Browse Forums Windows & Doors 1 May 23, 2017 10:47 am Hi, We are considering Dowell Thermaline for som windows and large sliding doors. The spec's on the wers site look very good and we are hoping the quality may be better than the standard dowell double glazed. Has anyone had experience with Dowell Thermaline who can comment on the quality? Thanks Re: Dowell Thermaline - any good? 3May 23, 2017 2:39 pm Extension101 Hi, We are considering Dowell Thermaline for som windows and large sliding doors. The spec's on the wers site look very good and we are hoping the quality may be better than the standard dowell double glazed. Has anyone had experience with Dowell Thermaline who can comment on the quality? Thanks Thank you Joker... Extension 101... can I know the thinking behind Tnhermaline in "some windows and large sliding doors"? Thermally broken windows are about low heat transfer through the aluminium, so rather than have 50% say thermally broken and the remainder non-broken, why not just have one style of window which performs really well and is generally cheaper - or go the full Thermaline? As for the sliding door, the benefit in thermally broken will be bigger in smaller products because the ratio of aluminium to glass is greater. Quality - check out the showroom windows, give them a good rattle and shake. Ask for the wind rating, this indicates strength. Ask if you can see some houses they have supplied. Design - look around at alternatives. Let me know what you think... Ed "ECOECO" At 'EcoEco', we design windows, we design the best windows, we do it for you, so that when you’re happy we are happy. Tel. 1800 326 326 Re: Dowell Thermaline - any good? 4May 23, 2017 7:11 pm Thanks Joker and Ed. The window/doors (about 11 sq/m, mostly the double sliding doors to north) are for a one room addition on the northern side of the house. We would certainly be doing them all to the same style, and with low-e. Dowell have some very slick and detailed material about thermaline that suggests they perform well, but I have found no real world experiences documented on-line about build quality. I've heard a bit of anecdotal negativity about dowell locally but not for thermaline specifically. We will certainly check them out in a showroom as well. Thanks Re: Dowell Thermaline - any good? 5May 23, 2017 7:56 pm To put it into proportion... Single glazing to double glazing with low-e is a 55% reduction in energy loss. Dowell Thermaline gives a further 10% improvement... "ECOECO" At 'EcoEco', we design windows, we design the best windows, we do it for you, so that when you’re happy we are happy. Tel. 1800 326 326 Re: Dowell Thermaline - any good? 6May 24, 2017 2:21 pm Thanks Ed, putting it into proportion like that is certainly helping me to re-think this! The remainder of our brick veneer house still has the original sliding aluminium windows, albeit covered with honeycomb blinds. We can't afford to double glaze all our existing windows, but the money saved by not using thermaline could perhaps be better used towards double glazing the remaining three windows on the north of the house - bathroom, toilet and bedroom totalling 4sq/m. Obviously would be better to target south but that would cost a lot more and don't want a different mix of windows on same side of house, especially given street faces south of house. We don't have any east or west windows (except some easterly on the extension). Re: Dowell Thermaline - any good? 9May 04, 2018 8:24 pm Have bought for my build... they are sitting on the ground so have not experienced yet. However they were best bang for buck in regards to efficiency. Thermaline definitely worthwhile in cold climate where condensation a problem, I know people without thermally broken but do have double glazing that get a bunch of condensation on the frames. Its cheapest in sliding form but you should consider air infiltration (shows as AI on their ratings), they can lose a lot of heat through air loss compared to awning or fixed options. Consider low-e for large and south facing windows... The quality seems pretty good, despite being on the ground for 7 months mine appear to be in fine condition and finish seems good. They are not super high quality euro style though - you'll pay a lot more for them. Re: Dowell Thermaline - any good? 11Oct 11, 2018 8:38 am Still have not moved in, not been a great build if I'm honest (not great = horrible and over contract). I'm still sold on the window choice though. I intend on doing some non scientific testing on them after we move in (god knows when), then I can provide some feedback. 7 of the windows are nice and new since they got stolen, I'm sure the thief could give us a decent review by now. Re: Dowell Thermaline - any good? 12Oct 11, 2018 8:48 am Aitch Still have not moved in, not been a great build if I'm honest (not great = horrible and over contract). I'm still sold on the window choice though. I intend on doing some non scientific testing on them after we move in (god knows when), then I can provide some feedback. 7 of the windows are nice and new since they got stolen, I'm sure the thief could give us a decent review by now. Sorry to hear that. Hopefully it will all work out in the end. Re: Dowell Thermaline - any good? 14Jan 21, 2019 12:33 pm Hi Thurlo86, Moved in 4 weeks ago, windows are not too bad, an obvious upgrade from single glazed, its difficult to say too much not being in for the too long and expect to see a more major difference in winter. Thanks for reminding me, I will hit up the inside and outside temperatures with an infra temp gauge, i can compare with the garage windows on the same face which have the single glazing option. Standing near the windows you can still feel the heat from outside just not as profoundly, it is obvious a window will always be the weak spot so planning orientation, size and placement etc are probably the most important factors if your building. Air infiltration is good, we do have one of the sliders in a toilet and the awning windows are definitely better when the wind is howling (not important in a toilet generally). I will say so far from an aesthetic and usability perspective: - The windows look ok in general, the outside frame is not as big as i thought it might have been, but the breakers on the fixed windows are wider than i had hoped probably close to 10 cm wide. Window pane sizes on fixed are much smaller on thermaline than standard double or single too, so hard to avoid. - Consistency of winders is non existent, there are 3 different winders on the awnings through the house - One of these is not great, the knob pulls off way too easily when trying to wind it (meant to pull out so you can tuck it away from blinds) - Unfortunately the builder has scratched many of the panes and the frames and left overspray and clay in hard to reach spots, not sure what they plan to do about that, i'm guessing not much, dowell have said it is their fault, not manufacturer problem. - Doors are heavy but feel and look good (handle is a little loose already though - again could be builder issue). - Finish is only medium, but again hard to know when the builder has treated poorly (many rubbers have been replaced etc so its hard to know if they would have lined up perfectly from the factory). I feel like if I had known these things I might have bought a different brand or tried to talk direct with Dowell and modify the windows to get better consistency etc, although I'm happy enough or would be if they were in new condition. Anyway enough rambling, let me know i you have specific questions and i'll try to get some stats and pics in the coming week. Re: Dowell Thermaline - any good? 15Sep 26, 2020 9:39 am Hi all, Can anyone give me a percent cost increase to go from double glazed to the thermaline windows? I am trying to figure out if we can afford them on a rough scale. We got quoted 6k to upgrade all windows from single to double from our builder but they can't estimate thermaline windows without talking to dowell first and we have been waiting for ages. I know it will be fairly variable depending on window side etc but I just want to get a feel for if it's another $1000 or 5000. Re: Dowell Thermaline - any good? 16Sep 26, 2020 11:47 am I got a rough idea from my builder when I was trying to get the house over 7 star rating. To upgrade for all doors and windows from single to double was $8.5k, this one I went with. Then to go from double to double thermally broken was another $15k (they didn't mention thermaline specifically, but I am using Dowel for doors/windows). The difference in the performance figures from double to double thermally broken was small considering the mammoth cost, so I declined. Re: Dowell Thermaline - any good? 17Sep 26, 2020 5:42 pm Callifo I got a rough idea from my builder when I was trying to get the house over 7 star rating. To upgrade for all doors and windows from single to double was $8.5k, this one I went with. Then to go from double to double thermally broken was another $15k (they didn't mention thermaline specifically, but I am using Dowel for doors/windows). The difference in the performance figures from double to double thermally broken was small considering the mammoth cost, so I declined. What is the total glazing area? Re: Dowell Thermaline - any good? 19Sep 26, 2020 6:25 pm Callifo I didnt post as I wasn't sure, never worked it out. Now that I have, and assuming I've done it right, it is ~32m2. Okay, so this is roughly $730 per sqm of glazing to upgrade from single glazed to thermally broken double glazed. To compare, my house total glazing area is 51 sqm: windows + 2 sliders (including one 5.6 m 2.4 lift and slide door) + 1 french door and 1 fully glazed laundry door. Those are going to cost me around $70K inc. GST total (supplied). Argon filled triple glazing in 93 mm European profile with Low E glass for West and North facing windows, U values ranging between 0.5 and 0.7 (U value of 0.5 corresponds to R value of 2.0). This is roughly $1370 per sqm of glazing. Re: Dowell Thermaline - any good? 20Oct 22, 2020 12:58 pm Callifo I got a rough idea from my builder when I was trying to get the house over 7 star rating. To upgrade for all doors and windows from single to double was $8.5k, this one I went with. Then to go from double to double thermally broken was another $15k (they didn't mention thermaline specifically, but I am using Dowel for doors/windows). The difference in the performance figures from double to double thermally broken was small considering the mammoth cost, so I declined. Wow. I didn't realise it would cost so much to upgrade! Thank you for sharing @Callifo it is really useful to have a rough guide when making these choices. Countrybuilds Victoria 9 24643 Thank you. Do I use timber floorboards for stairs or do people use timber treads? Or is both the same? 6 7253 Hi, I have had them in the past and the pros are: Versatile, i.e many different colours and styles to choose… 1 6850 |