Windows

Wooden Window/ Wood-Aluminium Window

 

Wood is an amazing thermal and acoustic insulator and it has always been utilized to build and realize windows and shutters. Its aesthetic beauty depends on the quality of the wood used and may vary considerably and affect in a determining way the price of the window, from an essence to the other and the various finishes. Wooden windows can be painted with different techniques: colored covering lacquer, open pore lacquer that lets see the underlying grain or to keep the natural aspect of the wood, transparent varnishes are generally applied. Wooden windows are very resistant and precious, but if not subject to treatments and special and high quality varnishing cycles they need care and maintenance based on their exposure to the sun and weather conditions they are subject to, so they need to be treated and repainted each few years.


Does wood get spoiled?


 

We can say that wood is not the same of long ago. Evolution has indeed brought the use of lamellar wood, artificially dried, that doesn’t deform over time. The particular geometries of windows profiles are studied to avoid humidity stagnation and the new water varnishes can, if they are high quality, reach without a problem 15 years without particular maintenance.

 

Does wood “move” too much?

 

The usage of lamellar and multilayer techniques enables to realize extremely stable structures, sometimes with dilations inferior to PVC or aluminum.


Is wood too expensive?

 

Common belief between people but not true. If you consider sections, glazing, accessories and technical performances, a good wooden window costs more or less the same as a good PVC one.

 

Does wood isolate more?

 

If you consider thickness, the best thermal transmittance performances and thus  insulation are there with: 1st multi-chamber PVC, 2nd “tender” wood, 3rd “hard” wood, 4th thermal break aluminium, 5th aluminium without thermal break.


Is wood rainproof?

 

A construction made with quality wood, realized with appropriate techniques and protective measures, has no problem with rain exposure or humidity. The natural agent that tests wood more than anything is rather the sun, but nowadays there are really good water-based products able to maintain durability and maintenance.

 

Is the ideal window in wood/aluminium?

 

They wood/aluminium system is still being realized by specialized companies with experience in the sector concerned, never handcrafted, for the safety of the final product. The use of different and coupled materials, like wood + aluminium or PVC + aluminium or lately PVC + wood. That’s why, for example, the union between a nice and warm material like wood on the inside and a big durability aluminium on the outside, can lead to the best result reachable in terms of aesthetic, functionality and durability over the years.


PVC windows or PVC-aluminium windows

 

 

PVC or polyvinyl chloride, is a thermoplastic polymer that if heated to 200° becomes viscous and gets extruded into different profiles that once cooled off will be cut and welded together to produce windows and doors with very high insulating properties and of great aesthetics. PVC is a great thermal and acoustic insulator and it’s weatherproof. Low thermal conductivity ensures a total insulation from frost, snow, water and wind. PVC is also a real barrier against sea salt (which on  the contrary damages aluminium windows) and weather (acid rain, pollution).

Il PVC è un ottimo isolante termico e acustico, ed è resistente alle intemperie. PVC windows don’t need any maintenance over time, they have advantageous costs and cleaning can be performed easily with neutral detergents and aqueous solutions.


 

Does PVC harden over time?

 

PVC windows are being built, in Europe, for more than 35 years and leader companies in the productions of window profiles, mainly German, which are always at the forefront of research and product reliability. If this were not the case it wouldn’t explain the success PVC has been having in recent years in both the Italian and the European market.

 

Is PVS more “ecological” than wood?

 

The majority of wooden windows is produced with materials from certified forests. PVC still remains a petroleum derivative.

 

Does PVC release harmful fumes inside the house?

 

Once placed it doesn’t present any risk compared to maybe other household plastic effects we are surrounded by.

 

Is aluminium the best material?

 

In terms of thermal transmittance, aluminium, being an excellent conductor, is the worst material regarding warmth and cold insulation. Only in a layered composition done with “thermal cut”, therefore with the internal interposition of another insulating material, it becomes more performing, at the expense of high costs.

 

Does PVC isolate more?

 

If you consider thickness, the best thermal transmittance performances and thus  insulation are there with: 1st multi-chamber PVC, 2nd “tender” wood, 3rd “hard” wood, 4th thermal break aluminium, 5th aluminium without thermal break.


Is PVC recyclable?

 

All materials at the end of their life-cycle, estimated in 30/40 years can, with appropriate technologies, be recycled and recovered for other purposes.


Do PVC windows not need maintenance?

 

A minimum of maintenance is indispensable for all the surrounding durable goods, to guarantee functionality and performance over time. Like we do maintenance for our car, boiler, air conditioner, bicycle and our little house in the garden, we should dedicate a minimum of attention and care for our windows, moreover with really low costs. Anyway, any of our European PVC producers don’t go beyond 15 years of warranty on their products, like the best water-based paints mentioned earlier.