Wood vs uPVC
Wednesday 30 March 2016
You’re looking to replace the windows and doors in your property, or looking at window and door options for your new build project, and need to decide between wood and uPVC. You know that uPVC is cheaper to purchase, so why should you choose to spend more money for timber frames?
THE BETTER ENVIROMENTAL CHOICE
Wood is widely accepted to be the most environmentally friendly building material. Not only is it carbon neutral, absorbing more CO2 from the atmosphere than it produces, it’s also fully recyclable and biodegradable.
All of our wood is renewable; responsibly sourced from FSC certified forests and adheres to Chain of Custody requirements.
AESTHETICS
Although a lot of work has been invested in improving the appearance of uPVC windows and doors, they still can’t imitate the appearance of wood. A lot of this comes down to subtle design details and traditional features such as the joints, integral horns and the width of the glazing bars.
Wood also offers more opportunity for personalisation of appearance, from the style of the wood features, to the variety of colour finishes and the choice of fittings and fixtures. These are all important considerations for period properties, or new builds and extensions in conservation areas where more styling conditions are likely to be placed on the project by local authorit
You’re looking to replace the windows and doors in your property, or looking at window and door options for your new build project, and need to decide between wood and uPVC. You know that uPVC is cheaper to purchase, so why should you choose to spend more money for timber frames?
THE BETTER ENVIROMENTAL CHOICE
Wood is widely accepted to be the most environmentally friendly building material. Not only is it carbon neutral, absorbing more CO2 from the atmosphere than it produces, it’s also fully recyclable and biodegradable.
All of our wood is renewable; responsibly sourced from FSC certified forests and adheres to Chain of Custody requirements.
AESTHETICS
Although a lot of work has been invested in improving the appearance of uPVC windows and doors, they still can’t imitate the appearance of wood. A lot of this comes down to subtle design details and traditional features such as the joints, integral horns and the width of the glazing bars.
Wood also offers more opportunity for personalisation of appearance, from the style of the wood features, to the variety of colour finishes and the choice of fittings and fixtures. These are all important considerations for period properties, or new builds and extensions in conservation areas where more styling conditions are likely to be placed on the project by local authorities.
PRODUCT LIFETIME
While uPVC is almost always cheaper to purchase, it more often than not doesn’t offer the best value for money. Although wood frames need a little more effort spent on their maintenance, technological advances with production and coating systems are always working to improve this. And many studies show that the extra maintenance effort pays off with a much longer total life than you can expect from uPVC.
There’s a lot of debate around the different effect that wood and uPVC products can have on house value, with some thinking that wood will add to the value of your home and others saying this is not true. One thing that everyone does seem to agree on is that uPVC will detract value from a period property.
ENERGY EFFICIENCY
Modern working systems and practices mean that the energy efficiency differences between wood and uPVC are negligible. That said, if you are looking at triple glazing for your property it is a lot easier for this to be incorporated in wood frames without creating extra thick units.