I am doing concrete next time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nod Posted March 26, 2021 Share Posted March 26, 2021 18 minutes ago, djcdan said: I hadn't given this too much thought, but it's come to the point of confirming external cill specification to our window supplier (Rationel). What is better; concrete cills or aluminium supplied by Rationel? I'm leaning towards aluminium as you can tell from the list below, but happy to get other opinions. Pros of aluminium: requires less maintanence doesn't require painting initially cill matches the colour and finish of the glazing frame cills installed at the time of kit erection reducing the workload on the brickie Our largest window (sliding door) is 3.6m wide, potentially quite costly to supply and with little access to the rear, difficult to fit Pros of concrete: Allows for a shorter profile aluminium cill to potentially look more streamline Does anyone has opinions or feedback on this? You can get precast concrete with a colour of your choice Zero maintenance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djcdan Posted March 26, 2021 Author Share Posted March 26, 2021 17 minutes ago, jack said: One thing that annoys my a bit about aluminium cills is that they're noisy when it rains. Big drops fall off the head of the window onto the cill. They're more annoying than the general sound of rain because they're a lot louder, and they're intermittent. Good point. Would this still apply with triple glazing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Punter Posted March 26, 2021 Share Posted March 26, 2021 I have 3g and notice the noise of rain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bitpipe Posted March 26, 2021 Share Posted March 26, 2021 20 minutes ago, jack said: One thing that annoys my a bit about aluminium cills is that they're noisy when it rains. Big drops fall off the head of the window onto the cill. They're more annoying than the general sound of rain because they're a lot louder, and they're intermittent. Yup - we have a nice high level 'slot' window above our bed - about 2m long and 600 high I think. Without fail the rain battering off the cill wakes me up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djcdan Posted March 26, 2021 Author Share Posted March 26, 2021 It seems noise is a major downfall of the aluminium cills, so will probably swing towards concrete. 11 minutes ago, nod said: You can get precast concrete with a colour of your choice Zero maintenance and good to know this is an option Thanks all. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jack Posted March 26, 2021 Share Posted March 26, 2021 1 hour ago, djcdan said: Good point. Would this still apply with triple glazing? Yes, we have good quality triple glazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conor Posted March 26, 2021 Share Posted March 26, 2021 Feck. We've just measured up for our windows and assumed Alu cills. Assume too late to change to concrete as we'd need to rip out a portion of the wall openings?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonshine Posted March 26, 2021 Share Posted March 26, 2021 1 hour ago, jack said: One thing that annoys my a bit about aluminium cills is that they're noisy when it rains. Big drops fall off the head of the window onto the cill. They're more annoying than the general sound of rain because they're a lot louder, and they're intermittent. is this on the single sheet type or the more robust type like these? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Punter Posted March 26, 2021 Share Posted March 26, 2021 My noisy ones are the folded add-on type. The extruded ones are not such an issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonshine Posted March 26, 2021 Share Posted March 26, 2021 19 minutes ago, Mr Punter said: My noisy ones are the folded add-on type. The extruded ones are not such an issue. That makes sense, and i am actually planning for extruded ones 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jack Posted March 26, 2021 Share Posted March 26, 2021 58 minutes ago, Moonshine said: is this on the single sheet type or the more robust type like these? Single sheet. I was really surprised that no-one's ever mentioned this in the past, although it's interesting seeing in this thread how many others apparently have similar issues. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig Posted March 26, 2021 Share Posted March 26, 2021 (edited) 6 hours ago, jack said: Big drops fall off the head of the window onto the cill. They're more annoying than the general sound of rain because they're a lot louder, You need the dampener, severely reduces the impact but it’s very rare they are supplied Certainly with the cills we supply, not all alu cills with have this option. Edited March 26, 2021 by craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jack Posted March 26, 2021 Share Posted March 26, 2021 3 minutes ago, craig said: You need the dampener, severely reduces the impact but it’s very rare they are supplied Is the dampener a layer of nitrile-rubber-like material stuck to the underside? If so, we have that. Still loud, although I do find noise very distracting in general. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roundtuit Posted March 26, 2021 Share Posted March 26, 2021 We've got Rationel aluminium cills, and I've never noticed any rain noise. If this is one of those things that you can't ignore once someone has pointed it out, I'm gonna be well pi$$ed off with you lot? Back to the OP; if you're having a timber frame with brick outer skin, then I expect the cills will go on after the brickwork. (My windows didn't go in until the brickwork was finished). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig Posted March 26, 2021 Share Posted March 26, 2021 21 minutes ago, jack said: Is the dampener a layer of nitrile-rubber-like material stuck to the underside? If so, we have that. Still loud, although I do find noise very distracting in general. More like an insulation material that goes underneath. I’ll get the detail to show you. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jack Posted March 26, 2021 Share Posted March 26, 2021 46 minutes ago, Roundtuit said: We've got Rationel aluminium cills, and I've never noticed any rain noise. If this is one of those things that you can't ignore once someone has pointed it out, I'm gonna be well pi$$ed off with you lot Why should I suffer alone? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig Posted March 27, 2021 Share Posted March 27, 2021 (edited) @jack It is a strip, but when insulated underneath also, has a much bigger difference. Edited March 27, 2021 by craig 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jack Posted March 28, 2021 Share Posted March 28, 2021 Thanks @craig. No, we definitely don't have anything like that. We just have the strip of "sound-deadening coating". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Posted March 31, 2021 Share Posted March 31, 2021 On 26/03/2021 at 12:38, nod said: You can get precast concrete with a colour of your choice Zero maintenance I find concrete cills tend to crack & go green. I’m actually considering aluminium for a new build but not 100% sold on them yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nod Posted March 31, 2021 Share Posted March 31, 2021 1 minute ago, Eric said: I find concrete cills tend to crack & go green. I’m actually considering aluminium for a new build but not 100% sold on them yet. The reconstituted stone shouldn’t crack Quick spray with Algicide will clear any green and keep them clear for at least six months Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayc89 Posted January 22, 2023 Share Posted January 22, 2023 (edited) Sorry to resurrect this. I'm placing my Rationel order and currently deciding between All and Concrete Sills. Shouldn't functioning guttering prevent drips landing on the sill? Edited January 22, 2023 by jayc89 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russdl Posted January 22, 2023 Share Posted January 22, 2023 @jayc89 that will all depend on how high above the window the gutter is. In our situation the window in the main bedroom is on the side wall, gable end and no gutter. When it’s chucking it down the big drips hitting the metal cill is like a drum. When it happens I generally move out to the spare room where the gutter is just above the window head and the problem is almost non existent. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now