Frames - aluclad vs full timber?

[shuff27]

Was at the Bicester selfbuild show this morning, mainly to look at windows/doors as most of my other build choices are already decided.  I visited the stands of Green Building Store, Internorm, Norrsken & Rationel/Velfac (shared stand as part of same company).

 

Although I am leaning towards aluclad timber, the sales director of GBS stated his preference for full timber (the company offer both versions) based on;

 

a) the cost is around 15% less than aluclad.

b) the paint finish on their timber windows is warranted for 10 years & is expected to last for around 12 years before repainting is required.

c) he claims that within 10 years the paint finish on aluclad will be fading & cannot be repainted.

 

I would be interested to hear from anyone who has weighed up aluclad vs full timber & what they eventually chose.  Any other comments on my 3 points above also welcome.

[Iceverge]

Passive certified UPVC for us with top notch ironmongery. €15000

€37500 for aluclad of equilivant performance. 

 

The trick is finding upvc that’s not poor quality. 

 

[dpmiller]

what qualifies "poor quality" with UPVC?

[MikeSharp01]

17 hours ago, shuff27 said:

he claims that within 10 years the paint finish on aluclad will be fading & cannot be repainted.

Aspects of this are not quite true. True it will fade, its a powder coating, but it is not true it cannot be repainted although it does take careful preparation, not easy because of the nooks and crannies in the extruded sections, and the right paint, epoxy based is most reliable.

[craig]

19 hours ago, shuff27 said:

c) he claims that within 10 years the paint finish on aluclad will be fading & cannot be repainted.

Biggest pile of s***e I’ve heard in years. It will fade eventually but it can be repainted. *edit: just to add that alu clad should have guarantee of 10 years against fading. 

 

If you’re going timber only, consider strongly a hardwood option. Powder coating has a 10 year guarantee - it lasts a hell of a lot longer. 
 

Paint finish is not a powder coat finish on timber windows. Alu clad is effectively zero maintenance,  alu clad everytime time if budget allows.

Edited October 3, 2021 by craig

[shuff27]

10 minutes ago, craig said:

Biggest pile of s***e I’ve heard in years. It will fade eventually but it can be repainted.

 

If you’re going timber only, consider strongly a hardwood option. Powder coating has a 10 year guarantee - it lasts a hell of a lot longer. 
 

Paint finish is not a powder coat finish on timber windows. Alu clad is effectively zero maintenance,  alu clad everytime time if budget allows.

 

Thanks that reinforces my preference for aluclad.  In the case of GBS, I believe they only recently started offering an aluclad option as that's what the selfbuild market often wants, so I took this salesman's words with a generous pinch of salt...

 

As my house will have a fairly modest number & size of windows, the budget can withstand the slightly extra cost of aluclad.

[Donegalsd]

I considered timber frames before fitting aluclad. I live in a very damp climate and reckoned the aluclad would help. I thought repainting frames in a two storey house, using a decent painter would be very expensive. The  less maintenance the better for me. I have a dark coloured house so it will all fade to various shades of grey so fading wasn't to large a concern. I fitted Rationel windows - nice quality, performed well on phpp.

 

I would have probably consider passive quality upvc if I had seen some that had a inside face that I liked better - I only really looked at munster upvc/timber/aluclad passive windows - they seemed reasonably good quality.

[Iceverge]

2 hours ago, Donegalsd said:

I only really looked at munster upvc/timber/aluclad passive windows - they seemed reasonably good quality.

 

I looked at theirs, in fact I bought some upvc for the garage. They are used by 90%+ of the houses near me as they are localish and cheap. 

 

However I didn't even get a quote for the house. Whilst the profiles themselves are ok, the metalwork and the air sealing leaves a lot to be desired. I have lived in a couple of houses with their double glazing units and the hinges and locks just don't last. The T&T unit in the showroom had fallen off the hinges. The saleswoman had no notion of the G-Value, Frame u value, glass u value etc, just that they were meaninglessly "A-rated".

 

5 hours ago, dpmiller said:

what qualifies "poor quality" with UPVC?

 

I think little compares to going to see windows that have been installed with 5-10 years +. Find someone who has already got them and pay a visit. 

 

I did that with mine (Veka Softline 82) The sashes all air sealed and clicked into place like they did when they were new. Of course the profile is only part of the equation. The frame reinforcement, manufacturing quality, ironware, latches and locks , and of course installation count for a huge amount. 

 

If you can find a provider that has worked on passivhaus certified projects and quiz them on the technicalities and receive satisfactory answers you will be onto a winner. 

[saveasteading]

23 hours ago, shuff27 said:

within 10 years the paint finish on aluclad will be fading & cannot be repainted.

Yes it will 'be fading' but not much. Depends on the colour chosen as some fade worse than others (remember the old B and Q red that became pink?).

Aluclad will be powder coated so fades less anyway, but still, lighter colours fade less.

 

But, the fading will be most facing the sun, and consistent on each face so it would hardly be noticeabl for 20 + years.

 

It is easy to repaint. 

 

Sometimes these exhibitors have to drag in anybody from the office who can smile and face the public. Better phone them and get the tech person if you have any concerns.

There may be some other reason for pushing you to timber...some production issue perhaps.

[Bonner]

I got a quote from GBS for Alu-clad and timber, they tried to push me away from Alu-clad for environmental reasons. Thought that was a weak argument considering the quantity of material and not consistent with what they are saying now.