Built in the 1970s in the Colonial style this 2 storey, 5 bedroom Adelaide Hills family home had traditional timber single glazed windows and doors throughout.
The situation
The original timber windows and doors had been ravaged by the weather and rot had begun to set in. The hundreds of panes of glass which made up the original designs were inefficient in both winter and summer making life uncomfortable for the family. The regular maintenance required to paint the timber was not only time consuming but expensive and finding tradesmen who could provide a quality service was becoming more and more difficult.
Our process
The design process for the new windows and doors was a joint effort between the client and DoubleGlazed over a number of months. We looked at lots of different window and door combinations, frame colours and glass specifications to come up with the perfect design which would achieve the overall aims of the family.
Due to the size of the project, the client decided to proceed with one area initially to make sure they were happy with the product and the installation quality. The day we finished these we received the order for the rest of the house as they were so happy with the immediate benefits.
The result
The final decision was a mixture of tilt and turn windows and french double doors throughout. The tilt and turn windows were incorporated into large frames designed in a similar style to the originals to maintain the character of the house.
The biggest change came with the colour of the frames. Oyster cream was considered to match the original but we finally settled on golden oak giving the windows a warm, traditional feel. Gold handles and floor plates were chosen in keeping with the rest of the internal fixtures and fittings.
The final big decision was on what glass to choose. The new window and door designs consisted of 148 separate double glazed units so it was important to ensure it performed in the most effective way possible.
Due to the location of the house, in an exposed part of Aldgate in the Adelaide Hills, it was decided that thermal efficiency was the most important factor. For this reason our best performing Cardinal 366 glass was used throughout achieving an impressive whole window u-value of 1.7W/m²K, to give some context, a single glazed timber window will achieve a u-value of around 5.4W/m²K so this is a 69% improvement in the rate that heat and cold will travel through.
A secondary benefit of this glass is the very low solar heat gain coefficient figure. With large expanses of glass on the western elevation it was important to have a solution to manage the direct summer sun. The Cardinal 366 glass prevents most of these rays coming into the house so prevents overheating, fading of furniture and helps maintain a comfortable temperature all year round.
As a further bonus the Cardinal glass comes with a self cleaning layer on the outside meaning when it rains any dirt that is on the glass will be easily washed away.
The final touches to the job was the internal carpentry work to finish the inside, we used traditional hardwood for the new architraves, reveals and cills. This blended in perfectly with the golden oak woodgrain effect frames and existing floor tiles.
