Timber Window & Door Performance Upgrades for your Surrey or London home

Assuming your opening sashes have an airtight seal, double glazing can reduce noise by 20% compared to single glazing. However, perceived sound reduction can be further improved to reduce outside noise by 60% when compared to single glazing simply by using a 6.8mm laminated outer pane with an acoustic interlayer. Perfect for homes on busy roads or on the flight path in South West London! Read on for our top tips on soundproofing.

Tip 1. Choose a brand with quality airtight seals on all the opening sashes

Tip 2. Choose dynamically-stable laminated timber (rather than sawn timber) that doesn’t twist or warp

A certified 0.0 air leakage rating can be achieved by using a dynamically-stable laminated (or engineered) timber.

Tip 3a. Choose one or two layers of seals, specifically designed for enhanced acoustic performance or 3b. Use double-rebated (instead of single-rebated) frame

Tip 4. Specify upgraded sealants

One of the weakest areas exists between the frame and the wall. Upgrading sealants and using foam fillings within larger gaps will reduce the sound waves that penetrate this weak point, thereby improving your soundproofing.

Tip 5. Choose an asymmetric double-glazed unit rather than triple glazing

Triple glazing of a size appropriate for timber has little to no effect on sound reduction.

If improving your soundproofing is important in certain rooms, be sure to let us know so that we can source the best possible frame and glass solution for you. For most homes, the best option is a double-glazed unit with a 6.8mm outer pane, an acoustic PVB interlayer and a 4mm inner pane.

All of our approved timber window and door suppliers manufacture to a high level of security as standard. That said, you may feel that certain areas of your home – such as the rear or ground floor – are more vulnerable than others.

The standard features of our premium range include cross grain laminated timber (30% stronger than sawn timber), high-compression multipoint locking, hinge defender claws and 4mm annealed glass. These will prevent all but the most determined of intruders!

HEIGHTENED SECURITY TIPS

Tip 1. Install Laminated Glass

Perhaps surprisingly, the toughened safety glass that is required in doors and low-level glazing is not particularly secure. This is because it quietly disintegrates into harmless gravel size pieces when broken. Furthermore, once shattered – and unlike standard annealed glass which makes noise and leaves sharp shards around the edges – toughened glass will leave a large clean void which can leave you quite vulnerable.

Laminated glass (as used in jewellers’ display cabinets and banks), on the other hand, has an imperceptible PVB sheet sandwiched between the glass panes. This effectively makes it virtually impenetrable, even when shattered, so that even a hammer-wielding would-be intruder will be disappointed!

Tip 2. Secured by Design

Secured by Design is a police security initiative that works with our industry to set clear and certified security standards. Windows and doors can be presented to an examining centre for testing against forced entry. Here, examiners will use crowbars, screwdrivers and break-in tools to force entry. If they can’t do so within a certain time, the item is certified as Secured by Design.

Do you ever feel a chill next to certain windows and/or doors in your home? Even with basic A-rated double glazing, the inside pane temperature can reach as low as 5°C in the colder months – the same temperature as the walls in your fridge! Needless to say, this doesn’t need to be the case. Follow our top tips to reduce heat loss in your home.

Tip 1. Choose premium double glazing

To reduce heat loss, or U-value, building regulations now require all double-glazed windows to have an invisible low-emissivity (low-e) metallic coating on the inside of the internal pane. This reduces heat loss and simultaneously warms up the inner pane.

In the case of conservatories and aluminium door products, upgrades to the next generation of Four Seasons Glazing (double soft coat low-e coatings and heat reflective) are available. These prevent most of the heat escaping, all the while limiting solar penetration which makes temperature control much more manageable. This technology is known as Four Season Glazing (4S).

Tip 2. Preventing Air Leakage

Building and EU regulations now test and certify the amount of air leakage (also known as the L-Factor) on all windows installed in the UK. In short, you can avoid draughts by maintaining a 380° ‘fridge door’ seal on all window and door openings. Furthermore, by upgrading to dynamically stable frames that won’t twist or warp, you’ll achieve long-term draught-proof sealing for your new windows or doors.

On casement windows, you may want to consider multipoint locking and high-compression long-life hinges to help minimise air leakage. Period single-point cockspur handles with external butt hinges (as opposed to modern concealed friction hinges and multipoint locking) are generally not as effective at reducing draughts due to weaker sash compression against the frame.

Condensation on single or double glazing is essentially just warm moist air that condenses on the cold surface of your inner pane. Unfortunately, it can be unsightly as well as cause mould and damp if it runs onto the reveals and cills.

The trick to minimising condensation, assuming you have taken the obvious ventilation and moisture reduction precautions in your home, is to warm up the inner pane.

The four glass upgrades we specify for condensation-prone windows include:

Consideration

When the outside dew point drops at dawn, you will normally notice condensation on car windscreens and the grass outside. With premium glazing products, you may also see this dew condensing onto the exterior pane of your premium windows. This normally lasts about an hour, and happens because the outer pane is no longer warmed up by the heat escaping from your house – the colder temperature of the outer pane causes the dew in the air to condense onto it just as your car windscreen does.

A frame with three coats of paint should be painted every 2-5 years, however premium factory-finished joinery with three, four or more coats of microporous paint can be repainted after 7-12 years, depending on the timber type and exposure to
direct sunlight.

Contrary to popular belief, it’s not rain that deteriorates paint and rots timber – it’s mostly down to the sun’s UV rays, so your south-facing windows will require repainting more often than the north elevations. Follow our six top tips to reduce painting cycles.

Tip 1. Use Pigmented Factory-Sprayed Paint

Prevent the harmful UV rays from the sun degrading the lignin on timber surfaces by using heavily pigmented factory-sprayed paint. This acts like a sun screen and will protect the paint from air-borne pollutants and ultraviolet light.

Tip 2. Select Cross Grain Laminated Timbers

Select cross grain laminated timbers (or Accoya) rather than standard sawn softwoods and hardwoods. This will help to prevent the timber from expanding and contracting which, in turn, causes the paint to crack and peel.

Tip 3. Select a Quality Timber

Slow-grown redwoods or A-grade (no knots) seasoned hardwoods are less likely to degrade the paint from the inside out; this is due to minimal resin bleeds,
expansion and contraction.

Tip 4. Frame Design

The parts of the frames most susceptible to perishing can be protected during manufacture in a number of ways, some of which include using internal glazing beads, applying end-grain and joint sealants, and by avoiding sharp edges by rounding them off very slightly. Our approved joinery factories take all these factors into account.

Tip 5. Clean Frames Annually

Painted surfaces in London and surrounding towns wear down at approximately 50 microns per year, mainly due to the additional pollutants and dust in the atmosphere. An annual sponge down of your windows with a Teknos paint preserver solution added to warm water will clean and protect your timber – much like washing and waxing your car.

Tip 6. Use Microporous Paint

All of our approved manufacturers use factory-applied, high quality water-based microporous paint which allows the timber to breathe. It also has the benefit of not flaking in direct sunlight like oil-based paints.

Microporous paint is easy to apply and repaint as the timber does not require burning off the old paint, as is the case with oil based paints; the paint can be applied directly onto the old paint after a gentle rubbing down with wire wool with the sashes or casements in place; and when you do eventually repaint, they will look like new windows all over again.

Tip 7. Consider Accoya for longevity

Accoya or a quality seasoned hardwood will last 50 to 100 years if you plan to keep your property very long term.

Have you ever noticed that timber windows and doors fitted to new build properties often display peeling paint and grey perished wood beneath the paintwork? This is called greying, and can often be seen in new build properties as early as three or four years post-construction. If 19th and 20th century properties still have original windows and doors in place (looking fabulous with years of life ahead of them), why are these new build properties not following suit?

80% of the sliding sash windows in London, fitted in the 19th and 20th centuries, are produced from a combination of redwood frames and hardwood cills. This perfect partnership takes the dynamic stability of the Scandinavian redwood and the damp-resistant hardwood, resulting in a long-lasting solution to last generations.

Contrary to popular belief, timber rot is primarily caused by the sun’s UV radiation – not rain or damp. These harmful rays dry out the timber and cause the paint to perish over time.

Fortunately, there are a number of precautions you can take to extend the life and performance of your timber windows and doors. These are reflected in the top ten standards we specify from our approved manufacturers, and include:

South-facing rooms with large windows can become uncomfortably hot in direct sunlight. The same applies to south-facing conservatories and orangeries, particularly in the summer months. If your rooms overheat due to the windows letting in too much solar radiation, don’t worry. It is totally preventable, simply by using the latest generation of performance glass.

A range of anti-sun glass products are available (also known as Four Seasons Glass). These specially-coated glasses can be tinted or clear, and serve to keep you both cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

Tip. Avoid A-rated glass

In rooms where overheating is a problem, a standard A-rated high performance glass should be avoided. This is because the unit is designed specifically to let more solar radiation in by combining low iron (or UltraWhite) glass on the outside pane, and an underperforming low-e coating on the inner pane (a hard coat). This allows additional solar rays to penetrate through the glass and improve the solar gain (G-value).

The solution is to use single or double soft coat low-e glass, standard iron panes and heat reflective coatings, all of which can be combined into one unit to significantly reduce the heat from escaping.

There are around a dozen variations of A-rated double glazing. Their appearances are all quite similar but they perform completely differently from one another due to a variety of coatings and properties.

For example, double glazing units might be A-,B- or C-rated and any of these might incorporate security glazing, acoustic glazing, heat block glazing, heat gain glazing, anti UV glazing (to stop furniture fading), tinted glass (to reduce glare) or obscure glass (for privacy). All of these features can be combined, like pick’n’mix, into one
double-glazed unit.

Once you’ve given us a clear idea of what is important to you and the rooms you’re looking to glaze, we’ll happily advise and recommend the best glass for your windows, doors or conservatory.

Tip. Triple Glazing Probably Isn’t Worth it

Contrary to popular belief, triple glazing is only fractionally better for heat retention and no better for sound reduction, compared to double glazing. In fact, performance double-glazed units outperform triple glazing with only one exception. We do offer both, but we generally advise against triple glazing due to the additional weight and stress it causes to hinges.

It’s widely accepted in the industry that triple glazing is more of a sales gimmick than a performance glass.