Resealing Windows and Doors

LMSC

I wrote earlier we are replacing the windows and doors. Three things happened after taking quotes. All the windows were to be triple glazed and will trickle vents as per the new regs.

We were about to sign a contract, but decided to take a pause and re-assess.

1: We spoke to the established local specialists. He said triple glazed windows or double glazed ones are A+ rated vs the current C rated. They will be effective and will retain heat. But, the trickle vent will circulate fresh to address condensation and is likely to neutralise. In short, he said we won’t see a difference.
2: We called a surveyor with the help of a builder, who did some kitchen work. He confirmed what the local windows / doors installer advised. He suggested replacing the windows and doors seals to address the draught.
3: Based on the above, we have put replacing windows throughout the property on hold and replace only the main door, which is broken and require a replacement. We have placed an order for the Endurance main
door.

I have grabbed 25 metres pack of Stormguard windows / doors seals and started with the French Doors.

Stormguard UPVC Replacement Door and Window Bubble Gasket Rubber Seal (Black) 25 Metres

My questions are :

Is there a better quality or an alternative to the above Stormguard available?
2: We need a large quantity. Is there a bulk order supplier as buying 25 pack will be expensive
3: I also need some weather seals to go between both frames, doors and windows to improve the seal.
4: There is still a small gap at the top of the French windows. How do we address it please ?
5: How do we adjust this to address the top gap? I think this is a
butt hinge. Opening the screws can move it to the left or right. There are no Allen nuts on the top or bottom of the hinge (under the flap of the hinge) to adjust the height.

We don’t have plans to install windows and doors films. They are a faff to install and remove.

Elcarajillo

LMSC The hinges are adjustable to a degree.

1 the pozi screws lock the spindle after adjustment

2 the small grub screw locks the to the other section of the hinge

3 If you look at the end of the spindle from ave or below ,you should see an aperture for an allen key.

4 the spindle acts as a ‘cam’ and can be rotated to throw / move / align the door.

If you throw the bottom of the door towards it’s mate, this will raise the top of the door on it’s locking edge.

PortafilterProcrastinator

I can only part help.

Is there a better alternative to Stormguard? Not that I’ve found easily available.

Where to buy? Check screwfix, toolstation and local builders merchants. Most merchants offer a cash trade account to anyone, so worth asking about that too if you need a lot.

Not clear from the photo where the gap is, can you mark it up or take a photo of the bottom where there isn’t a gap?

DavecUK

PortafilterProcrastinator Is there a better alternative to Stormguard? Not that I’ve found easily available.

I guess you could tape up windows you don’t use…

Gagaryn

I might be being daft but it doesn’t seem to that there is any way to adjust those hinges vertically - the knuckle has no room to move in the barrel. I’d also be very careful with those screw because they look pretty rounded out.

PortafilterProcrastinator

Gagaryn If that’s what he means then agreed, there isn’t any movement in them.

LMSC

Thanks every one for all useful recommendations. These hinges are old and can’t do up/down adjustments.

Looking inside out, the right side door is perfect after seal changes and adjusting the hinges. I turned the top inward, the bottom outward and the middle neutral. This helped. I did the reverse on the left. This doesn’t help much.

After locking the left door only, there are still gaps on both sides as the top door pushes a few mm outward.

However, the seal and the adjustment on the right are so good now, locking the door shut fully gets a perfect seal.

Will continue the trial and error for the left door. Thx

LMSC

Replaced the french door seals. The gap on the left side of the door still remains. We will have to see what else is causing the gap problem.

Fully shutting and locking the french doors get a damn good seal. We can straight away notice a difference - sound and air flow.

We will replace the seals on a couple of windows in the living room to wrap up the living room at a cost of max £20. We were about to pay at least 3K for the French door and a couple of windows in the living room alone.

PortafilterProcrastinator

LMSC Have they always had the gap?

It doesn’t look like you can adjust the hinges in any direction - has the window warped over time?

I’ve done a few of our windows, but may well do others this summer as replacing is out of the question at the moment.

LMSC

PortafilterProcrastinator Have they always had the gap?

Have had during the last 2 seasons and not before. We have been here for 7 years.

There could be a few reasons, why this may happen.

The seals on the doors/windows and frames typically require a change in 5-10 years. The previous owners never changed them. If you insert a credit card, it shouldn’t go in freely. If it does, the seals require a replacement
The doors will typically slag up or down or become slanted over time. This can be fixed.

PortafilterProcrastinator It doesn’t look like you can adjust the hinges in any direction

Almost all hinges can be adjusted. Some left to right or vice versa, up and down or both.

The French door is set except some tweaking of the left-side door. We have got a very tight seal now. It is ready for the next winter and we do think we should see a difference.

We will change the windows and doors seals throughout the house. We are only replacing the main door now.

LMSC

PortafilterProcrastinator I’ve done a few of our windows, but may well do others this summer as replacing is out of the question at the moment.

Makes an economic sense to replace the seals, weather strips and caulk
where required. Saves a lot of money, which will be a massive bottom line boost under current circumstances.

hornbyben

LMSC if you’re going to re caulk the windows, it’s worth checking whether they foamed the gap between the window and the wall. This is often skipped for speed, but can make a big difference to the overall level of insulation.

LMSC

hornbyben Will do. Thx Mate!

LMSC

Elcarajillo

Thanks. Appreciate the detailed helpful post mate!

I adjusted the pozi screw on the frames. It worked perfectly on the right door (looking out facing the garden); but, it didn’t help on the left door, despite trying variations. We still have a small gap on the left door top.
This is an old butt hinge and it doesn’t have Allen keys. I opened the top
and bottom of the hinge flaps, which expose the hinge pins; these move
depending on how the pozi screws are adjusted.
The screws attached to the doors do not have any access.
Apart from the pozi screws, no other adjustments are possible
Not sure, I’m missing anything.

LMSC

Replace windows and doors:

I am posting it here than opening a new thread.

We have already replaced the main door! It has made so much difference. The French door temp fix is ok. There is no room for any more insulation - loft, cavity, and so on.

We got a surveyor in and he said normally the windows don’t need a replacement for at least 30-40 years. However, in our case, a lot of the windows fitted originally at our place are short of actual dimensions, patched up with ply and caulk and have deteriorated to an extent the whole house is so cold; draught is coming in from edges; the walls inside are so cold; and, the house is no longer energy efficient. For the first time in 8 years, we have significant amount of condensation on windows and French doors, which require daily maintenance and opening the windows on all the rooms for most of the day. If we leave them unattended for a few days, we get mould on walls on all the sides.

Long story short, the recommendation is replace all the windows and the french door, leaving the garage out.

We have 3 quotes from local businesses: Somerville, windows works, home hub. The price range is £15.5k to £20k. The first two are recommended by our Polish builder as he said they are very good. All of them are triple glassed and trickle vent as standard, and A++ rated.

We had some one from Anglican home visited; they are likely to quote about £20. They said the windows will be made in Britain, measured to external dimensions, fitted with guardian glass than the standard glass, double glassed, trickle vent and A rated. They suggested guardian glass as standard.

Folks fitted from local business are happy, while Anglican seems to receive mixed reviews - good on trust pilot, checkatrade and some very negative review on one website (reviews.io).

Have you guys used any of them? What’s been your experience please? Thanks

DavecUK

LMSC 11 windows 7 average, 4 small (all with 1 or 2 openings).

Plus:

One large bow style, one large french door with side panels and 1 rear door and milk glass for downstairs toilet and bathroom, ensuite.

All windows were double glazed, good airgap, thermal glass, uPVC but thin profile.

Total cost just £10,200 ish back in Feb 2021.

I didn’t replace all windows as my loft conversion and extension ones are new. Wood front door is fine and I prefer them. I use a thick floor to ceiling curtain that keeps draughts and cold out.

The installation work was excellent. My old wood double glazed windows were carefully removed, no damage to tiles or walls. New windows fitted perfectly with surveryer attending again to check prior to fitting no huge masses of filler. Excellent job would use them again. No problems, except one opener requiring screws tightening a few months later from factory…they attended the day after I mentioned it had loosened up.

I’m not sure how much more beneficial triple glazing is if I’m honest..the doubles work really well.

LMSC

DavecUK Ours’ have 16 windows, French door with 2 stills, 1 utility door.

3 large windows, 3 smaller size and the rest are standard sizes. I do think the lower end is competitive by the local business.

Most of the windows stood have stood for 30 odd years and some 25+. It is about time, considering we are getting older and don’t want to health issues, trying to cut some corners.

Who was your installer please? Thanks

DavecUK

I used a very long established firm called sheerwater glass, I have seen their work over the years in my local area and in my own road (next door in fact). Although it says Surrey I believe they have also worked further afield.

https://www.sheerwaterglass.co.uk/

hornbyben

I would compare the U values of the windows you’re looking at. It’s the only way to get an actual meaningful understanding of the insulation. Unless the room is very leaky anyway then I suspect triple glazing is worth it. Insulation is usually a good investment, especially over a typical 20 year lifespan.

I wouldn’t pay any attention on price other than current quotes, as inflation and supply issues are pushing the price of everything up.

We’ve been really happy with Rationel (https://rationel.co.uk/), But they’re not the cheapest. Simple windows were in the £1-2k each range, and we just had a large (3m wide) triple glazed sliding door fitted today which set us back £6.5k. The quality is excellent though and the insulation value so good that when it’s cold the condensation is on the outside. This is because so little heat leaks through that the outer pane warms up slower than the air in the morning.

LMSC

hornbyben Very useful inputs as usual. Thanks.

LMSC

After turning down one of the leading suppliers / fitters, who dropped the quote by 35% in a matter of an hour, they spoke and emailed us or kind of harassed us into buying theirs! I had to tell them off.

They say all local businesses are not BFRC rated. Even if they are, they won’t report the solar and effective air leakage factors as the rating is not a legal requirement. They claim the (BFRC) unrated windows and doors mean the air leakage of at least 8% making them inefficient. It’s their word against the local guys, who have a good reputation; they are in the business for more than 20-25 years.

I don’t buy their claim of 8% air leakage with competition and their 0% leakage standing good for the next 20 years. A lot of local environmental factors come into play as far as the efficiency and leakages are concerned, which are the disclaimers / caution these rating agencies provide by default.

We have short listed two, whom they say their products are A++ energy efficiency. They are not BFRC rated. We have asked them to tell us how they arrive at the rating.

One of them gets their template / profile from Kommerling (German company), add guardian glasses and manufacture them locally.

The other provides Deceuninck windows or use their template that seem to use Eco-lite triple glazing.

I am sure some of you would have replaced the windows and doors. What’s been your experience and how much attention one should actually be paying for this independent rating, when there is no legal mandate? I see these certificates as more of a marketing tool.

The origin A++ rated triple glazed bifold has a BFRC rating, but still their air leakage factor is around 0.4%.

I have reached out to rationel through a distributor. hornbyben Did they give you an energy performance certificate of your door please? The windows and doors are rated by one of the three independent agencies with BFRC seems to be the most popular choice.

Thx for reading.