Saturday 3 November 2012

Aluminium windows arrived!

We took a bit of a break from blogging to get married but we are back on the blogging track and ready to continue with our regular reno updates.

Our new aluminium casement windows have arrived and we are very happy with them. Our Encore sales rep, Dave, was excellent to work with.  He was very understanding and accomodating of our "green" needs.  He was able to fulfill our request to replace the plastic window spacer that holds the glass in place with an aluminum spacer. We also requested that only 0-VOC products be used and he suggested DuraFoam 0-VOC low expansion spray foam insulation and 0-VOC Safe Coat caulking inside and out to eliminate any possibility of VOC's.  Normally, a high VOC caulking is used outdoors. 

While the installation went smoothly, there was one little glitch that was due to the installer's lack of experience with green caulking.  The installer did not have the appropriate caulking gun for this product so he did the job by hand. The result was something that looked like marshmallow smeared around the windows. We pointed this out to Dave who promptly came to check the job.  He ensured us that it would be fixed. Dave contacted the manufacturer and was advised of a superior product that is easier to work with and can be used in a regular caulking gun. The result on the second attempt was much better but still thicker than we had anticipated.  We are still looking into why the caulking was applied so thickly. 

Despite some issues with the caulking, we love our new windows. They are strong, sturdy, don't off-gas and hopefully will last a very long time.

Mia

Before - Our old windows

After - Our new casement windows




1 comment: