Plastic windows are an abomination. But they do not rot. Hence their meretricious allure. A "plague" of these window-frames has swept, like plastic pig flu, over our grey and pleasant conservation areas, according to Simon Thurley, the head of English Heritage. "It's a very big issue," he says.To which you might be tempted to reply: "Come off it." Yet even if it is not quite as big an issue as Iran, he is right. Indeed, it is worse than he says, for no street, be it never so humble and miles from a conservation area, should be blighted by plastic windows.If the eyes are the windows of the soul, windows are the eyes of houses. Our sight is drawn to them; if they're wrong, the whole thing looks ugly. It is like trying to make eye contact with a man who squints.On television, the great defender of proper windows was Alec Clifton-Taylor, who changed the way a generation looked at the streets around them with his series Six English Towns (followed by six more). "What could be more agreeable?" he would ask, leaning sideways at the corner of Broad Street, Ludlow.Pity the foolish freeholder who had done away with the glazing-bars of his windows, leaving dark expanses of flat glass that made the facade look blind.
Clifton-Taylor's reaction to double-glazing merchants was much the same as that of the owner of a riding stables might be to a request by the protagonist of Equus for a night's lodgings.The forces acting here, though, are not purely architectural. It being England, snobbery comes into it. An elegant Georgian construction is the most des res, and such houses had nicely formed bars to hold the glazing. So these features became a shibboleth of domestic architecture, not met in debased Victorian Gothic, or worse, 1950s Modernism. Anyone who doubts this only has to consider the neighbours' reaction to Lord Rogers's designs for the Chelsea barracks site.Ah, you may say, UPVC doesn't mean ugly windows. It can be moulded to look like the finest work of William Kent. But even if it could be, it isn't. It is given horribly sharp-edged, flat-profile, lifeless finishes. It discolours, becomes brittle and cracks (although the makers insist that this is not now such a problem). You can spot a plastic window at 50 paces.
It is what nylon shirts were in the 1960s – easy-care and cheap, and they looked it.Perhaps it is going too far to say that plastic windows are inevitably fatal. Greenpeace calls the material they are made from "killer plastic", as it produces toxic waste. But a similar argument would ban granite cellars in Cornwall, which fill up with poisonous, radioactive radon gas. No one minds that.Worse than shortening your life, however, is that plastic windows rot the soul. They are part of the degradation of the humane, along with ready meals, ballpoint pens, trainers, sat-nav, police sirens, fleeces, bacon that oozes white stuff, air-conditioning, gangsta rap, chewing gum, digital cameras, floodlighting, MP3 players on trains, cellophane-wrapped flowers, microwaves, air-fresheners and UHT milk.At a residents' meeting, my neighbours debated whether we should get plastic window-frames to replace the century-old wood. They might have done it, too, but for the rules of the conservation area where we live.
In a free country, everyone would be allowed to tear down their house and build up anything they wanted. Such were the freedoms that left us some of the most glorious treasures of our architectural inheritance. But householders cannot be trusted any more, let alone architects and councils. So if we do need constitutional reform, a beneficent measure would be to outlaw plastic window frames throughout the land, in perpetuity. Family owned business since 1999 | Servicing ACT & NSW Double Glazed uPVC Doors Up to 80% noise reduction Multipoint locks for extra security Double glazed up to 35mm thick 10 yrs guarantee by Rehau international Approvied by Australian Windows Association Quality Profile High gloss finish suface, high resistance to UV radiation and high impact strength. Multi-Chambered ProfileImproved insulation against heat and noise Dual Compression SealsEnhanced tightness against air, water, sound and thermal insulation Glazing RebateAble to accomodate double glazed unit to achieve high insulation against noise and heat
Steel ReinforcementStrength and rigidity Welded JointsFusion-welded frames and sashes impede leaks Euro-groveEnable use of multi-locking gear to enhance securityWhen is the right time to replace your existing double glazing windows? In this blog, we will look at some of the telltale signs. Four signs that your double glazing needs replacing are: If water us leaking in through your frame, the window’s weather seal may have failed. If it is not the seal, the drainage section might be blocked. If you have had your double glazed windows for a long time, they will be out of date, we would recommend that you upgrade your current windows. The technical definition of condensation is: The process that gas or vapour transforms into a liquid. If an object’s temperature, like glass, drops under the ‘dew point’ temperature of the surrounding air’s given relative humidity, water vapour from the air condenses into droplets of water on its surface. The ‘dew point’ changes according to the volume of water in the air ( humidity).
In muggy conditions, condensation happens at higher temperatures. In colder environments, condensation occurs even though there is low humidity present in the atmosphere. If condensation has formed between the two panes of glass on your double glazed window, you have a major problem. Condensation indicates that the seal that surrounds the two panes of glass has sprung a leak. In turn, this means that the gas cavity between the window panes is not sealed. If this has happened, then you must replace your existing double glazing straight away. If your double glazed glass window is cracked, chipped or broken, then replacing the glass isthe only option. If you don’t, you could end up with condensation, a leak or a draught. If you have noticed a draught coming through your windows, it indicates that the seal has broken down. If you feel draughts flow between the window frame and the brickwork, this means that the window sealant might have failed. If this has happened, you’ll need to replace your weather seal.