A week-long poll I have been running on Twitter has come to an end with a definitive answer.

The question asked was whether people preferred standard 45 degree welds on PVCu windows or timber look joints. This wasn’t a debate about timber look joint welds versus true mechanical joints, that debate I will leave for another day. This was simply standard welds v TLJs. There was always going to be one winner.

Question and answer

Here it is:

This is a very clear indication that the industry is quickly moving away from the old details of the old generation of PVCu windows. There is much talk about the future of PVCu and the role products like timber look joints and flush windows are going to play in the coming decade. TLJs and flush windows of course come together as a package, it’s that combination which is going to help propel sales of both.

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A flush future

The last four home owners I have seen are wanting to replace all their windows in their home. Every single one has asked me to price for flush sash windows, all with options for timber look joints. I haven’t steered them towards that choice, I have simply shown them all the frame options available and they have landed on flush windows themselves.

Obviously this doesn’t mark the end of us selling normal casement windows, but what it does demonstrate is that when presented with a choice, home owners have a clear leaning to the flush option. To that end we’re gearing up at our place to sell more flush windows than we ever have done in the past.

What our industry should now be doing is to prepare itself for a very steep rise in the sale of flush windows over the next few years. Here’s a bold prediction from me, I think that in 5 years time flush windows could become the most popular window for home owners outside new-build and council contracts. I think that in ten years time the 45 degree weld will be dead and everything will be either TLJ or graf welded. Time will tell!

A new poll

I have started another poll on Twitter, this time tackling the subject of whether triple glazing has already had it’s day. The energy and talk around triple glazing really has hit a low of late. We did think at one point that this was the natural progression of PVCu windows, flush has since taken that crown with far more conviction.

Personally, the chance for triple glazing to take root in the same way flush windows have has gone. There was no obvious demand for the product, the climate didn’t warrant it, the industry itself wasn’t geared up well enough to produce it. For triple glazing, there were too many reasons not to choose it than to go for it. But, that’s my opinion, and I’m asking you guys for your via the Twitter poll. So before you go, give it a quick click and lets see what the industry thinks!

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