Category Archives : Installation

The Importance Double Glazing in Good Window Design

Well designed energy efficient windows can drastically reduce your home's heat loss.

Energy Efficient Windows

 

Good Window Design & The Importance of Double Glazing

 

Is Double Glazing Worth The Money?

Simone Schenkel- Melbourne Sustainable Architect discusses energy-efficient window design.

Simone Schenkel of Gruen Eco Design

IS double glazing worth the money you invest? The answer is YES, but ONLY if it is installed correctly, without a cold bridge (thermal bridge). A window or a door is essentially a hole in the wall and responsible for most of the unwanted heat loss or gain.

Windows are essential for a house and the comfort and well-being of its inhabitants, as they let natural light and fresh air into the building and enable views. Appropriate window design, size, location and glazing treatment, combined with shading and internal covers, can significantly reduce the energy required for heating and cooling. Maximum solar access for north-facing windows can reduce winter heating bills up to 25%. External shading can block up to 80% of summer heat gain through windows. Double glazing and internal coverings can reduce heat loss in winter up to 40%.

Glass is the potential weak point of a building in terms of energy efficiency. A single glazed window can gain or lose up to ten times more heat than an insulated wall.

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Installing Double Glazing Videos

Tips for a good double glazing installation.

Installing Double Glazing Videos Released.

How important is the quality of the double glazing installation for your home? It’s incredibly important.

When you’re installing double glazing, you’re making a serious financial investment, to achieve a whole host of positive outcomes.

Hopefully, you’ve spent a lot of time researching your needs and your priorities, and have selected window designs that will work for you.

Hopefully, you’ve carefully chosen a good company to deal with, chosen quality products, and got a fair price for the double glazed windows and doors you’re buying.

So, all that guarantees a happy ending, doesn’t it? Well, no. There’s one more, vital step. Installation.

Installing double glazing  needs to be done very well. or the benefits you’ve paid for are diminished. The extremes of temperature still creep in- the cold air still comes in, and the warm air still leaks out. The annoying exterior noise still gets through. The heating and cooling bills don’t drop as much as they should. Australian Standards may not be met. It’s for these reasons that the Australian Windows Association produce a number of publications on Installing Double Glazing. Now, they’ve gone nine steps further, and produced a series of videos on installing double glazed windows and doors, in a variety of construction types. Members of the double glazing industry should watch them, to better serve their customers. Customers who want to be aware of the standards their installers should be following, should watch them, too.

To watch the nine ‘installing double glazing’ videos, click here.

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Leading Architect Champions Double Glazing

Melbourne architect recommends double glazing with uPVC framing.

Leading Melbourne Architect Recommends Double Glazing

 

Rebecca Naughti recommends double glazing.Best of Houzz award-winning Architect, Rebecca Naughtin, runs Rebecca Naughtin Architect– a small boutique practice that specialises in residential projects in Melbourne.

I came across her work by following up an article she authored for Houzz,  Renovating on a Budget: How Get More From Your Windows For Less.

What struck me was that, even though she was talking about working to a budget, she believed that double glazing was the best choice. In the article, Rebecca advises…

Don’t dismiss double glazing as an option
Most of the cold and heat enters through windows so double glazing has been installed in these aluminium-framed windows. They look smart, contemporary and the double glazing does not compromise the frame structure which is lighter than a timber frame. Double glazing should be considered for all projects; you may be shocked by how economical it can be and it provides a very comfortable environment.

In the article, she went on to discuss her preference in framing material…

Consider long-term maintenance costs
uPVC windows are relatively new in Australia, however they are incredibly durable, low maintenance and can resist wind, rain, corrosion, peeling and chipping. Something to consider for ongoing costs of your renovation.

More and more architects are recommending double glazing to their clients, with many good reasons!

 

 

 

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Double Glazing Installation Service

Tips for a good double glazing installation.
Top Ten Tips For Professional Double Glazing Installations

The following article was published by the UK’s Double Glazing Blogger. Having been involved in Sales, Service and Installation of a variety of products for over 50 years, I have a pretty good idea of the sort of service a customer should expect, and is necessary to produce happy customers, referrals, testimonials, and a growing business. His post rings true, and directly addresses double glazing installations, so I’m going to reproduce it, unedited. Here goes…

The world of a window and door installation company continues to become more challenging year after year. With more and more products becoming available from existing and new fabricators, and home owners becoming more well informed and demanding, here are my top ten tips for installers when dealing with home owners.

 

1. Stick to agreed times

During your interactions with the customer, be it on a first visit, or to the fitters coming to install products sold, stick to your times as much as you can.

If you say your sales person will be there at 10am on Tuesday morning, then make sure they turn up bang on 10am on that day. Remember that those home owners have probably arranged their days errands around that visit, and being late for that appointment could mess up their whole day. And what would be the chances of landing a sale if you mucked all that up?

 

2. Put all quotes in writing

This might sound too simple to even be included on this list, but during my visits to home owners every day, I continue to get stories of companies scribbling down a price on a scrap of paper, on the assumption that this in fact is a quote.

Clearly it’s not. Make sure to put all quotes to customer in writing, and have them as detailed as possible. The clearer you make your contracts, the better you as the installation company cover your own back, and will ensure that the home owner is crystal clear as to what they are getting.

 

3. Details count

Got a potential customer coming to see you in the showroom? Then it’s the little details that count. Offering of drinks is a must, tea or coffee as a minimum. Even have some small treats spread about. We have a bowl of small chocolates on our front desk and they’re the most popular thing with customers in our office!

Be sure to display written literature in your office. It’s relevant to the customer and becomes just another way to show off your product portfolio. Customer testimonials are also handy to have within reach. Potential clients always like to read what others have said about you. If they’re positive, they can quietly convince others to go ahead with you.

 

4. Being tidy works wonders

Again, this may seem an obvious one, but there remains plenty of window and door installers who fail to take care whilst working inside a customer’s home.

If you’re in their property, it really does help to keep things as tidy and clean as possible either after each days work, or at the end of the project if it’s a days work. Home owners in the main do expect some degree of mess, but if they find that the installers have done their cleaning for them, it really does leave them with a nice novel and surprised feeling.

 

5. Sort remedial work out quickly

The practical of us will understand that we don’t live in a perfect world. No matter how much we try, mistakes, be it the fault of the installer or not, will always happen. But, what is important here is that if any issues do occur, be it during or after the installation, they are solved as soon as possible.

Part of the reason why our industry has got such a stained reputation is due to the companies who after finishing their work, fail to come back to the home owner should they encounter a problem with their products. It’s a very frustrating feeling for the client, and does nothing for the reputation of the industry.

 

6. Communicate effectively

The process of purchasing new windows and doors is one that takes weeks, not days, so it’s important that an installer remains in regular contact with the home owner. Even if it’s just a call to say there’s nothing new, but that they’ve not been forgotten about.

Remember, you as the installer know the supply chain, the client probably doesn’t. Good communication ensures that the home owner remains informed at all times and gives them peace of mind that you’re on top of their project.

 

7. Explain your product portfolio clearly

There is a hell of a lot of choice now in our industry. And thanks to the internet, home owners have access to all of those products too. But there is a sea of choice, and as the installer, it’s key that when speaking with a potential client, they understand all the options suited to them as clearly as possible.

If not, then there is a potentially huge can of worms to be opened further down the line if and when it comes to fitting said windows and doors!

 

8. Aid, not instruct

The job of an installations company is not to tell the home owner what they think they should be having. Their job is to listen to the requirements of the home owner, and provide window and door choices that best suit their needs.

There is nothing worse than being told what another person thinks you should be having. It’s patronising, arrogant and down right annoying. There’s a lot of choice now, and home owners want to view their options before asking to be quotes on one or two particular options.

 

9. Keep a clean and up to date showroom

If you have a showroom at your disposal, keep it clean! If you’re a home owner and looking at new windows and doors, there’s always a novel feeling when you walk into one that’s clean, fresh and visually impressive.

There is nothing more underwhelming than an out of date showroom. They need constant attention and tweaking to make sure that potential clients get to see as much as possible. Easier said than done if you’re a small business!

 

10. Drop the hard sell tactics

It’s 2016 not 1986, the drop closes and five hour marathons in people’s homes don’t have a place in a modern fenestration industry.

Keep your pricing honest, your demos timely and your information clear. More often than not, customers will be surprised that you didn’t resort to stereotype and didn’t go down the “typical double glazing” sales route.

These are my top ten, based on my 11 years selling to the general public. There are plenty more I could give, but these are a solid ten which have helped see me and our family run business well throughout the years.

Hi, It’s John back again. I’d probably add another item to this list. That’s after sales follow up and service. It’s partly covered in Tips 5 and 6,, but deserves more emphasis. After the installation, a customer should be contacted to see if they have any problems, or any questions. Do this right, and the installer may be on the way to the customer providing a testimonial or review.

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