Also look at the main page for Timber Windows, titled: ‘Timber Fantastic’.
High Quality Finish
In years gone by the timber used for windows and doors would be dried the appropriate length of time and frame cills would be of oak. These would of course have the correct layers of paint and you would not be surprised to see those same frames in their original openings 100-years later!
A lot of rubbish timber windows have been produced over the last 40-years, due mainly to the demand generated by the birth of the double glazing companies. However, that trend is receding and quality double glazed timber products are now being produced and designed for the British market.
Earlier products could be made using slimmer sections than we need today. Glass was single glazed, thin and held in-place with putty. Those early products could not hold the weight of the modern double glazed unit. Frames now need to be larger and for good security and longevity; glazed from inside.
Unlike steel, aluminium and plastic you cannot deliver timber products to site without them being pre-glazed in factory conditions. There is a skill and patience required to glaze timber frames and it is best achieved on a bench. This glazing method adds weight to the window and requires removable sashes to aid fitting. However, these removable (dummy) sashes add to the aesthetics of the final window and brings back the traditional appearance lost when double glazing salesmen had targets to achieve.
What makes a superior timber frame? I’ll tell you. A window frame that includes:
- Cross grained engineered timber.
- A pre-treatment and three coats of finish with hand rub-downs in-between each coat.
- A glass unit that is bonded to the frame in the factory with a colour matched silicone line.
- Following ‘3’, this allows absolutely, no water to enter the system.*
- Following ‘3 & 4’, the glazing beads must be inside or water will eventually penetrate behind the bead.
- Internal beads offer the best security.
*Salesmen will say ‘we have a drained system’ this means they allow water in and let it run out. Well, plastic, aluminium and steel are all drained systems, water runs-off those materials, it doesn’t run off timber. Some of the water will drain away and an amount will soak into the frame and be trapped!
The purpose of a window is to provide light and ventilation into a building. Glass has to be fixed into a frame. Early frames were steel and timber and latterly aluminium and plastic. These frames have been developed to take double glazed units and sophisticated locking systems producing a finished product that is elegant, practical and efficient at keeping heat in and the cold and rain out.The Frame options?
