The Home Improvements Thread (3)

What are the Pros and Cons of uPVC over Aluminium.

I had uPVC guys come see me to be a Contractor for them many years ago.

He went through the sales pitch, can't recall a word of it, but at the end I said "This sounds great! How much cheaper is uPVC than Aluminium?"

He said it wasn't.

He left.

I binned everything he had given me.

His main pitch was double glazing, but you can get double glazed Aluminium...
 
Mannydefreitas said:
What are the Pros and Cons of uPVC over Aluminium.

I had uPVC guys come see me to be a Contractor for them many years ago.

He went through the sales pitch, can't recall a word of it, but at the end I said "This sounds great! How much cheaper is uPVC than Aluminium?"

He said it wasn't.

He left.

I binned everything he had given me.

His main pitch was double glazing, but you can get double glazed Aluminium...
Click to expand...
Minor.

But, if you want insulation, then uPVC and wood is better than Aluminium.
Aluminium lets cold/heat in because it is a conductor of temperature.
uPVC doesn't need the same amount of maintenance that wood does. The maintenance is on the mechanism only, so minor compared to wood, where-as Aluminium should be maintenace free altogether.

Allows for other types of mechanisms on the window/door.

Looks different.

In England, I was surprised to see, pretty much all houses use uPVC windows/doors. When I asked about it, they say yeah when people renovate or just fix up, they replace with uPVC because its the best for insulation.

Thats about it I think.
 
Mannydefreitas said:
What are the Pros and Cons of uPVC over Aluminium.

I had uPVC guys come see me to be a Contractor for them many years ago.

He went through the sales pitch, can't recall a word of it, but at the end I said "This sounds great! How much cheaper is uPVC than Aluminium?"

He said it wasn't.

He left.

I binned everything he had given me.

His main pitch was double glazing, but you can get double glazed Aluminium...
Click to expand...
Clearly he was pitching it wrong.. thermal insulating properties of wood and uPVC far exceeded that of aluminium.. aluminium is the worst thing you can install if you are at all concerned with insulating properly, even moreso when you do double glazing.. your double glazing means nothing if doing it with aluminium..

The low upkeep or maintenance of uPVC is the main selling point when you consider thermal insulating properties only, because only wood can compete and wood requires way more maintenance way more frequently..
 
Tinuva said:
Minor.

But, if you want insulation, then uPVC and wood is better than Aluminium.
Aluminium lets cold/heat in because it is a conductor of temperature.
uPVC doesn't need the same amount of maintenance that wood does. The maintenance is on the mechanism only, so minor compared to wood, where-as Aluminium should be maintenace free altogether.

Allows for other types of mechanisms on the window/door.

Looks different.

In England, I was surprised to see, pretty much all houses use uPVC windows/doors. When I asked about it, they say yeah when people renovate or just fix up, they replace with uPVC because its the best for insulation.

Thats about it I think.
Click to expand...
So it's great if you live in a cold, wintery country.
 
WAslayer said:
There's always wood too...

I am sure you have the time and energy for the maintenance..
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Se moer.

When I did some of the renlvations a few years ago I seriously considered wood, then looked at the price and the maintenance and instantly pivoted to aluminium.
 
ToxicBunny said:
The ones in my house, are just piss poor quality and crap to open/close mostly.. also whoever chose the specific windows was an absolute retard (which I suppose makes the experience of them even worse). they're weirdly designed for the shape window opening they're in.
Click to expand...

Without knowing the precise issue - there was a dude who seemed to be keen on cutting corners with his product - but sounds like you have a design and execution problem.

I’ve got 11 x 2.4/2.1m + 1x 3/2.1m + 1 x 5/2.1m sliding doors plus a few smaller windows which I bought between different suppliers - and as mentioned the insulation is exceptional for no a non double glazed product.

We installed them just post Covid during Reno. Got to understand a lot about the product and specifically one of the local manufacturers who was very keen on cutting corners.
 
One thing to note about uPVC windows, is how much space they take up on the inside when opened, if you have the tilt+slide mechanism or just the open mechanism. Open, opens to the inside instead of outside. Similar, the tilt and slide, moves to the inside. This means, you can't use regular blinds on the inside that sits inside the window opening. It has to be outside the window opening on the inside or outside of the house.

So there is this other option of blinds, that mount on the window frame on the inside, and then it moves with the window frame on the slide mechanism or open with it. Since few people buy these, they are super expensive.

So one big caveat to be aware of.

The only time this is not a problem, is if the windows only have a slide mechanism without tilt. These however, while they do seal on the middle between the static and moving frame, its not as good as the other options to keep heat/cold out, at the point where the 2 frames meet. Again, all things the installers should mention when deciding on what you want to install where in the house.
 
Maybe to give an idea.

First up, the tilt and open window.
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13e7cb5965873c4cb2a0e2fe6889e172.jpg


239a9c7e8f7970b582c51e3ccedc35b5.jpg


And this is the tilt and slide option.

7e5e95e279633ce8db1fc70b76ded149.jpg


76060d511a0ac8152e97110c59ebdadf.jpg
 
Anyone sealed any concrete floors recently? I'm busy redoing things in my garage to prevent dirt and dust accumulation and I want to get something done to the floor, epoxy is an option but I think it's pretty expensive.

The other option is polyurethane paint, but I never trust that will last long and gets real ugly when that stuff eventually starts pealing.
 
DrJohnZoidberg said:
Anyone sealed any concrete floors recently? I'm busy redoing things in my garage to prevent dirt and dust accumulation and I want to get something done to the floor, epoxy is an option but I think it's pretty expensive.

The other option is polyurethane paint, but I never trust that will last long and gets real ugly when that stuff eventually starts pealing.
Click to expand...

What about those rubber interlocking mats?
 
DrJohnZoidberg said:
Anyone sealed any concrete floors recently? I'm busy redoing things in my garage to prevent dirt and dust accumulation and I want to get something done to the floor, epoxy is an option but I think it's pretty expensive.

The other option is polyurethane paint, but I never trust that will last long and gets real ugly when that stuff eventually starts pealing.
Click to expand...
Alcolin has an acrylic based top coat that is an option..
 
DrJohnZoidberg said:
Anyone sealed any concrete floors recently? I'm busy redoing things in my garage to prevent dirt and dust accumulation and I want to get something done to the floor, epoxy is an option but I think it's pretty expensive.

The other option is polyurethane paint, but I never trust that will last long and gets real ugly when that stuff eventually starts pealing.
Click to expand...
You referring to Stoep paint?
With proper prep and a sound substrate this will last well.

Not sure how a paint or expoy will stop dirt/dust accumulation? Cleaning will be much easier tho.
 
DrJohnZoidberg said:
Anyone sealed any concrete floors recently? I'm busy redoing things in my garage to prevent dirt and dust accumulation and I want to get something done to the floor, epoxy is an option but I think it's pretty expensive.

The other option is polyurethane paint, but I never trust that will last long and gets real ugly when that stuff eventually starts pealing.
Click to expand...
What are you trying to achieve? What is the surface finish?
 
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