Finally came the moment when you decided to abandon your old wooden window frames. Rid yourself of the need to insulate them before the onset of colds, dye to protect them from moisture, suffer from trying to open a withered or swollen frame from water - all this can be left in the past. The most obvious alternative to replacing wooden frames is the installation of plastic windows, but in this case the comfort you may not be guaranteed. In this article, we'll talk about how to choose the right plastic windows.
It would seem that there is nothing easier than choosing a company from the catalog and making an order. But is there any guarantee that you will be sold high-quality plastic windows at an adequate price? Do you get a product that will fully meet your requirements, or do you buy super-high-quality plastic windows at a high price, with much lower costs?
We will try to facilitate your task and help you make a choice so that in the end you will receive what you need and at a real price, so that you can fully enjoy the comfort of your acquisition and never regret your choice.
It is necessary to be guided by the following criteria:
- Supplier reliability;
- Quality and reliability of the plastic windows themselves;
- The correspondence of plastic windows to the customer's needs and the conditions in which they will be used.
How to choose the best plastic windows
The choice of plastic windows should start with the selection of the supplier. In the market of plastic windows there are many players who offer a wide range of plastic windows at various prices from domestic and foreign manufacturers. However, it is worth paying attention to how much the firm works on the market, pay attention to the feedback of other customers.
After identifying with the company, it is also worth checking the availability of quality and compliance certificates( GOST R - for Russian manufacturers or ISO 9001 for foreign).One of the basic points on which to evaluate a company supplying plastic windows, installing and servicing them is the availability of a guarantee for the delivered products. The longer the warranty, the safer the supplier. But if the company provides a guarantee for a period of less than 5 years, then it is worth considering whether a quality product is offered to you.
Having chosen the company, having convinced of the availability of quality certificates and the availability of a guarantee for its products, it is possible to proceed with the choice of the plastic window systems themselves. There are several criteria for evaluating the performance of plastic windows, and we will consider them below.
Thermal insulation
Thermal insulating qualities of PVC windows are much more important than it may seem at first glance. The windows release much more heat from the room than the walls and doors.
And despite the fact that modern plastic windows provide a much greater thermal insulation effect than outdated, wooden windows, the choice of a suitable glazing unit should be approached with all responsibility.
Good plastic windows perfectly hold heat, and this ability is determined by the following characteristics:
- Thickness of the plastic profile;
- Number of air chambers in the window profile;
- The number of panes in a double-glazed unit, the thickness and type of glass, the distance between them;
- Density of fitment of windows to frames;
- The area of the glazed space.
Before installing plastic windows, you need to evaluate how well the room is heated, what optimum temperature will be maintained in this room in winter, based on the climatic realities of your region.
If you live in a region with a warm climate or plan to buy a double-glazed window for industrial premises, and maintaining the most comfortable temperature in the winter is not critical, then you better choose one-chamber double-glazed windows.
For best thermal insulation, you can use a double-glazed window with a wide five-chamber window profile. For reliability, you can also order the installation of special heat-insulating glasses with a special coating of silver atoms. Such glasses best retain heat, since short-wave radiation is passed from the outside and does not transmit long-wave radiation from the inside.
The tightness of the window profiles is determined by the fittings. Good furniture will ensure tight closing of the window frames. The absence of cracks will minimize heat loss.
Noise isolation
Noise isolation is of particular importance for residents of those houses whose windows face busy roads or railways, streets of large cities. If you live in a big city that almost never falls asleep, you would have given a lot to reassure him a little.
To correctly choose the profile of plastic windows( choose the appropriate options for your conditions), you need to know that the noise insulation of the window profile is determined by the thickness of the glasses. Therefore, if you live near a noise source, we recommend that you select windows with different glass thicknesses. That allows to partially eliminate the resonance.
Another measure to improve sound insulation is to select a wide profile with a large distance between the panes in the insulating glass. Air space allows you to reduce noise. The same applies to high-quality installation. The slightest looseness of the design, allowed during installation, reduces its soundproofing properties.
Ventilation
Sometimes after installing plastic windows in the room, the humidity level rises, drops of moisture and a feeling of stuffiness appear. To avoid problems with airing the room, additional ventilation should be provided. These problems, of course, can be avoided by ventilating the room. But at the same time, heat and noise insulation is disturbed, odors and dust from the street enter the room.
To solve this problem, there is a special type of plastic window profile. These profiles with built-in ventilation have been used in Europe for about 20 years. They provide ventilation without loss of dust and noise insulation. Alternative methods of ventilation of the room - ventilation by opening the windows and windows or ventilation by means of adjustable air inlets, built into the walls outside the window opening.
Security
A window is one of the easiest ways of unauthorized entry into a room. Therefore, one of the main functions of plastic window profiles is security through a series of components, namely a plastic profile, a double-glazed window and an accessories.
The penetration safety is provided, first of all, by the window profile. The fact is that the wider the profile and the more cameras it has, the better their security against hacking. A wide profile allows for the installation of a tamper-proof hardware.
It is also possible to install special double-glazed windows with triplex glasses or protective blinds. If the integrity of such a glass is damaged, it does not crumble into small pieces and does not form gaps.
So, when choosing plastic windows for your home, as you already understood, the main thing is not to miss. Determine what are the weaknesses of your home and try to level them. If in the cold season your home is cool - then the windows should have good thermal insulation. Are there small children? Think about security. Is there a road nearby? Let your windows provide you with silence! And also a cosiness up to the next repair and let it happen not soon!
