Double Glazing in Australia

[Guest sithewindows]

I am looking to migrate in the next few months to the Adelaide area. In the UK I run a small home improvement company and would like to carry on in the same industry in Aus. If I was able to offer uPVC double glazed windows and doors at a reasonable price, do you think there would be a market for them? Bearing in mind they save money on heating and cooling.

Si

[Guest Guest5035]

personally no, its not so much the windows and doors is whats around them thats the problem and it never gets below 5oc in the metro area..

 

stevo

[NicF]

There are already two or three companies producing UPVc double glazing in Adelaide so ai would say there is a market for them. I know of one builder that has them in there show home at Mawson Lakes (Serenity Homes I think it is) but ai'm not sure about other builders. We are putting them in a house we are building but I think it is the first time our builder has dealt with them.

[NicF]

personally no, its not so much the windows and doors is whats around them thats the problem and it never gets below 5oc in the metro area..

 

stevo

 

Stevo - they help to keep the heat out in summer as well as in in winter, but you are right about the walls being an issue. I also wanted UPCv for security and noise reduction reasons as well as insulation reasons.

[Guest Guest5035]

they'll be good in new builds, but the older type don't think so, we have outside blinds on the sun facing widows, i live in a quiet area, and if someone wants to break in they will if not via a window/door but through the roof.

 

stevo

[monty9110]

Yes.. We built a new house, with well above the recommended insullation in the walls & roof, & the house was still cold in the winter.

 

It doesnt retain any heat as it all disappears through the glass. My house in the uk never felt as cold as my one does here in the winter!.. Definately due to the crappy windows they have here.

 

We're moving soon & plan to get double glazing in our next house .. would save a fortune on heating..

It may be harder to convince some people here as Ive spoken to many who just cant see the benefits..

[Jessica Berry]

You don't see many houses around Adelaide with UPVC double glazed windows, it is just something the Aussies are not familiar with, even though the glass in windows is paper thin. We live in an old (by Aussie standards) house built in the 1920's and we had secondary glazing fitted (as double glazing was very expensive and also we wanted to maintain the look of the house) and we have been very happy with the results. We used http://www.magnetite.com.au the previous owners of the house came round one evening and we showed them and it was quite funny because we had to explain to them what the secondary glazing was, it was a foreign concept to them back in 2008 and the husband was a tradie!!!

[Jessica Berry]

We have had our windows tinted, have secondary glazing, draught excluders around the windows and doors and we have solar panels fitted - all of this adds up to an energy efficient house that on the whole keeps warm in winter and cool in summer and generates enough solar power to cover our electricity and gas bills plus still be in credit which we use towards paying the water bill. We also have reverse cycle airconditioning, so at the flick of a switch we have heating or cooling.

[ian mc]

Double glazing is a waste of time here unless its in a double brick house or stone built house or a timber framed house built to the correct spec not the Aus specs where its only timber studs with glasswool in between them.

[Guest patsmb]

I am looking to migrate in the next few months to the Adelaide area. In the UK I run a small home improvement company and would like to carry on in the same industry in Aus. If I was able to offer uPVC double glazed windows and doors at a reasonable price, do you think there would be a market for them? Bearing in mind they save money on heating and cooling.

Si

I think you will find UPVC is not the 'norm' here in Adelaide - I have only ever heard of one company that used UPVC and they were very expensive

Double glazing is not 'the norm ' either my son does do if -he has his own glaziers buisness but its normally on bigger buildings not houses

I have always said UPVC double glazing is one of the things I miss but you would need to remember the sun is lethal on windows etc

I know Rehau is a good name -we have friends in the UK who work in the same industry

[Toni]

You don't see many houses around Adelaide with UPVC double glazed windows, it is just something the Aussies are not familiar with, even though the glass in windows is paper thin. We live in an old (by Aussie standards) house built in the 1920's and we had secondary glazing fitted (as double glazing was very expensive and also we wanted to maintain the look of the house) and we have been very happy with the results. We used www.magnetite.com.au the previous owners of the house came round one evening and we showed them and it was quite funny because we had to explain to them what the secondary glazing was, it was a foreign concept to them back in 2008 and the husband was a tradie!!!

 

That's very helpful to know - we live in an old 1910s home and it is double bricked so I've wondered how it would work.

[xzibit]

Really? uPVC? I thought were only chosen for council houses?

 

Double glazed thermally broken aluminium is the way forward.

[jimmyskinner]

I work for Australian window solutions and we manufacture and fit upvc double glazing...........http://www.australianwindowsolutions.com.au

 

[Guest patsmb]

Really? uPVC? I thought were only chosen for council houses?

 

Double glazed thermally broken aluminium is the way forward.

 

No they are not just chosen for council house private houses choose to have them installed

They are easy to keep clean and maintain provided they are of good quality

I live in Adelaide and would love them as my aluminium powder coated windows are faded

[Guest Team 'W']

I am looking to migrate in the next few months to the Adelaide area. In the UK I run a small home improvement company and would like to carry on in the same industry in Aus. If I was able to offer uPVC double glazed windows and doors at a reasonable price, do you think there would be a market for them? Bearing in mind they save money on heating and cooling.

Si

 

Hi Si

 

I own a uPVC double glazing company here in Adelaide and am therefore in a position to offer you advice. What I would say in short is you must do your homework thoroughly before committing to anything. The product is very expensive here, I would say at least 3 times that in the UK and that is mainly due to the cost of materials (everything here is imported) and the cost of manufacturing (a lot more legislation with cost implications here), starting up costs for this is significant.

 

Two companies have tried to set up and sell cheaply in the recent past and both ended up out of business - there are so many hidden costs, particularly in a location such as Adelaide. As I said, feel free to PM me I will help you all I can

 

Stuart

[Guest Guest5035]

we have solar panels fitted - all of this adds up to an energy efficient house that on the whole keeps warm in winter and cool in summer and generates enough solar power to cover our electricity and gas bills plus still be in credit .

 

as a matter of interest what was the total outlay for your panels and how many

 

stevo

[xzibit]

No they are not just chosen for council house private houses choose to have them installed

They are easy to keep clean and maintain provided they are of good quality

I live in Adelaide and would love them as my aluminium powder coated windows are faded

 

I don't think it would last to well with Australia's UV levels though. They don't look to special after 5 years in the UK.

 

I would much prefer timber double glazed units in the UK, but would go with ally frames here as they seem to compliment the building style. Commercial section over residential to get some nice chunky frames.

 

AWS have a great range. http://www.awsaustralia.com.au/

[Guest sithewindows]

I lived in WA for a short time and windows were a large part of the new houses being built, but still single glazed with sand blowing through them. I was tinting them so did have a close look.

[Guest sithewindows]

Hi NicF, thanks for the information, sounds quite positive to me. Is it ahouse you are building for yourself?

There are already two or three companies producing UPVc double glazing in Adelaide so ai would say there is a market for them. I know of one builder that has them in there show home at Mawson Lakes (Serenity Homes I think it is) but ai'm not sure about other builders. We are putting them in a house we are building but I think it is the first time our builder has dealt with them.

[Guest sithewindows]

Yes.. We built a new house, with well above the recommended insullation in the walls & roof, & the house was still cold in the winter.

 

It doesnt retain any heat as it all disappears through the glass. My house in the uk never felt as cold as my one does here in the winter!.. Definately due to the crappy windows they have here.

 

We're moving soon & plan to get double glazing in our next house .. would save a fortune on heating..

It may be harder to convince some people here as Ive spoken to many who just cant see the benefits..

 

Thanks for your reply. When you move I will hopefully be there, you could be my first show home as it sounds like your a good sales person for my industry.

[Guest sithewindows]

Double glazing is a waste of time here unless its in a double brick house or stone built house or a timber framed house built to the correct spec not the Aus specs where its only timber studs with glasswool in between them.

Hi Ian, I'm glad we are getting different views on here, as its boring if there all the same. Do you think by having the option, people may also start to improve the overall insulation of their property?

[Guest sithewindows]

We have had our windows tinted, have secondary glazing, draught excluders around the windows and doors and we have solar panels fitted - all of this adds up to an energy efficient house that on the whole keeps warm in winter and cool in summer and generates enough solar power to cover our electricity and gas bills plus still be in credit which we use towards paying the water bill. We also have reverse cycle airconditioning, so at the flick of a switch we have heating or cooling.

So if you could have had all the problems sorted just by have uPVC windows fitted, at the same sort of cost, do you think you would have chosen that? I'm not including solar in that.

[Guest sithewindows]

I think you will find UPVC is not the 'norm' here in Adelaide - I have only ever heard of one company that used UPVC and they were very expensive

Double glazing is not 'the norm ' either my son does do if -he has his own glaziers buisness but its normally on bigger buildings not houses

I have always said UPVC double glazing is one of the things I miss but you would need to remember the sun is lethal on windows etc

I know Rehau is a good name -we have friends in the UK who work in the same industry

Hi, its good you mention Rehau, been fitting it in the UK since the early 90's and still think its the best. The sun is lethal on uPVC and that is why the use a different compound in Asia. I have been to Dubai a few times and all of the windows are doubleglazed to keep the heat out, the vast majority being uPVC.

[Guest sithewindows]

Really? uPVC? I thought were only chosen for council houses?

 

Double glazed thermally broken aluminium is the way forward.

 

Not sure what to say to this one!!!! uPVC has been used in some of the best private homes.

Edited January 20, 2013 by sithewindows

[Guest sithewindows]

I work for Australian window solutions and we manufacture and fit upvc double glazing...........www.australianwindowsolutions.com.au

Hi Jim, Thats one of the companies I have contacted, how are they doing?