1. How strong, secure, and easy to maintain are steel-framed windows compared to other materials?
The strongest frame material for windows and doors is steel by nature. For instance, it is three times stronger than aluminum. But this grace is paired with this strength. A steel window has a significantly smaller profile (sightline) than its aluminum or uPVC counterparts. Frame for frame, the slim appearance permits a larger glazing surface area, and wider expanses of glass can be created while maintaining an aesthetically pleasing appearance. The steel frames require very little maintenance.
Where does thermal performance fit in? Steel must be chilly.
Traditional rolled steel window frames are energy-efficient because they have high-performance weather seals, insulating double or triple glass, and small sightlines that improve U-values and lower energy use. A sophisticated high-density polyurethane isolator serves as a thermal barrier in a T60 thermally fractured window. The system meets or exceeds the requirements of current standards, providing total U-values as low as 0.8W/m2/K, in addition to housing high-performance double- or triple-glazing up to 45mm wide. According to European and ASTM standards, market-leading weather tightness performance has been evaluated. In contrast, ultra-insulating glass units transform a double-glazed unit into one that performs like a triple-glazed unit using suspended film technology. With U-values as low as 0.4 W/m2/K in a double glass unit and greater performance, Ultra IG's unique design offers a thinner and lighter construction than conventional triple glazing without increasing glazing thickness or weight.
3. What about soundproofing?
Improvements in thermal performance also provide good noise insulation. When steel-framed glass doors and screens are chosen for building interiors, sound attenuation—rather than weathertightness—is the most important factor. By using acoustic glazing, which keeps the width of the thin steel frames unaltered so that they can admit the most amount of daylight possible throughout the structure, the proper sound reduction is achieved depending on the usage, whether in a home, office, or school.
4. Are interior glass screens protected against fire?
The Innervision FR steel-framed system, which differs from other bulkier fire-rated systems by maintaining its distinctive slim steel profile, complies with BS 476 Part 22 and offers 30 minutes (FD30) integrity fire resistance.
5. How do steel’s environmental credentials match up?
Increasingly, this is becoming a vital issue for buyers. They want to be sure that the product purchased is produced from sustainable materials and uses eco-friendly, energy-efficient processes – also that the end product is energy efficient with exceptional life expectancy. Put simply; steel is one of the most recyclable materials on the planet. It can be recycled and reused continuously. Means of manufacture and standard business practices are also designed to reduce energy consumption. For example, Crittall has fitted solar panels to the factory roof, installed energy-efficient LED lighting that reduces energy consumption by 50% while simultaneously improving light levels, and introduced electric hybrid vehicles to the company fleet.
6. Are steel windows suited to new build or refurbishment?
They are equally suited to both. Crittall’s business spans three centuries, from the middle of the 1800s. There are many heritage buildings that were built with original Crittall windows. When refurbishment work is undertaken, local planners demand a like-for-like replacement for historical and aesthetic reasons. This can be achieved while installing windows that now meet modern thermal and acoustic requirements while remaining faithful to the original appearance.
Architects designing modern buildings also value the clean lines and simple elegance of steel windows that – with large expanses of glazing – augment elevations, whether on commercial, business, educational or residential premises. Steel frames can also be supplied in the full range of BS and RAL colours.
7. What does steel offer the homeowner, especially in the post-COVID world of work?
The pandemic has caused many working professionals to reassess whether they need to continue to travel into urban centres or whether they should work from home and adjust their living space accordingly. The use of internal glazed screens, as detailed above, can help provide a suitable workspace in the house, with maximum daylight but minimal noise disturbance. Crittall has established an online community where customers can exchange these and other ideas and solutions to improve their homes and businesses using its products.
8. In a sentence, why choose steel?
An initial higher investment in steel-framed windows and doors will be offset by its longevity and reduced maintenance, leading to lower, long-term costs compared with other materials, and steel is beautiful.