5 minute read
Cold Calling
SCHÜCO LAUNCHES NEXT GENERATION ADS 65 HD DOOR SYSTEM
Schüco has released a new generation of its tried-and-tested ADS 65 HD door system for entrances and exits subject to heavy use in residential and commercial buildings.
The second generation of the aluminium door system combines increased weathertightness and thermal insulation with complete ease of operation and high stability. Its compatibility with the Schüco modular system, and its different fitting options, offers flexibility in terms of application and design for both newbuilds and renovation projects. Thanks to its new centre gasket system and large insulation chambers, the Schüco ADS 65 HD Gen2 can achieve watertightness to Class 7A, air permeability to Class 4 and wind load resistance to Class C2. Its U-value has been reduced from 2.2 in the previous model to 1.4 W/(m2K) ensuring the door system is compliant with the new Part L building regulations due to come into force in June 2022. The ADS 65 HD Gen2 door system also benefits from a barrier-free level threshold with surface water drainage providing tripfree access. Smart building components, such as Schüco Fingerprint Easy and fully automated electric locks, can also be integrated into the profile system. In terms of fabrication and installation, no new machinery or training is required. The upgraded door system follows virtually the same process as the first-generation door enabling easy, economical fabrication and fast installation.
For more information, visit https://bit.ly/3AAzbsY
DANNY WILLIAMS ‘COLD CALLING’
Each month our special correspondent Danny Williams* replies to a reader’s letter...
JC South London
Our focus as an industry is primarily on Approved Document L ‘Conservation of Fuel and Power’ which in the context of our industry determines the energy efficiency – through U values - of the windows, doors and other fenestrationrelated products that may be installed in new and existing properties.
We have waited a long time for this and if you were waiting for something radical to happen, it hasn’t. From your point of view JC, if you buy your windows and doors from a decent fabricator (we just happen to serve your area!) then you should not have to worry about the compliance of the products under the Building Regs. As far as the new numbers go, we (and most other frame makers) will already be making frames to the new minimum performance figures, which call for a dip from 1.6 W/m2K, to 1.4 W/m2K. And whilst I know that the new regs were developed before the huge increases in energy costs that we are all experiencing, the point was to reduce the amount of energy used, irrespective of cost. The figures for new build require a dip from 1.4 W/m2K to 1.2 W/m2K; and as most fabricators will also manufacture windows for the new build sector and have to achieve this, why not apply it to home improvements as well? To say that it’s a wasted opportunity is an understatement. But, as far as window and door performance goes JC, don’t worry, we – and whoever supplies you – have got this covered.
HAVING SAID THAT…
…I see trouble ahead. There is a storm brewing regarding another part of the revised Building Regs. ‘Part F – Ventilation’ is currently causing many in the industry to, erm, hyperventilate, as it imposes changes in the installation of ‘background ventilation’ - trickle vents to you and me - that many in the industry are saying homeowners will not want and actually technically, are counter intuitive to the advances in Part L.
And so strong is the feeling that many of the Big Names are talking about boycotting the compulsory installation of trickle vents as they say homeowners will not buy windows and doors with them fitted, mostly because they look rubbish. The key issue however, is that by compulsorily cutting a hole in the frame, we are of course letting cold air in. Not to say, noise and dirt too.
The mandated inclusion of tickle vents is intended to provide ventilation in a house, as we continue to insulate them and seal up all the holes and gaps for the sake of comfort and energy efficiency. But to take a broad-brush approach by insisting on the inclusion of trickle vents in all replaced windows, does seem like a step too far. Some research carried early in 2021 actually suggests that the vast majority of homeowners object to trickle vents on replacement windows, with more than 80% of installers saying they will lose work if they become mandatory. Really? I wonder how many homeowners were actually asked? Rather, I suspect that the figure was arrived at by installers simply making assumptions, because it all sounds a tad hysterical to me. But that is not to say that I believe a blanket inclusion of trickle vents is the right answer either. Whilst appropriate ventilation in new properties can be regulated by taking a balanced approach that considers the whole house, to have a ‘one size fits all’ rule for windows being replaced in houses that might range from a hundred years old to those built in the ‘Nineties, is patently silly. That is the issue and I do not believe there is a simple solution to the problem, other than to allow the homeowner to regulate according to their specific and personal needs. This kerfuffle is all a bit overblown, especially when I remember back to the early ‘Noughties when it was first mooted that home improvement replacement windows would be included in the Building Regulations for the first time. Back then, this was going to bring about an end to the industry. And when it was was passed and quite rightly too, with our sector regulated for the very first time, it all passed without a murmur. And since then of course, we have gone from strength to strength. The representatives of our wonderful industry will, no doubt, make full representations on behalf of us all and do their best to find a balanced solution to the problem. But let’s not get carried away in the meantime, eh?
The upshot JC, is that us fabricators have got your back, OK?
