Why wood?

    

Benefits

Aesthetics

The warmth, colour, and sheer beauty of solid wood all add to a building's character and distinction. Wood has a natural beauty that is unlike any man made material. A softwood staircase like the one illustrated can transform and add much value to a property. When I called round this customer's house to take this picture, the lady in question was so happy with her new staircase, she offered to let us take visitors to see it.  We had stripped out and disposed of her old painted staircase, and installed something special. 

 

Design options

One of the main beauties of wood from our point of view is its endless design options. Because we are a bespoke manufacturer, everything to us is a one off, and literally anything can be created. Wood has high energy saving, great sound attenuation, natural insulating properties, and has limitless colour options.

 

Environmental Impact

PVCu windows & doors have been a great step forward in respect of no maintenance for the world in general.  We all remember the rotting timber windows they replaced.  However, there is a very serious Environmental impact of the manufacture and disposal   of PVCu.                   

         

 

The irony of PVCu is that it takes more energy to make a PVCu window frame than it saves in its lifetime. Also the disposal of PVCu involves no less than 6 of the 15 most hazardous chemicals listed by European Governments for priority elimination. Timber involves none. PVCu incineration waste has to be land filled. Timber does not. (Source BWF)

But Wood rots though?

Technology has brought some great innovations in timber preservatives that bring softwoods into comparison with low maintenance materials.  The most effective current protection for external joinery, including windows and doors, uses vacuum pressure technology to force industrial solvent preservative deep into the wood.

The treatment process involves a double vacuum process called Vac-Vac which we use on all our external softwood joinery. If we make a batch of softwood windows for example, we cut & machine the profiles of the timber to dead length - then send the profiles for Vac-Vac treatment. A third party contractor then pressure treats the timber with Osmose Protim Drysol preservative, and certifies they have done so.

We then assemble the windows, then stain or prime the units for despatch.

If the woodwork is given 2 coats of micro porous paint after installation, the timber can last indefinitely. It should be repainted every 8 years and should last in excess of 30 years.  Hardwoods do not require this treatment as they contain their own tanins, and are naturally weather resistant.

 

You only fit double glazing once.....

Many of us remember the famous double glazing ad of the 1970's  featuring the late and great Ted Moult. The helicopter and feather demonstration convinced us to install systems that were labeled maintenance free - fit and forget.

Of course, we fitted and forgot - only to realise in later years that the locks and hinges broke, the double glazed units misted up, or the windows simply went out of style.

Recently, there have been a lot of people moving up and down the property ladder in the UK who have inherited the doors and windows that the previous occupier thought were appropriate (and probably were at the time)

We have seen many fine houses spoilt (and devalued) by the owner buying into the PVCu revolution, where no maintenance was worshipped at the expense of the real thing, the correct windows for that particular house. Put simply, certain houses do not suit PVCu or Aluminium windows.

Individuality

Bench joinery companies like ours can create anything the customer wants, in one of the few renewable resources - wood. We often get customers bringing photographs of something interesting they have seen, or scribbled drawings on the back of an envelope. Bring them in, or Email them over, alan@custom-joinery.com we can do a scaled CAD drawing and no obligation fixed quote for free.  Even the very best PVCu companies can only offer their customers designs from a catalogue.  We don't have a catalogue. Do you think your home would benefit from a stunning individual Entrance Door & frame, made from Brazilian Sapele Mahogany maybe – or even Oak?. This would be the first impression a visitor got about you the owner, as important as the car on your drive.  Don't forget that the windows are the eyes of your house, let us install something as individual as you are.