Composition of plastic used for the production of PVC windows

Is it true that these windows have to be replaced every five years?

Polyvinyl chloride (simply PVC) is synthesized from petroleum products. Like many other polymers, it is very durable. It is not afraid of the sun's rays, moisture, natural microorganisms, or insects like woodworms. Thanks to special additives-modifiers, PVC for window profiles is a non-fragile and at the same time quite rigid material. In terms of strength characteristics, it is better than wood. Modern high-quality plastic windows can withstand frosts down to -50 and heat up to +60°C.

Recently, a kind of anniversary was celebrated in Germany. For advertising purposes, a PVC manufacturing company replaced plastic windows free of charge for one of its first clients, who installed them 35 years ago. Nobody knows yet how long the new generation products will last. Manufacturers provide a guarantee on the profile from 15 to 20 years, but experts say that windows made of rigid PVC are able to maintain their properties for at least 50 years. Another thing is the seals. Their service life varies from company to company - from 4 to 15 years. Time will tell who is right. Much depends on temperature changes in your area.

Comparison of plastic and metal-plastic windows: which to choose?

Modern window manufacturers offer customers a wide range of translucent structures with different characteristics, operating parameters and external design features. Buyers are often lost in the variety of options, not knowing by what criteria to compare models and evaluate their advantages and disadvantages. The most popular windows today are made from PVC profiles, but not all customers know that there are two categories of these structures, each of which has its own characteristics, advantages and disadvantages.

Related article: Is it possible to install plastic windows in winter?

They say that when exposed to the sun, PVC releases harmful substances?

Much has been said about the environmental friendliness of plastics. Yes, in their production heavy metals are used as a catalyst, and lead is added to PVC of many profiles during production (to add whiteness). But modern technology eliminates the release of toxic substances from the finished product (unless it is heated to the melting point, which is equivalent to a fire in the room): special passivating additives make the material environmentally flawless. In addition, some profiles now use zinc or calcium instead of lead.

All branded PVC frames have international and Russian hygiene certificates. If we talk about their place in environmental protection, then the facts speak about it.

By better retaining heat in the house, PVC windows allow you to burn much less fuel. This not only saves money and natural resources, but also reduces oxygen consumption and reduces the content of harmful substances in the air.

In addition, during its existence, plastic has saved dozens of hectares of forest used for the production of traditional wooden frames from deforestation. In Germany, for example, the state even provides subsidies for heating to owners of plastic or other windows with sealed double-glazed windows.

Which window is more profitable: “branded”, but expensive, or licensed, but cheap?

PVC window profiles are supplied to us from Austria, Switzerland, England, France, Turkey and other countries, but Germany undoubtedly holds the lead. The Germans own up to 90% of the Russian plastic window market (manufacturers: Actual, Aluplast, ARtek, Brugmann, Gealan, KBE, Knipping, Plustek, Rehau, Roplasto, Schuco, Thyssen, Trocal, Veka and others). Fittings and other components also come from Europe and also mainly from Germany (Aubi, Rota, Siegenia, Winkhaus). The companies are listed simply in alphabetical order, since it is difficult to objectively say whose products are better. One of the reasons for this is that sometimes quite prestigious European manufacturers supply us with simplified, cheaper options.

Not so long ago, our own licensed production appeared in Russia. Prices for domestic goods are one and a half to two times lower. You can save money by purchasing PVC in the cold season; some companies offer discounts of up to 20% for an easily tolerated inconvenience: 20-30 minutes with exposed frames. And yet, cheaper does not mean better. The fact is that the technologies on the lines installed by us are not always followed. “Licensed plastic” may indeed turn out to be not environmentally friendly enough, not white enough and completely unstable to our frosts, sudden temperature changes and acid rain. Although, of course, this is not a rule.

Nevertheless, taught by bitter experience and frightened by rumors, many of our fellow citizens consider it a safer option to order windows from dealers of reliable European companies. How to distinguish their products? It’s very simple - along the entire perimeter of the frame (from the side of the window opening) on ​​each linear meter of the inner side of the sash there is a logo, without which, for example, German manufacturers do not have the right to supply products. These branded windows are not cheap, but they are worth it.

How many seals does a PVC window need?

Seals are elastic gaskets of a tubular or more complex shape that run along the entire perimeter of the window between the frame and the sashes, and protect against the penetration of cold air, noise and moisture. They are made from special rubber, rubber-plastic or silicone. Sometimes rubber is reinforced with fiberglass, nylon thread or Kevlar carbon fiber for strength. For cold Moscow winters, silicone is preferable; unlike rubber, it does not harden in the cold. How to distinguish them?

Silicone is usually light-colored, rubber is black. Usually two sealing circuits are installed: on the street side and on the indoor side. In the profiles of the so-called “luxury class” there is also a third contour of the rebate seal, or “middle seal”. The middle seal increases sound insulation, protects metal window fittings from condensation and prevents cold air from penetrating through poorly protected hinge installation areas. The third seal, of course, is desirable, but it increases the cost of the profile and requires maximum precision during installation - a slight misalignment and one of the seals “turns off” due to a loose fit.

Problems and repairs

The main problems of PVC windows are:

1. Condensation that appears due to improper air exchange or high humidity.
2. Mold and mildew. Most often, the cause is condensation, as well as improper finishing of the slopes.
3. A seal failure that occurs when the seal is damaged, clogged, or when the position of the valves changes.
4. Damage to the fittings can occur due to improper handling of the window or debris getting into the mechanism itself.
5. The appearance of ice and heat loss is most often a consequence of improper window installation.

It is recommended to trust the repair of fittings to professionals, since without experience you can damage the frame, locking mechanisms or hinges. In some cases, minor repairs can be done independently :

• tighten the doors using a hex wrench;
• replace the seal.

Reinstalling double glazing can be a challenge as it requires skill, but if necessary you can use the assembly/disassembly advice described above.

Read more about troubleshooting here.

How to properly handle PVC windows?

To ensure that your windows remain new for a long time, never create problems and live safely until their half-century anniversary, it is enough to follow a few simple rules. Firstly, avoid impacting the surface of the profile with hard objects. Secondly, do not wash using solvents, concentrated acids, or abrasive materials. For these purposes, there are proprietary compositions for washing plastic windows, products for lubricating fittings and elastic window seals. Frames should be washed with foam sponges, and glass should be polished with suede. Thirdly, do not place heating devices near the double-glazed window, which can heat the glass to a temperature of more than +80°C.

Window profile

This is a rather complex structure, having several air chambers (most often three, but sometimes four or five), separated by PVC partitions. Metal reinforcement is installed inside the middle chamber, which ensures the rigidity of the frame.

A seal runs along the entire contour of the frame profile and sashes. Ventilation holes are milled in the upper and lower parts of the window frame to remove condensed moisture from the internal planes, drainage holes through which moisture trapped during rain escapes, grooves for attaching additional profiles, and sash opening mechanisms.

The multi-chamber design of the profile affects the degree of thermal insulation of the window, which is measured by the heat transfer coefficient k, adopted in European standards. The lower the value of this indicator, the better. Standard plastic windows have k=1.5. This means that in 20°C frost, the room temperature with weak heating will exceed 20 degrees Celsius. This “focus” is possible due to the heat-insulating properties of the air filling the three chambers of the profile. The more chambers, the better the thermal insulation.

And yet, to increase thermal insulation, you should not rely only on increasing the number of profile chambers, since most of the home heat is lost due to infrared radiation through the glass. Therefore, the choice of sealed double-glazed windows must be taken seriously.

Frame width

This indicator determines the type of double-glazed window that the profile can withstand without problems. The wider the window frame, the thicker the glass unit will fit into it. This means it will better maintain the temperature in the room.

Also, the width of the window frame affects the installation dimensions; they matter during installation. Wide profiles increase the overall weight of the structure. When installing on a balcony, this is one of the most important indicators that need to be taken into account.

The standard width is 58-80 mm, this is enough for the climate in central Russia. For severe cold regions, widths up to 120 mm are used. They also isolate from sounds from the street.

Door opening mechanisms

Manufacturers now offer two types of window units: American (sliding) and European (tilt-and-turn).

Sliding window units are most successful when glazing loggias and balconies. They will not take up a single extra centimeter of space, as is the case with conventional frames that open inwards. Tilt-and-turn blocks allow the doors to open in two planes: on vertical hinges, like conventional windows, and on horizontal hinges, like transoms. The last option is the most convenient for ventilation: it does not blow.

Tinted windows

Today we offer a large selection of tinted glass (up to 20 shades). They dim the bright sunlight.

There are also mirrored translucent glasses that reflect the sun's rays and create summer coolness in the house. Even if you use an air conditioner, such glass will provide significant savings in the energy consumed by it.

It is preferable to tint “in bulk” (that is, the glass is cast at the factory already colored in its entire thickness. Other methods of tinting - spraying and film coating - are less reliable. Spraying after a few years may become unsightly spots or fade. In addition, the production time for ordered double-glazed windows with toning it increases by a week.

Strengthening films

To protect your home from intruders entering your home through a window, triplex security glass has long been produced. It is made according to the automotive principle: two or more glasses are sandwiched with a special durable film. The more layers, the higher the reliability. Triplex may crack, but will still stand. There are also double-glazed windows with strengthening film. It is much thinner than triplex, but is not inferior in strength. Depending on the thickness, it can withstand up to several hits with a sledgehammer. The thicker the film, the stronger it is.

Soundproofing the room

1) Profile thickness

For residents of large cities, silence in the house is of particular importance. In this case, which metal-plastic windows to choose depends on the thickness of the profile; it should be at least 70 mm. As a rule, a profile of this thickness has 3-4 air chambers, their number also has a positive effect on the sound insulation of the room (for example, the KBE company produces a 6-chamber KBE-88 profile, which in its heat-insulating properties is not inferior to a brick wall).

2) Soundproof double glazing

Such double-glazed windows differ from ordinary ones in that in one of the chambers the spacer frame is slightly enlarged (an aluminum plate located inside the double-glazed window), and the glass itself has different thicknesses.

The noise level in the room where sound-proof double-glazed windows are installed is 20-30 dB. For comparison: complete silence - 0 dB, rustling grass - 10 dB, quiet music - 30-40 dB, loud speech - 60 dB, street noise - 70-80 dB.

3) Inert gases

We talked about the excellent thermal insulation properties of argon and krypton above, but in addition to this, inert gases perfectly muffle noise. Using a special double-glazed window and inert gas, you can achieve impeccable silence in the room.

Sealed double-glazed windows

In modern plastic frames, only sealed double-glazed windows of one, two, three and even four glasses are installed.

The composition and thickness of double-glazed windows varies over a wide range. The most common option, suitable for our climate, is 24 mm single-chamber. Their “formula” is 4-16-4. This means that two glasses 4 mm thick with a distance of 16 mm between them are connected into a “monolith”, along the perimeter of which runs a thin perforated aluminum frame filled with silicate gel or other desiccant. The gel absorbs residual air moisture between the glasses, protecting the glass from fogging. New moisture will no longer get there, since the entire block is filled with silicone sealant from the ends.

The most popular “formula” of double-glazed windows is: 4-6-4-6-4. These are three glasses 4 mm thick, separated by 6 mm intervals. For burglary resistance, sometimes the outer glass is 6 mm thick; it is very difficult to break. A single-chamber 24 mm double-glazed window reduces the sound pressure level (noise level) by at least 20-25 dB. Since decibels are on a logarithmic scale, a 10 dB reduction in noise level feels like half the volume to the ear. A double-glazed window makes external noise 40-42 dB quieter.

Thermal insulation also improves. To characterize the degree of thermal insulation of a window, we use the heat transfer resistance coefficient (the reciprocal of the heat transfer coefficient). For sealed double-glazed windows it is now 0.34-0.37 (the more the better). This means that at an outside temperature of -26°C, the glass temperature on the room side will be +5°C.

The best polished mirror glass is used for double-glazed windows. You look through it without feeling a barrier, as if there were no glass in the frames. It’s nice that most of this glass is domestically produced, from the city of Borsk. But there are more expensive double-glazed windows made from English, French, and Czech glass. Fine polishing of the glass makes it much stronger. After all, upon impact, the glass breaks where there are inhomogeneities, scratches, and bubbles.

Material thickness

The inside frame design is hollow with partitions. Reinforced reinforcement is also installed around the perimeter of the frame for density. The air is left inside for better thermal conductivity. In this case, the length and width of the walls on the inside and outside matter.

Manufacturers divide frames according to the width of the walls into 3 classes:

• Class A. It is considered the best and provides ideal thermal insulation. The thickness of the outer wall is from 2.8 mm. Inner box from 2.5 mm.
• Class B. Subject to deformation, used in the construction of public premises (entrances, shops, etc.). The outer wall here has a thickness of 2.5 mm, the inner one from 2.0 mm.
• Class C. This includes structures with thin frames that are used in non-residential buildings: warehouses, industrial premises. The thickness of the lines here is less than 2.4 mm on the outer wall and 1.9 mm on the inner.

The design of the reinforced profile ensures its rigidity, so the thickness of the walls is of fundamental importance.

Gas filling of double-glazed windows

In a closed, sealed space between the glasses there is rarefied air, which increases sound and thermal insulation, or an inert gas (for example, argon). Some people think that inert gas in double-glazed windows is an expensive overkill. In fact, argon, which is denser than air, together with glass, creates a layered medium from which, according to the laws of acoustics, most sound waves are reflected. The heat transfer resistance coefficient also increases by about 0.03 and is approximately 0.39. That is, at an outside temperature of -26°C, the glass temperature on the side of the room will already be +7°C.

Varieties

Plastic windows differ from each other due to a large number of factors.

For example, according to the form:

• 
  rectangular;

• triangular;
• polygonal (most often 6 or 8 sides);
• arched;
• round;
• trapezoidal;
• oval;
• semicircular.

According to the shape of the swing mechanism:

1. blind (without doors);
2. rotary;
3. folding;
4. tilt and turn;
5. transom;
6. guillotine;
7. rotating along the axis;
8. swing;
9. accordion (folding);
10. sliding

Also, windows may differ in the number of sashes (from 1 to 3). In some designs the following may be installed :

1. windows;
2. shtulpa;
3. sprouts;
4. additional fittings that increase burglary protection.

Also, differences in windows can be based on the type of double-glazed window (number of chambers, glass thickness, impact resistance) or its transparency (tinting, insulating film, stained glass).

More about the types of PVC windows here.

Energy saving glass

Some companies have recently been making the outer side of double-glazed windows from the so-called K-glass from the English company Pilkington. This is low-e energy-saving glass with metal spraying. It prevents the radiation of heat from the room to the outside and allows you to get by with thinner single-chamber double-glazed windows even in cold climates.

At the same time, the heat transfer resistance coefficient of such an energy-saving double-glazed window without filling with inert gas is 0.56 units (temperature of the double-glazed window from the room side is +14.5°C), and with inert gas - 0.67 units (internal temperature +16°C). K-glass and gas filling solve the problem of “crying” windows, and not only that. Another interesting property of energy-saving glass is the ability to reflect infrared sunlight, keeping the room cool in the summer heat.

Based on materials from vira.ru

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