B&Q 'off the shelf' UPVC windows - sizes

Life is always complicated. So is this post.

I am planning to use B&Q windows because you can buy them off the shelf and as this is a new build I can (more or less) plan the wall around the windows.

We went to a B&Q Warehouse yesterday to make the final decisions and generally sort out the fine detail.

[By the way, B&Q have this 'face board' at the door with pictures of the staff and all their specialities - building, plumbing, electrical etc. Excellent idea. We tracked down the two building experts. Turns out they weren't really builders. One was a baker. They pointed us to the builder. He wasn't happy that he was listed as a plumber because he didn't know about plumbing. Go figure.]

The staff were very helpful (howver, see above).

We asked "Is there a set of instructions on how to fit the windows?". [Reasonable question, as it is a good idea to know what is required before you start, and any asssumptions made.]

The windows included on the label the size of the frame and the size of the opening required. The opening was 10mm wider than the frame and 80mm higher than the frame. We asked "Why the extra height?".

Answers were "No" and "Don't know". Further discussion - I can see that 30mm is for the cill but what is the extra 50mm for - and we were told that the extra space was for the trickle vent which was sold seperately and had to be fitted because of Building Regulations.

40mm high strip that just clips on. O.K. - the workshop is not a habitable room so this shouldn't apply.

It is nice to deal with mature people - a bonus in B&Q - because they 'borrowed' a set of instructions from a window so we could read them. They then made a photocopy so we could take it away. I did suggest that they might like to make a couple more for future reference but I don't know if they did. The other thing that they did was to show us the clip (another extra which you wouldn't know about until you had read the instructions which were sealed inside the window package) which clipped into the outside of the frame and then protruded inwards (or optionally outwards) to be screwed to the wall.

This was obviously a potential problem The window is expected to go into a cavity wall opening so with a double skin wall there is plenty of depth. We are building a single block wall so the opening is 100mm. The frame is 60mm deep. So if you sit the frame back into the opening (as is usual) you don't have enough space at the back for the fixing. Fortunately there is an alternative strategy - fit the brackets so they face outwards, drill in at an angle of 70 degrees then cover the screw and bracket with the silicone sealant bead you run round the outside. Subject to further checking this may be a feasible option.

However there is another fly in the ointment.

We are looking at windows which are 905mm wide. The dimensions on the package say that the opening should be 915mm wide. The instructions say that there should be a 5mm gap all round - presumably to allow for fine adjustment with packing to get the window exactly plumb, also to provide some depth to fit the brackets. Errrr.......

1 block is 440mm wide. Mortar between blocks is 10mm. A two block gap is therefore "Mortar-block-mortar-block-mortar" or (10+440+10+440+10) which comes to 910mm. The window requires a gap of 915mm. ......so why?

There seems to be no logic in that particular window sizing given the accompanying instructions. I am then left with the question "Can I build the opening to the tolerance of 2.5mm each side, and if so will this be enough for any expansion and for the brackets?".

Oh, and a supplementary. Instructions suggest that the gap around the window is packed with foam rubber to allow for expansion and contraction. Foam rubber? This is to be added after the window has been screwed into the opening and all additional packing pieces (used to get the window true before fixing) have been removed. Do they mean squirty foam? Or are there strips of foam rubber you push into the gaps before sealing inside and out with frame sealant?

If anyone is interested I can scan the instructions in and post them on photobucket - they provide useful information for anyone new to fitting plastic windows.

Any information, as usual, gratefully received.

Cheers

Dave R

Reply to
David WE Roberts
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I ,too, used B&Q windows in a single skin garage/workshop. You can make window 'openings' any size you like by varying mortar gaps or cutting blocks. To suggest you could achieve an accuracy of

2.5 mm is fanciful. The fixing clips can face fwd or back - I fitted mine with the windows flush outside, clips to rear. They JUST fit in the 100mm (plus external render). Squirty foam, not foam rubber. No need for trickle vents where the opening window can be locked slightly open. No need at all in a non habitable building (presumeably no airtightness). Sill screws to window frame - I had to find some better screws....

Phil.

Reply to
Phil

I've fitted a couple of windows and patio doors that were stock sizes from Screwfix. Came with full fitting instructions. Very decent quality too - no complaints and one of the windows and the doors are about 10 years old now. The second window about 3 years old.

I fitted the windows flush with the outside of the wall - unlike timber they don't need the protection of a recess. And they didn't have to match older ones.

The instructions said they have to be set in absolutely level - one reason for a larger opening. The fixing brackets were only to hold the window in place - it's the foam which really does the job.

After the foam had set, I undercut it on the outside by about 1/2" and applied a mortar fillet.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Usefull as always (thanks to Dave as well)

Varying mortar gaps may not be the way to go, because in this case gaining

5mm on two gaps may be a little extreme. As is cuttting 5mm off a concrete block :-(

The front should look like this, corner to centre:

Block Block 5/8 block || centre

Other side is a mirror image. So there aren't many mortar gaps beween the two windows and between the door and the window. Probably the column between the two windows will not follow the bond of the rest of the wall. As I am cutting these blocks anyway I can trim them to fit.

I was really mainly querying why (oh why, oh why) the window was made in a size 5mm too wide to fit a multiple of blocks (and therefore a multiple of bricks) without cutting. It just doesn't seem logical. Unless this is just coincidence and they aren't designed in multiple brick widths.

Oh, and I don't have any external render (which means they might JUST not fit). Did you use both screw holes in the plastic bracket or just the one nearest to the frame? Did you angle the hole in 60 degrees as in the instructions for fitting the bracket outside?

TIA

Dave R

Reply to
David WE Roberts

On Mar 9, 9:23=A0am, "David WE Roberts"

These are optional. You can fix by drilling through the frame and using uPVC window frame fixers.

Convert to imperial measurements ;-) and then remember that these are

*replacement* windows.

Just build the openings to a convenient size and get the windows made to fit.

MBQ

Reply to
Man at B&Q

Sounds like the windows are imperial sized and the blocks are metric.

I changed a window here many years ago, and as it was on an estate built by a national builder I assumed the window frames were standard sizes, as teh one I was replacing was difficult to access. So I measured another one and bought a replacement of that size. When I came to fit I found that the one coming out was metric (based on 300mm units) and the replacement was imperial (based on 12" -- 304mm) so the frame was nearly an inch wider than necessary. Fortunately it was a timber frame, and I managed to plane enough off each side to enable it to be a tightish fit. Susequent checks revealed that /all/ the other frames were the larger size, just the one I was replacing was different.

Brickies can usually adjust the brick/block sizes to accommodate any size, it sounds that you haven't the space to do so neatly with blocks.

You should be able to fit it in, but it will be tight, and with any errors it may not!

Reply to
<me9

These are optional. You can fix by drilling through the frame and using uPVC window frame fixers.

The windows come already glazed (hence the additional clips). I don't want to have to prise out the glazing units to fit the frame.

Reply to
David WE Roberts

messagenews: snipped-for-privacy@t41g2000yqt.googlegroups.com...

Yeah, the B&Q window I got did not have a "proper" bead on the inside, just some type of felt, and I certainly didn't want to take out the glass - who know what horrors may unfold. Latest build, I got windows made to fit from a local supplier which was surprisingly cheap and very good quality. Simon.

Reply to
sm_jamieson

messagenews: snipped-for-privacy@t41g2000yqt.googlegroups.com...

I'd certainly check prices with a local installer. The last 4 I had fitted were about £200 more than the cheapest supply only price I could find. The bits and pieces (trims, superglue, accelerator, foam gun etc) all add up, and are not always that easy to source.

Reply to
stuart noble
9 Mar, 09:23, "David WE Roberts"

Just the one screw nearest the frame, not angled, bracket fitted on the inside.

Reply to
Phil

As I said they're only to secure the frame while the foam sets. You don't have to use them.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

snipped-for-privacy@t41g2000yqt.googlegroups.com...

If the instructions don't tell you how to do this, and you are set on off the shelf units, then buy somewhere else, like Wickes.

Download the Wickes "how to" guides on replacement windows as a start.

MBQ

Reply to
Man at B&Q

messagenews: snipped-for-privacy@t41g2000yqt.googlegroups.com...

#If the instructions don't tell you how to do this, and you are set on #off the shelf units, then buy somewhere else, like Wickes.

#Download the Wickes "how to" guides on replacement windows as a start.

Can't seem to find any guide about windows on the Wickes web site. If you have a link that would be appreciated.

Oh, and I do have a set of instructions - they tell you to use external clips. The issue is the depth of the single block wall and the length of the clips.

Reply to
David WE Roberts

If you have the freedom to build the openings to fit the windows, I'd have a look on eBay. There are an increasing number of listings of new but mismeasured windows which often go for very low prices.

A
Reply to
auctions

Last time I asked at Wickes (because their fitting guides for window do indeed seem pretty good) I was told they'd stopped doing them.

I may still have a PDF if you're interested.

J^n

Reply to
jkn

#If you have the freedom to build the openings to fit the windows, I'd #have a look on eBay. There are an increasing number of listings of new #but mismeasured windows which often go for very low prices.

Tried looking on eBay but my requirements are now quite specific with regards to width and I want a matching pair. Also when I looked most items were collection only, which narrowed my options somewhat.

Reply to
David WE Roberts

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