Gill Posted October 20, 2022 Share Posted October 20, 2022 I got a couple of quotes to replace nine windows with 3G from a local fitter who uses Scotia. I'd heard good things about their upvc but was curious if our budget would stretch to aluminium. Their aluminium frames are supplied by Smart and there website is not particularly clear as their U Values note "using correct glass unit". Any have any experience positive or negative with Smart Aliterm products ? The upvc is coming in around 6500, smart alitherm a bit more than double that. Our fitter mentioned that Internorm who they also fit would be much more but unfortunately failed to quantify that (to be fair we only asked for an aluminium quote and he was unaware they had multiple suppliers). We don't want to skimp on windows as our house is electric heating only and insulating is top of the list along with noise reduction from a busy road but it looks like unless I went higher end alu supplier there's not much of a gain aside from the look over upvc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andehh Posted October 21, 2022 Share Posted October 21, 2022 (edited) We are waiting on delivery of smart alithern early November (I hope). U value of 1.2 to 1.3 depending on who I ask. Wanted the slimmest frames I could get... Within reason. Also probably a bit of snob factor after several years in new builds with cheap crappy UPVC. I do love aluminium. Edited October 21, 2022 by Andehh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gill Posted October 21, 2022 Author Share Posted October 21, 2022 Thanks. I'm just not seeing a massive performance gain for double the money. Aesthetically, they do look nicer. Can I ask if you priced any of the higher performing products out there? We could stretch further but if its more than triple the cost of upvc then I doubt I can justify when we've got plenty priorities like MHRV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andehh Posted October 21, 2022 Share Posted October 21, 2022 Sorry Gill we didn't, we stipulated 1.3 u aluminium when we started the process last year, and ended up with smart after Builder struggled with 7 suppliers to actually quote and progress within a reasonable time frame. It's a fixed price build, so not aware of the actual price itself. We have a sample which looks, feels and comes across as very robust... But I'm a layman end of the day... If you can hang on a few weeks I'll hopefully have some installed and can provide pics if you wish! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gill Posted October 22, 2022 Author Share Posted October 22, 2022 Thanks for the info Andehh. We're in a similar boat with getting people to actually come and quote and getting the windows in is a pre-requisite for cavity wall insulation so I'm keen to move quickly but I also don't want to comprise on something so fundamental. I'll pop back in a few weeks if i'm still going round in circles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andehh Posted October 26, 2022 Share Posted October 26, 2022 Just to come back to this, the U value I quoted above was for the glass alone...due to the Ali frame it is more likely to be 1.5; Frame AND glass. Im pretty pissed off over this, as I didn't bother upgrading/seeking alternatives as asking the U Value of the windows & being told 1.3 meant I chalked it up as an easy win and never gave it a second though, had I known 1.5 I'd have sought better performance in one form or another, I do feel the Window supplier was misleading in quoting a half-truth!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnMo Posted October 26, 2022 Share Posted October 26, 2022 You have to be very specific when asking for u values, that you want the whole window value, even then some supplies get confused and give you the glazing value, thinking they can get away with it and sell you rubbish frames that leak heat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andehh Posted October 26, 2022 Share Posted October 26, 2022 Yep! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gill Posted October 27, 2022 Author Share Posted October 27, 2022 Thanks for the update @Andehhand sorry to hear that it's not working out as you'd hoped. I've started trying to get alterative quotes but it's proving difficult - at least five enquiries have not come back to me. We're now going down the route of friend of a friend who does commercial Alu fits (SAS product) in the hope they might be able to hook us up with an installer. I'm not confident we'll have made progress by the end of this year but here's hoping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayc89 Posted November 9, 2022 Share Posted November 9, 2022 How did you get on with the Alitherm frames? Do you know which model, specifically, you've purchased? A local window supplier has been recommended to us and they also use them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andehh Posted November 9, 2022 Share Posted November 9, 2022 We have the alitherm 600,and managed to get the overall average u down to 1.4 with laminate, low e class and some filling. Nit great, but better then the 1.6 we were looking at. Were due to this, 3 week delay due to laminated now. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayc89 Posted November 10, 2022 Share Posted November 10, 2022 11 hours ago, Andehh said: We have the alitherm 600,and managed to get the overall average u down to 1.4 with laminate, low e class and some filling. Nit great, but better then the 1.6 we were looking at. Were due to this, 3 week delay due to laminated now. Glad you're getting sorted. A builder we've been speaking with also mentioned Liniar. They have a "Resurgence" range which would also suit our property pretty well. With triple glazing they come in at around 0.9 and are, apparently, comparable in price to the Alitherm frames (still waiting on price though). We're not going for a certified Enerphit refurb, but even so they sound promising! https://www.liniar.co.uk/upvc-windows/resurgence/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andehh Posted November 10, 2022 Share Posted November 10, 2022 0.9 is exceptionally low for Aluminium! I recognise that style within the Alitherm range, though we didn't consider it to be honest. One thing I will wish we had done (rose tinted glasses n' all...) is put more thought into the windows. Shopping around, more styles, alternative materials etc etc. I think I was probably a bit too stubborn/decisive in ruling out 'anything plastic' on a high end house after years of living with the very worst PVC in new builds, and then leaving the builder to find the right style/type of window! Not that I am unhappy with the Alitherm and the style - we really like it-. Just that itch I have that I like to research & double check everything, which i wasn't able to do here*. *that being said, when you approach 7 window providers to quote and all either decline or ghosted us/the builder, and the clock rapidly running down.... it does limit this somewhat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayc89 Posted January 18, 2023 Share Posted January 18, 2023 Does anyone have any pictures of the Smart Alitherm fitted to their house? I'm struggling to find decent images of them on residential buildings online. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HughF Posted January 21, 2023 Share Posted January 21, 2023 Those Uw values are shocking… my cheap and cheerful UPVC supplier can do 0.9 in 3G - I’d have expected better than that from what is supposed to be a premium aluminium product. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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