If you have a period or historic UK home, it’s comprised of wood, no doubt. And if you have contemplated replacement windows, you’ve undoubtedly cast your eyes upon cheaper alternatives, including PVC windows. Let’s explore the reasons why wooden windows are the most suitable choice.
Wood Types Available for Timber Replacement Windows
To make an informed decision about wood windows for your house, you must first understand that two types of wood exist: softwood and hardwood. Some instances of softwood include pine, spruce, and cedar. Builders frequently use these softwoods—they’re inexpensive and not hard to find anywhere. On the other hand, angiosperms, better known as hardwood, is deciduous (or shed their foliage in the autumn). Different kinds of hardwood include maple, oak, mahogany, and birch.]
Environmental Concerns
First and foremost, quality timber windows should have an energy-saving design that’s environmentally sound. For example, if the panes are double-glazed, it’s better to fill the space between them with argon gas rather than air. The glass itself should be low E, which means that it has an ultra-thin metallic coating that reflects heated or cooled air back to its source, rather than allowing it to dissipate. Look for windows with a low u-value. U-value measures how much heat will escape through a material. In other words, the higher the U-value, the poorer an insulator a material is. Single glazed windows have a U-value that approaches 6.0 while double glazed windows have a U-value of about 3.0. In addition, some timber windows and doors receive accreditation from the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and may be endorsed by organizations like Green Peace and/or the World Wildlife Fund.
More Beneficial Features of Wooden Windows
As a building material, wood has one of the lowest “embedded energy” values. In short, the energy consumed to produce and distribute wood is much less than either PVC or aluminum. 3 sash windows, casement windows, bow windows and bay windows.
Even More Tidbits About Wood Utilized in UK Timber Windows
For those with environmental concerns about installing timber windows and doors, the fact is that the UK imports 85% of its wood from countries who have government regulated forest management programs. Forestry and related industries employ about 45,000 persons in the UK and Britain’s forests supply about 20% of the wood that’s required for domestic use. Canada, a major UK trading partner, plants 2 trees for every 1 that it harvests.
The choice seems so clear: get those timber windows inside your UK house, as more wood than not originates from areas that make forest management a top priority. Error! Bookmark not defined.
Look for Accreditation
Many manufacturers of timber frame windows subscribe to trade associations and independent entities that test and certify their products. An example would be the TRADA Q-Mark High Performance Timber Window Scheme. In order to earn a TRADA Q-Mark certification, a window product undergoes stringent testing on an annual basis. There’s even a certification for window manufacturing plants available under ISO9001:2001. So, when considering a specific brand of uk timber windows, be sure to ascertain that they carry these or other certifications or accreditations.