Life span of UPVC Windows

[Matthew Jenkins]

What is the expected life of UPVC Windows?

And what problems will eventually mean they have to be replaced?

Thanks, Matthew

[Colin Wilson]

We`ve had ours in 9 years - many of the opening panes have snagged on the frames almost from new so you have to lift them slightly to clear the frame, the neoprene seals have pulled away from their proper position (ie. they were stretched too much when put in), and one is showing a rust stain (!) - I think the cut end of a piece of reinforcing steel rod must have been left uncoated. On the bright side, none of the DG units have failed yet.

They were fitted by St Helens Glass.

[Kris]

A few months after the installers disappear and resume trading under a different name. Nothing to do with the 10 year guarantee, of course.

Chris

[Steve Walker]

This house had UPVC windows fitted throughout by the previous owners, I've been here ten years and only had two problems (both recent).

1) One opener is now catching slightly - probably removing and refitting the hinge mechanism will solve this. 2) Two small glazing units have failed (misted).

So all in all, I'm pretty satisfied with it.

Steve W

[tim]

There's a school of thought that plastic windows are replaced by their owners expecting a 7 year life-span.

Personally I had mine put in expecting 30-40 years.

The hinges break. Often they are unrepairable.

tim

[John]

If hinges break surely it can be prevented by a bit of lubrication before they start to stiffen up......? A sort of annual service - and do the sliding patio door runners at the same time.

[tim]

Yes.....,

I think you extrapolated wrongly from what I said.

I didn't mean that they break in the sense that they are shoddy, but that they are the least repairable part. They will usually break because of mis-use or as you say, poor maintance.

The point is that if they break, unless you are very lucky it means a new window, pretty much every other fault is easily fixable.

tim

[Richard Sterry]

How long is a piece of string? Really, it's a hard question to give a straight answer to.

Some sealed units will leak air in/out, and so you get fine condensation and bacterial growths on the inside. These can at least be replaced, at a cost of course.

You may have problems with the frames warping (eg pressure from the surrounding structure) causing difficulty opening/closing some panes. This can sometimes be overcome by adjustment of the hinges.

The handles and/or locks can wear or jam, and it may be tricky to find a suitable replacement as there seem to be so many different types.

The black rubber sealing strips often 'shrink' back, due to having been stretched too much, leaving unsightly gaps at the corners. This is likely to be only cosmetic, but it's not good.

Hope this isn't alarming you too much!

Rick

[Andy Luckman]

Twice the length from the centre to the end? :-)

[Capitol]

Don't know, mine have been in about 20 years. One panel( out of 20, all fairly large) misted up a year ago, then cleared itself during the summer months. One hinge went stiff, lubrication cured this.

Regards Capitol

[jacob]

5 to 15 years depending on quality, environment etc. As compared to trad. wood joinery which may last 100 or more years. What goes first is the flexible seals and/or mastics which then allow water in, then frost and algae slowly take them apart . Or the glazing units mist up - they depend on an air tight but flexible seal done with mastic or other adhesives which are doomed to fail sooner or later. Or if well used the hinges and other hardware wear out and may be difficult/impossible to repair or replace. Or if in a dusty or polluted town environment the surface will deteriorate and require cleaning. Cleaning eventually speeds up the rate of deterioration as the surface looses it's hard shine.

Basically they are total crap.

cheers

Jacob

[T i m]

Opening (glazed) uPVC (big) windows and doors should be 'heeled and toed' when fitted but often aren't.

This is just the fitting of bridging spacers at the lower inner and upper outer corners (I think it's that way round) so that the glass acts as a 'brace' to stop the frame dropping.

I was round a mates the other day where his 'mate' (who worked in the window game) had firtted a double panel uPVC door for him. I first knew there was a problem when I tried to go outside and was told 'you can't use that because it's jammed, it's been like that for about a year" ?

I couldn't resist having a look and the door had dropped about 7mm at the latch side. The bloke that fitted it was going to come back and change / refit the hinges?

I asume he was going to reshape the frame to a trapizoid to fit the door at the same time?

All the best ..

T i m

[Dave Plowman]

Most of my windows are original and over 100 years old. I had a new wood window (Magnet) of a different design in the kitchen (much larger than the original) which barely did 10 years without attention to rot. I finally replaced it with PVC last year.

[Dave Plowman]

It was my understanding that double glazed units should *never* be stressed in any way. Otherwise why are they always mounted in flexible 'putty' etc?

[T i m]

Hi Dave,

Sri I was talking about the openers in the frame rather than the frame itself?

The frames (window / door) should be 'located' but some allowance made for expansion / contraction. I also believe they shouldn't be anchored too near the corners (welds) to prevent stress. Fisher bolts seem good for this and just 'nipped up' ensuring no distortion etc. Spacors / wedges can offer support between the frame / wall pre final foam / whatever.

I was talking more about the opening 'side hung' (bigger) windows and all fully glazed doors. Because the glass panels are often just wedged in with the glazing bead against a rubber seal, slow movement of the glass panel within the frame is likley (even if secured in with double sided tape as some are).

To prevent this movement, the glass 'fitted' into the frame with bridge / spacer / packing pieces, in two opposing corners, ensuring:

1) there are no undue stresses in the frame (the plastic will expand / contract around the glass but the glass will generally stay put) 2) the pane can't move within the frame so the frame can't move around the glass so less likely for the frame to distort (drop) over time (I don't believe there is sufficient 'rigidity' in the plastic to resist distortion over time on it's own, especially if the glass is 'live' within the frame?)

AFAIK anyway?

All the best ..

T i m