Features

TRY AN OLD FOR NEW POLICY

January 7th, 2020 - Beth

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Quickslide’s Adrian Barraclough says that the best insurance policy you can have, one that pays out every time and without a quibble, is to make sure you have a range of ‘Heritage’ window styles in your portfolio.

I find it ironic that little more than around 15 years ago very few companies were offering affordable, practical replacements for vertical sliding, box sash windows. Quickslide did a great deal to popularise the style, recognising that there were around 6 million, mostly draughty and leaking, traditional timber VS frames installed up and down the country. And, actually, that the majority of them were installed in homes that, whilst their owners might be sensitive to the appearance of their home and of the neighbourhood, were modest and not architecturally protected. This realisation coincided with the saturation of the mass market for conventional casements and what were previously regarded as niche, specialised sub sectors suddenly became attractive and profitable.

These days ‘Heritage’ sells, not just in the aging terraces of city centre homes, but as more styles have been revived, then across the estates of Britain too; and the more apparently authentic, the better.

As a key driver for the development of replacement VS windows and still a market leader, Quickslide set about developing the genre by realising the importance of authenticity to homeowners. We therefore pay a great deal of attention to such details as run through sash horns and a range of detail customisations including Georgian bars, external weather bars and deep bottom rails together with flush gaskets that emulate traditional glazing. We also offer mechanical joints and seamless welding to further enhance the Heritage aesthetic.

And all of these features and more can be found on our newly available ‘Legacy’ window which extends our range above the established and highly popular Renaissance window that has been our staple for so many years.

A further realisation within the industry that Heritage sells came with development of the PVC-U replacement flush sash casement window around 10 years ago. These days, every systems supplier worth their salt (pun unintended) has a flush sash in its collection and, when one looks at the popularity of the style, it is amazing to me that it took so long.

Flush sash windows, such as the superb Deceuninck Heritage frame that Quickslide manufactures, were originally designed as a cheap window to suit humbler dwellings. These frames are by their nature plain in style and generally have equal sightlines to the frame and sash.  The sash closing flush into the outer frame, and dummy sashes used in place of openers to give a uniform and balanced appearance throughout, allow the style to be used in homes built to a wide number of architectural styles and indeed, periods.

However, whilst PVC-U (and now aluminium) repeats its party trick of replicating the original timber aesthetics whilst bringing with it modern levels of insulation and comfort, I believe that these quite humble styles are actually enhanced through the use of modern materials, with the result that they look quite at home when installed in modern houses. Hence we have a much larger market than for traditionally styled VS frames.

Having had a significant lead in the VS sector we have brought that experience into play in our take on flush sash. Our in-house facilities, including colour bonding and profile bending, remove weeks from the fabrication process, allowing us not only to present our own tweaks and aesthetic detailing to our Heritage frames, but also to make promises to our customers that we can keep.

The next time you think about insurance policies for your business, having a portfolio of Heritage windows will pay out every time. And as with any insurance, it’s worth studying the small print detailing the supplier.

ISSUE: NOVEMBER 2019

 


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