ALUMINIUM WINDOWS

Aluminium windows are quite popular these days. They look good, durable, easy to maintain, and as creative as much you want. These windows are light in weight,
perfectly weather resistant, and also increase the energy efficiency of your premise to a great extent. Presently, architects do prefer aluminium for its aesthetics insulation
power, colour friendliness, and many other handy benefits. Let’s read here why aluminium windows are much ahead in the popularity quotient. But before that, let’s take a
quick look at wooden doors and windows, which were traditionally most popular in use for making windows and doors.
Wooden Doors & Windows
In recent past, doors and windows were mostly made of wood. Ornate carpentry was often used, and architects spent an inordinate amount of time and effort detailing the
cross-sectional profiles of window and door frames, window sashes, door panels, and the related trims.
Because of the insufficiency of automation and manufacturing technology, the carpentry and joinery related to window and door fabrication were carried out at the
construction site. The performance requirements of window and doors were modest at the best and were directly related to the skill of the crafts-person building the
window or door. Good workmanship yielded higher-performing windows or doors. For windows, letting the daylight in and keeping the rainwater out, and peeping through
them to see the world outside were the basic requirements. Because large sheets of glass were not available at that time, window glazing was made of small panes of
glass held by small horizontal and vertical wooden members.

Why Aluminium?
Like most other building components, windows and doors have evolved over the years.
Windows are now made not only from wood but also from aluminium, steel, vinyl and fibre
glass. Additionally, two materials are often combined in the same window to take advantage
of their different properties. However, aluminium is by far the most commonly used window
material today. So, let us understand aluminium windows in detail.

Aluminium is the material that is also used presently in glass curtain walls and store-fronts.
Apart from strength and durability, it is not affected by moisture and-shrinkage or swelling
due to random sun exposure or change in moisture content. The anodized or painted finish
on aluminium is virtually permanent. Aluminium windows require almost no maintenance.
The malleability (capable of being shaped) and flexibility of aluminium are perhaps the most
important reason for its extensive use as a window material. Because of its malleability,
aluminium can be extruded into complex cross sections, which are specially designed to
facilitate the structuring of the window. For example, continuous round, hollow intrusions,
which are referred to as screw splines are commonly provided in aluminium cross sections to
join horizontal and vertical frame members.
The flexibility of aluminium allows the use of snap-on carving, whereby two separate
aluminium sections can be joined together without any fasteners. For example, in aluminium
windows and curtain walls, glazing stops are simply snapped on (no need for adding screws
or any other fastening material). Additionally, two aluminium windows can be effortlessly
snap-connected by using mating mullion profiles to provide a larger window with a common
mullion without the use of fasteners.

Where can it be Installed?

Aluminium windows are installed in both commercial and residential

building. They can reduce the intrusion of noise better than other types of
window, and therefore they are widely used in schools, hospitals, etc.
Properly joined Aluminium assembly hardly leaves any air gaps for
sound to travel which normally happens with wooden windows.

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 Various Styles/Types of Aluminium Windows

Aluminium can be easily fabricated into variety of shapes and can be sprayed with any colour you like. Therefore, you can get exactly the look you have planned for.
Aluminium window frames come in different styles: casement, sliding frames, single and double hung window, bifold windows, tilt and turn windows are common designs.

Aluminium Sliding Windows Aluminium Casement Windows

As the name suggests, these aluminium windows are operated by sliding them
from one side to another. They are easy to operate, and one of the most common
types of light metal windows. If you appropriately use glazing combination, you
can modify their insulation capabilities and energy efficiency, and thus you can
reduce your energy bills significantly. They need very few components to
assemble and hence maintenance of these windows are easier.

Casement windows are mostly suitable for the houses, which are located at an
angle to which the air blows. You do not need to worry about the facility air
entering your home with these types of windows as they offer added convenience
for ventilation. They are hinged at the sides and crank outward. Thus, you can
open them at an angle to funnel in the gentle air into your home. Since the
casement locks are mounted into the frame and hook are shaped, they provide
better security along with comfort.

Aluminium Bi-fold Windows Aluminium Tilt Turn Windows

These windows enable horizontal as well as vertical movement, thus allowing you
to let lots of air into the room. Since they open inwards, these windows are ideal
for homes, which have limited space outside or are constricted with small
balconies. These windows are easy to clean. Aluminium Tilt Turn Windows can be
swung wide open like a door or tiled to open at an angle from the top.

Bi-fold Windows are less demanding in terms of maintenance as they are easy to
clean. They allow considerable access to the outside space of your home. With
this type of aluminium windows, you will have a long-term, smooth operation
facility. Aluminium bi-fold windows open up to the stack on a side and give an
undisturbed space between the frames.

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 Advantages of Aluminium Windows
Aluminium window frames are available in anodized and powder coated
finishes, which are extremely durable and need no maintenance.
They are perfectly suited to both traditional and contemporary designed
homes as they are more attractive and can add an impressive appearance.
Aluminium windows are light-in-weight but still strong in resilience. It has
extremely long life of around 30 to 50 years or even more if maintained
periodically.
Some aluminium windows can be easily recycled. This makes it one of the
best materials to use when it comes to creating an environment-friendly
window. Thus, aluminium windows help to reduce your negative impact on the
environment and improve overall sustainability. Even as green material
aluminium with recycled content is used to earn LEED points.
Aluminium is not easily corroded. Over years, it may have slight negative
impact of corrosion on it.
Aluminium windows do not attract termites, pests or other insects. So you
don’t have the obligation of paste controlling.
Aluminium windows are easy to maintain. It requires anodizing or powder
coating after a long period of use.
They do not shrink or swell and hence are easy to operate during all season.
Because of higher strength of frame sections, their sizes are small, and hence
an aluminium window looks sleek and attractive. It provides more area for
transmission of light.
You do not need to use hardware like tower-bolts, hinges etc., thereby you
may save some amount in terms of cost.
With use of double, triple glazing, with air/ gas gaps and also with use of
toughened glass, the window can be made sound proof, energy efficient and
also it may offer the protection of high security. Of course these variants are
costly; however such features would be almost impossible or highly expensive
to implement in case of wooden windows.
Disadvantages of Aluminium Windows
According to ‘Madan Mehta’ (Author of Building Construction Principles,
Materials, System), the disadvantage of aluminium is its low R-value (R-value
is a measurement of heat resistance). However, with the introduction of
thermally improved (also called thermally broken) aluminium frames, the
situation has substantially improved.
The powder coating on aluminium window frame may discolour quickly; it does
not have high UV resistance.
Aluminium is a good conductor of heat. Therefore, it cannot provide you
optimum insulation protection from heat when there is a cold climate outside
as heat will be lost through the aluminium window frame.
Like wooden frames, you cannot fix MS grills to aluminium frames for security.
For fixing grills, you have to provide stone frames all around four sides, to
which the grills can be fixed. Of course, such stone frames enhance the
beauty and help to keep jambs and sills neat and clean.
In case of sliding windows, depending upon the number of sliding shutters,
only 25% to 50% of window will open for air to flow i.e. 100% windows will
never open in case of sliding windows, as in case of wooden window or
casement in windows.
Cleaning the inside of small size section is tedious, particularly when the dust
is more. You can do it with vacuum cleaner.
Although you may provide mosquito shutters in the sliding windows, but only
25% to 50% will open for easy flow of air.
If either joints between Aluminium frames and stones frame or plastered walls
are not properly sealed with waterproof materials, there is probability that
water may enter from there during monsoon. So, sealing with silicon sealants
by skilled workers with appropriate tools like sealant guns is very important.

It is available globally at an almost uniform rate.

They are mostly made in factory and thus installation time is less, and hence it
speeds up construction, and needs less labours/ skilled workers’ involvement.

Cost of Aluminium Windows

The cost of the aluminium window depends on the size of the window. It is costlier as compared to uPVC windows, but substantially cheaper than teak wood windows.
The price of aluminium window depends on many factors like size of window, type of finish and the region of the country (location). However, it is possible to say that the
cost benefit of aluminium frames is much higher than PVC or even wooden frames. Because of the large-scale use of aluminium windows, the cost of buildings has fallen
dramatically. The price would have stayed on the higher side we could continue with the teak wood window.

Conclusion
To sum up, aluminium windows are ideal for homeowners who want a low maintenance window option with high-performance quality at an affordable cost. They make
surrounding brighter and healthier. Corrosion resistance, flexibility, and natural strength are the reasons aluminium is the preferred metal for making windows with this
metal. Modern aluminium windows are a great choice for enhancing kerb appeal or finishing of a contemporary house. It gives your home an excellent smart look.
However, it is important to design right to enjoy it plenty of benefits.

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