Hey Jacqui (Ecoclassic),
I was also wondering how much extra double glazing would cost. Thanks for the info (and the discount offer). If I read everything correctly a 40 square house would normally cost about $10,000 in windows and changing these to double glazing would then make it $20,000 in windows. That is, an extra $10,000. Have I understood correctly?
It's a pity you're not in Sydney since it would be great to see what you offer. I'm after sleek aluminium double glazed low-e windows and a couple of sliding doors. I'm sure you would have exactly what I'm after.
Ideally the sliding doors would run on a sleek rail that is flush with the floor. We have exactly what I want in some conference rooms at work, but have not seen them at the Home Show or Home Ideas Centre. For my design the sliding doors would be 2 m across and part of a 4 m wide floor to ceiling opening to exploit the views. They are one floor up and would open onto a balcony.
You mention that double glazed windows "need to be awnings". Can you please explain what this means?
For the low-e coating, I've heard that some types of coating only last a few years before they start loosing their effectiveness while other types of coating will last over 100 years. Is this the case? If so, what should I be specifying?
I'd hate to have the low-e effectiveness fade as the years roll on.
Cheers,
Casa
WatchingStarredHistory
MembersPros
Browse Forums Windows & Doors  25 Oct 2005 380 Auckland, New Zealand Gold Member Re: Double Glazing 2Jun 01, 2007 10:18 pm Hi Casa2
sleek aluminium are usually not thermally broken and they do exactly the opposite of what you are trying to achive with the Low E glazing. The hardware that comes with aluminium joinery is usually of very low quality and I doubt that it will last that long under the weight of the double glazing. Tilt and turn windows are a far better choice than awning or casement windows plus the frames and the hardware for it are designed in Europe for thermal efficiency, security and for double glazing.  Re: Double Glazing 3Jun 02, 2007 2:20 pm Some points...
Low-E is a metallic coating and will last as long as the glass. Check the performance of your Low-E there is a lot of variation - the best name is not the best performing 
Aluminium alone - as windowexpert says - is not the best, and the thermally broken product has a heavy commercial look and is also quite expensive. The tilt & turn window has good hardware - but similar hardware is available (multipoint locking) in awning and casement styles. A flyscreen presents a challenge in the tilt & turn as you can only use roller types or face fitted (screwed on). A sliding door track needs to be able to drain the water away so it needs to be higher than the ground level outside, you can recess the slab but you cannot butt tiles or concrete directly up to the track as you must leave room for the water to drain. And I agree with windowexpert, most window suppliers would make single glazed windows so their designs and hardware are optimised for single glazed. Double glazed is heavier and needs good support and good hardware. The air gap in double glazed needs to be 12mm or thereabouts (10-14mm) as this is the optimum gap for energy efficiency - more is worse, less is worse. Most domestic manufacturers can't achieve this with their adapted single glazed product some only achieving 4mm gap! So check your gap
Windows are a good proportion of the money spent on a home, choose wisely They are the biggest influence on energy efficiency in a home and arguably the have the most influence in the appearance of your home.
Ed 19 Mar 2007 4,245 Sydney Gold Member Re: Double Glazing 4Jun 02, 2007 8:41 pm Windowexpert,
Surely someone makes sleek thermally broken aluminium windows. I would imagine that the thermal break would be between the two panes of glass and made of some insulating material (eg. uPVC). 12 mm of uPVC should give very good thermal insulation. Surely someone can create a sleek thermally broken windows. Ed, Although low-e is a metallic coating I’ve heard that if exposed to air some of these metallic coating oxidize and loose their efficiency. Not sure if this is false information or not. With regard to the sliding door, it is up one floor and opens onto a 3.2 m deep covered balcony. Can’t image the rain would get to the door. And the balcony slope would be away from the door. If the balcony covering was less then I’d go for some neat drainage next to the door as can be found at Stormtech (www.stormtech.com.au - look at their 64A grate, which I will be using in the shower. Very sleek). I agree that when it comes to windows it worth spending a bit extra to get the right product. All, Rather than specify thermally broken aluminium, air gaps etc, I’m going for a performance based measure. I’ve selected: 1) WERS NFRC Uw less than 3.0 W/m2.K and heating improvement of at least 35% 2) WERS NFRC SHGWw less than 0.6 (at least for south and west facing windows, which is where the view is) My design has 2 large 4 m wide floor-to-ceiling sliding door + several standard windows. The sliding doors face the views. I’m aiming for good thermal performance, but would not want to sacrifice looks for performance. I think I should be able to have both. Cheers, Casa Re: Double Glazing 5Jun 02, 2007 9:08 pm Hi Casa2,
Quote: Surely someone makes sleek thermally broken aluminium windows. I would imagine that the thermal break would be between the two panes of glass and made of some insulating material (eg. uPVC). 12 mm of uPVC should give very good thermal insulation. Surely someone can create a sleek thermally broken windows. The thermal break is two or more polyamide struts which joins the inside and outside extruded aluminium sections, not the glass - the bit between the glass is just to keep the glass apart and hold the dessicant it is usually aluminium but can be a platstic (warm edge technology). The whole section is quite thick and wide because that's the way the engineering is. The coating is a metal oxide and will last - the soft coatings which were used for both single and double glazed a few years ago were easily damaged and difficult to clean. Today Low-E is robust and lasts a lifetime. The gap is usually filled with air, buit sometimes argon gas and overseas occasionally krypton gas (expensive and only necessary in small gaps around 6mm). 100% agree with your goal - appearance is number 1 - and energy efficiency is number 1 
Ed Re: Double Glazing 8Jun 04, 2007 11:28 am I came across this website and thought that it might be useful.
http://www.wers.net/certifications.htm Could someone help me with reading the tables, in heating, if the number is negative, does that mean that it actually performs worse? 3xb Re: Double Glazing 9Jun 06, 2007 10:18 am  Casa2Hey Jacqui (Ecoclassic), I was also wondering how much extra double glazing would cost. Thanks for the info (and the discount offer). If I read everything correctly a 40 square house would normally cost about $10,000 in windows and changing these to double glazing would then make it $20,000 in windows. That is, an extra $10,000. Have I understood correctly? It's a pity you're not in Sydney since it would be great to see what you offer. I'm after sleek aluminium double glazed low-e windows and a couple of sliding doors. I'm sure you would have exactly what I'm after. Cheers, Casa Hi Casa Asking how much windows cost is like asking how much a car costs. It depends on many things. The example I used may well apply but it could be too low if you have heaps of windows or use casements, or too high if the number of windows was lower or you use sliders. Most builders use a low cost range of windows as they build to a price. But that's not to say their windows are worse than more expensive windows and it is not as simple as you get what you pay for. The difference between some expensive windows and the low cost windows is the price, look closely and it's often hard to see where there is any value added. Aluminium is around $3 per kilo but you can pay anywhere between $5,000 and $50,000 for the same house lot of windows. And PVC is around $2 per kilo but you can pay anywhere between $8,000 and $100,000 for the same house lot of windows. Check before you buy... check price and quality... there is not always a correlation! EcoClassic can beat any double glazed price in aluminium, uPVC and thermally broken aluminium, we deliver to Sydney and in fact anywhere in Australia. Thanks Jacqui "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 19 Mar 2007 4,245 Sydney Gold Member Re: Double Glazing 10Jun 06, 2007 1:41 pm EcoClassic Casa2Hey Jacqui (Ecoclassic), EcoClassic can beat any double glazed price in aluminium, uPVC and thermally broken aluminium, we deliver to Sydney and in fact anywhere in Australia. Thanks Jacqui Yes, but how do I get to touch and operate the windows? When is your're Sydney showroom opening? Re: Double Glazing 11Jun 06, 2007 2:35 pm Anyone come across these guys? They certainly have some of the highest ratings energy wise. Any idea of what their pricing is like?
http://www.paarhammer.com.au/home.html Ecoclassic, do you have something similar? 3xb Re: Double Glazing 12Jun 06, 2007 3:02 pm Casa2 EcoClassic Casa2Hey Jacqui (Ecoclassic), EcoClassic can beat any double glazed price in aluminium, uPVC and thermally broken aluminium, we deliver to Sydney and in fact anywhere in Australia. Thanks Jacqui Yes, but how do I get to touch and operate the windows? When is your're Sydney showroom opening? Hi Sorry no Sydney showroom yet - but it would be worth the airfair to visit our showroom in Melbourne... J "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: Double Glazing 13Jun 06, 2007 3:04 pm Casa2 EcoClassic Casa2Hey Jacqui (Ecoclassic), EcoClassic can beat any double glazed price in aluminium, uPVC and thermally broken aluminium, we deliver to Sydney and in fact anywhere in Australia. Thanks Jacqui Yes, but how do I get to touch and operate the windows? When is your're Sydney showroom opening? Sorry we have no showroom in Sydney yet - but it will be worth the airfare to visit us in Melbourne! Thanks J "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: Double Glazing 14Jun 06, 2007 3:13 pm  3timesbuildaAnyone come across these guys? They certainly have some of the highest ratings energy wise. Any idea of what their pricing is like? http://www.paarhammer.com.au/home.html Ecoclassic, do you have something similar? 3xb Hi Sorry we don't do triple glazing and we don't do timber windows. We only make double glazed windows in aluminium, thermallly broken aluminium and PVC - but we do have the German technology timber effect on our PVC windows, and we can supply tilt & turn windows. Thanks J "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: Double Glazing 15Jun 06, 2007 3:27 pm How about the thermal qualitys? Have you got anything that matches or is fairly close? What sort of rating have you been able to achieve with double glazing?
3xb 06 Jun 2007 14 Junior Member 25 Oct 2005 380 Auckland, New Zealand Gold Member Re: Double Glazing 17Jun 06, 2007 4:50 pm Hi EcoClassic
which brand of PVC extrusion do you use and where does it come from ?? Re: Double Glazing 18Jun 09, 2007 1:26 pm Comfort SmartHey Jacqui Are you a member of the Australian Window Association? Are your windows tested in Australia? Are your windows Australian made? How long have you been around? Are your Windows rated in the WERS scheme? thanks for the info Comfort Smart You would know that it is proprietary information and as such I am sorry but I cannot give it to a competitor. But anyone who is not associated with Comfort Smart (and sorry this goes for any newbies for a short time) can PM me and get that answer. Thanks J Comfort Smart is the registered business name of... pause.... A&L Windows http://www.alwindows.com.au/energyrating.htm Name COMFORT SMART Date Business Commenced Jan 6 2003 Renewal Date Jan 15 2009 Business Status REGISTERED Registered Office Address (Current): 20 APOLLO DR HALLAM VIC 3803 Start Date: Jan 15 2003 Corporations(s) Carrying on Business (Current) A & L WINDOWS PTY LTD Registration Number: 064 692 888 Type: OWNER Class: Address: 20 APOLLO DR HALLAM VIC 3803 "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: Double Glazing 20Jun 09, 2007 1:36 pm Comfort SmartEdward - Eco Classic / Eco Climate I will take that as a no to all my questions thanks Comfortsmart PS- for my renovation i will deal with a member of the AWA - Be careful... you can be traced!!! "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 In Australia, acoustic performance is most often not stated. We have acoustically (physically) tested our windows with DGUs and the results have been quite… 12 8013  What are the u-values of your double glazed windows? There can be very poor double glazed windows. You should be aiming for a u value at least under 3 (ideally around… 3 4789 DIY, Home Maintenance & Repair You could use thermal imaging camera to detect water pipes. You should be able to get a low end version of it for around $250 from AliExpress. 2 5754 |
