PVC OR ALUMINIUM?
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PVC OR ALUMINIUM?
Crystal Windows, Doors, Conservatories and Glass Curtains
Crystal Windows Technical Information will help you decide on what type of products are available and which profiles have the best properties for your projects.
PVC
PVC window profiles have many significant advantages
- PVC has super insulation qualities, which is ideal for the Spanish winter climate.
- People in Europe are used to the look and feel of PVC because it has been used for many years.
On the down side PVC window sections can be bulky compared to slimmer, inherently stronger aluminium profiles, especially in certain situations such as bay windows, or sliding windows within arches for example, where the combination of profiles can become much more obtrusive in PVC.
WE USE ONLY THE DECEUNINCK RANGE OF PVC PRODUCTS
- Will not Fade
- Will not Yellow
- Will not Deteriorate
- Will not Expand or cause difficulty in opening and locking
It is made for the Spanish climate and as with all Crystal Windows products, is guaranteed for ten years.
WE choose Deceuninck over all other leading PVC profiles such as Rehau, Veita, Shuko, Weru etc, because, while at such levels of international competition all of these companies deliver a technically excellent product, Deceuninck offer a suite of profiles for windows and doors which are uniquely elegant, with a moulded contour in the section which both enhances their looks and matches the classic look of traditional Spanish windows and doors.
Within Deceuninck´s range there is still the option of an ultra modern style of windows and doors.
All PVC windows and doors are fully reinforced using the correct Deceuninck sections, correctly positioned to give maximum strength and allowing all hinges and locks to be directly fixed to the reinforcement (this is not always the case with inferior products) and is essential to providing a full 10 year operating guarantee.
EUROPEAN STANDARDS
ALUMINIUM
Aluminium window sections are slimmer and inherently stronger than PVC profiles, especially in certain situations such as bay windows, or sliding windows within arches for example, where the combination of profiles can become much more obtrusive in PVC.
Aluminium is the ideal material for conservatory construction, where slimmer profiles give maximum light and view.
Aluminium is extruded at high temperature then coated and oven backed (polyurethane in the case of woodgrain finishes).
All profiles used by Crystal attain the industry’s highest standard and all the suppliers used carry AENOR National Registration of Quality and Organisation.
- Most other profiles are baked to reach 210°C at which powder polyester forms a coating. All Crystal profiles are maintained at a minimum of 210°C for a minimum of 25 minutes to guarantee long term bonding and hardening of the coating. Inferior baking can be noted in all windows that after a year or so do not clean back to white easily. They become grubby like PVC profiles do with age.
- Conventional profiles have in the past been attacked and degraded in warm, moist, salty climates such as that of the Costa Blanca. In response, Crystal profiles are cadmium coated prior to lacquering which absolutely guarantees weather stability of the profile and its coating in such testing conditions.
- Costs involved in treating residues from lacquering plants are more than double in the case of cadmium coating, but it is considered that the long term benefits far outweigh the initial higher costs, an approach consistent with Crystal’s policy of quality and long term value for money
All woodgrain finish aluminium used by Crystal Windows is polyurethane coated rather than polyester. Polyurethane is better suited to acquiring wood grain finishes and allows longer baking of finish at higher temperatures, producing a deeper wood grain effect which is guaranteed for 10 years.
Other profiles which use polyester wood grain finish have had, in some cases, the problem of fading caused by sunshine. In white and colour finishes polyester is the better suited material and amply achieves the temperature/baking required for those finishes
FABRICATION SIZES
We fabricate 2 ranges for opening windows and doors – standard 40mm and System 7.
For sliding windows and doors we have a standard 70mm system with double glazing units of 20mm.
For larger units or as an upgrade we have the S100- a 100mm system which can carry sliding leaves of 160kg and units up to 3000mm tall!