Aluminium Vs Alic-Clad timber windows cost difference

[flanagaj]

I have had quotes from the mainstream window suppliers (Norrsken, Velfac) for ali-timber clad windows, but I haven't really looked at aluminium window suppliers.  Has anyone else had like for like quotes, eg same glazing and is able to say whether you are looking at 5% / 10% .... cost saving.

I did have one quote for aluminium doors and windows from a top end supplier and was rather annoyed to discover that there quote was basically my max specified budget.  I won't name names, but lets just say, I won't be going back.

Just some recommendations to suppliers that I might not have considered would be useful.  

[dpmiller]

you told a supplier how much money you had to spend? Ouch.

[G and J]

We had quotes for norrsken and kloeber as well as from our local aluminium window supplier who is a Smart Systems manufacturer.

 

We are going with the latter, full measure, supply and fit. The cost was about 25 to 30% lower BUT the decision was based on the facts that

 

1. They are local with a good reputation

2. The can deliver the u value we "need" and all of the window door options we want in the same range (alitherm 400)

3. Both other quotes "bent" the truth ..." building regs say you must have 3G", " you can't have an outward opening front door and comply with pas 24", and both changed the size of at least 1 window opening to suit their range without mentioning it (double chk what the quote says)

4. Our suppliers order in the profile, spray to the ral colour we want, THEN measure the actual holes and manufacture in about 5 weeks, the others had timescales that meant windows would need to be surveyed off plan or would have a 10 to 14 week lead time.

 

Our decision was also helped by the fact we actively did not want a wood finish inside and if necessary fitting could be done in more than one stage.

 

Time will tell if we made the right decision.

[Ben1984]

We are in the process of doing the same research. We have visited Eco Haus, Norskeen, Cherwell windows and doors and Express bi-folds. 

Our observations so far: Premium aluminium 3G windows and doors are comparable in price to the alu clad. Their performance is worse than alu clad, but the frames and sightlines are much smaller. Some of the more budget friendly aluminium windows and doors in 2G offer a significant saving (up to 40% in some cases) but have poor performance ratings and look and feel cheaper imo. 

We are hoping to go with either Internorm or Norrsken (If we can make either work with our budget) the engineering is exceptional. We have already dedicated 3 days to visiting showrooms and it was time well spent - I would strongly recommend that you don't make any choice until you have seen, in person, a good variety of options. There is a lot of details you can't pick up in photos/videos.

[flanagaj]

4 hours ago, dpmiller said:

you told a supplier how much money you had to spend? Ouch.

I know it was a rookie error.  

[flanagaj]

3 hours ago, Ben1984 said:

Some of the more budget friendly aluminium windows and doors in 2G offer a significant saving (up to 40% in some cases) but have poor performance ratings and look and feel cheaper imo. 

I would strongly recommend that you don't make any choice until you have seen, in person, a good variety of options. There is a lot of details you can't pick up in photos/videos.

I agree with your first point.  We have visited Norrsken and really like the product, but just wanting to see whether there were options to try and shave 5-10k off the price.   We are most likely going to require solar glass too, so that is only going to increase the price further.

[flanagaj]

4 hours ago, G and J said:

We had quotes for norrsken and kloeber as well as from our local aluminium window supplier who is a Smart Systems manufacturer.

 

We are going with the latter, full measure, supply and fit. The cost was about 25 to 30% lower BUT the decision was based on the facts that

 

1. They are local with a good reputation

2. The can deliver the u value we "need" and all of the window door options we want in the same range (alitherm 400)

3. Both other quotes "bent" the truth ..." building regs say you must have 3G", " you can't have an outward opening front door and comply with pas 24", and both changed the size of at least 1 window opening to suit their range without mentioning it (double chk what the quote says)

4. Our suppliers order in the profile, spray to the ral colour we want, THEN measure the actual holes and manufacture in about 5 weeks, the others had timescales that meant windows would need to be surveyed off plan or would have a 10 to 14 week lead time.

 

Our decision was also helped by the fact we actively did not want a wood finish inside and if necessary fitting could be done in more than one stage.

 

Time will tell if we made the right decision.

Interesting.  I hadn't considered a local Smart Systems manufacturer.  In fact, I haven't even heard of the term before you mentioned it.

[Nick Laslett]

@flanagaj, this is an area where you could potentially save some money. You can get good u-values from 2g windows. For aesthetics we had to go with 2g, we wanted the crittall style look and steel windows are another level of expense. 
 

Our windows are only 1.3 u-value, but the coating on the inner leaf of the outer pane is what makes all the difference to how the window feels. This is a pretty standard thing to have and it helps reflects back your body heat. 
 

We have Smart Alitherm Heritage windows. A lot of companies use their systems but market them under different names like Duration and Cherwell.

 

In the UK windows market you have system manufacturers, underneath them you have local fabricators, then you have installers/retailers. Sometimes the installer will also be the fabricator. The fabricators supply the local retailers. There are many exceptions to this. 
 

You could have the best window system, but be let down by the fabricator or installer or both. 
 

This website does good coverage of the aluminium windows market and will list a lot of system manufacturers. 
 

https://www.doorandwindowexperts.co.uk/aluminium-windows/who-makes-the-best-aluminium-windows/

 

[flanagaj]

5 hours ago, Nick Laslett said:

@flanagaj, this is an area where you could potentially save some money. You can get good u-values from 2g windows. For aesthetics we had to go with 2g, we wanted the crittall style look and steel windows are another level of expense. 
 

Our windows are only 1.3 u-value, but the coating on the inner leaf of the outer pane is what makes all the difference to how the window feels. This is a pretty standard thing to have and it helps reflects back your body heat. 
 

We have Smart Alitherm Heritage windows. A lot of companies use their systems but market them under different names like Duration and Cherwell.

 

In the UK windows market you have system manufacturers, underneath them you have local fabricators, then you have installers/retailers. Sometimes the installer will also be the fabricator. The fabricators supply the local retailers. There are many exceptions to this. 
 

You could have the best window system, but be let down by the fabricator or installer or both. 
 

This website does good coverage of the aluminium windows market and will list a lot of system manufacturers. 
 

https://www.doorandwindowexperts.co.uk/aluminium-windows/who-makes-the-best-aluminium-windows/

 

Thanks for the link.  I'll drop them a message with my requirements.