I am currently deciding between uPVC and wood-aluminum windows with my preferred house manufacturer.
My personal impression has been that uPVC windows tend to feel “cheap,” so I have always said I prefer wood-aluminum windows (actually pure aluminum would be ideal, but unfortunately that’s not an option). Of course, I have now done some research here in the forum on this topic, and as expected, it turns out there are high-quality uPVC windows as well as lower-quality wood-aluminum ones. Unfortunately, with my house manufacturer (a prefabricated house), the selection is limited—I don’t want to exclude windows from their package—but I can only choose between single-color uPVC, two-tone uPVC, and wood-aluminum. The additional cost from standard single-color to two-tone uPVC is about €3,500 (€3,500), and to wood-aluminum about €7,500 (€7,500), both calculated relative to single-color uPVC. I don’t yet know the general price range of the standard windows, but maybe I can find out by asking what happens if I exclude the windows from the scope of work.
That’s the background of my situation. The main point of this thread, however, is how a layperson can recognize the value (or quality) of these windows. I have read here that the value generally correlates with price as follows:
The problem is that, as I said, I do not know the price, so these surcharges are not very helpful. I have also learned that when it comes to wood-aluminum, windows with welded corners on the aluminum cladding tend to be cheaper (due to the different thermal expansion coefficients of wood and aluminum), whereas corners that are mechanically joined or not welded usually indicate better quality windows. I can watch for this, but I haven’t found much more information, so here is my question:
How can I recognize whether the windows are good quality without knowing the price?
As mentioned, I am a layperson. I cannot immediately tell whether uPVC is low quality, and I have no experience with wood at all. I can’t identify wood species by grain or similar features, and I don’t understand terms like softwood or hardwood (though I could ask about that, so a list of good and bad wood types might be helpful).
One more question: If the lower-quality wood-aluminum windows (according to the list above) are a little more expensive than the better-quality uPVC ones, does that automatically mean the wood-aluminum windows are at least a tiny bit better?
I’d also like to briefly explain why I used the word “cheap” at the start of this post. This is not meant to sound derogatory—I simply feel that way when using these windows in most cases, even if it may not be accurate. Over the last few months, I made it a point to open windows in many show homes (and there are quite a few in such a show village). Most of the time, my impression was confirmed (again, this may be wrong, but it is my feeling) that uPVC windows somehow feel “cheap.” I did notice some differences, for example that some uPVC windows noticeably warped when opened (which is immediately noticeable and creates a very uneasy feeling :eek 🙂, although most did not. I want to be clear that I have never noticed this warping in any pure aluminum or wood-aluminum windows. Both of those always felt (how should I put it?) more solid and higher quality; nothing warped, and they generally opened and closed more heavily, giving a solid impression. This was especially noticeable with lift-and-slide doors, with no exceptions. The uPVC doors were easy to identify by prying, while every well-feeling door was exclusively pure aluminum or wood-aluminum.
Some might consider this a very superficial opinion, but that is just how I feel. As I said, I don’t have experience with wood; we would also want the wood-aluminum windows painted white on the inside, preferably with no visible grain. The extra cost is actually worth it for me, considering that we want two-tone windows anyway, so for us it would be “only” about €4,000 (€4,000) extra. BUT feeling alone is not everything—I would of course like to have the better windows and lift-and-slide doors (not knowing about insulation value, durability, etc.) so I won’t regret it in 20 years, since I expect to build only once in my life.
I hope I have expressed myself clearly and understandably… We are going to visit the factory next week, and I would like to be better informed on this topic. The windows will be purchased from our house manufacturer directly.
Best regards
Dany250
My personal impression has been that uPVC windows tend to feel “cheap,” so I have always said I prefer wood-aluminum windows (actually pure aluminum would be ideal, but unfortunately that’s not an option). Of course, I have now done some research here in the forum on this topic, and as expected, it turns out there are high-quality uPVC windows as well as lower-quality wood-aluminum ones. Unfortunately, with my house manufacturer (a prefabricated house), the selection is limited—I don’t want to exclude windows from their package—but I can only choose between single-color uPVC, two-tone uPVC, and wood-aluminum. The additional cost from standard single-color to two-tone uPVC is about €3,500 (€3,500), and to wood-aluminum about €7,500 (€7,500), both calculated relative to single-color uPVC. I don’t yet know the general price range of the standard windows, but maybe I can find out by asking what happens if I exclude the windows from the scope of work.
That’s the background of my situation. The main point of this thread, however, is how a layperson can recognize the value (or quality) of these windows. I have read here that the value generally correlates with price as follows:
- Wood-aluminum (140) in good quality should be priced above pure aluminum (120)
- Pure aluminum (120) above high-quality uPVC (100)
- And high-quality uPVC (100) above low-quality uPVC (80) (;))
- Low-quality wood-aluminum (105) slightly above good uPVC (100)
The problem is that, as I said, I do not know the price, so these surcharges are not very helpful. I have also learned that when it comes to wood-aluminum, windows with welded corners on the aluminum cladding tend to be cheaper (due to the different thermal expansion coefficients of wood and aluminum), whereas corners that are mechanically joined or not welded usually indicate better quality windows. I can watch for this, but I haven’t found much more information, so here is my question:
How can I recognize whether the windows are good quality without knowing the price?
As mentioned, I am a layperson. I cannot immediately tell whether uPVC is low quality, and I have no experience with wood at all. I can’t identify wood species by grain or similar features, and I don’t understand terms like softwood or hardwood (though I could ask about that, so a list of good and bad wood types might be helpful).
One more question: If the lower-quality wood-aluminum windows (according to the list above) are a little more expensive than the better-quality uPVC ones, does that automatically mean the wood-aluminum windows are at least a tiny bit better?
I’d also like to briefly explain why I used the word “cheap” at the start of this post. This is not meant to sound derogatory—I simply feel that way when using these windows in most cases, even if it may not be accurate. Over the last few months, I made it a point to open windows in many show homes (and there are quite a few in such a show village). Most of the time, my impression was confirmed (again, this may be wrong, but it is my feeling) that uPVC windows somehow feel “cheap.” I did notice some differences, for example that some uPVC windows noticeably warped when opened (which is immediately noticeable and creates a very uneasy feeling :eek 🙂, although most did not. I want to be clear that I have never noticed this warping in any pure aluminum or wood-aluminum windows. Both of those always felt (how should I put it?) more solid and higher quality; nothing warped, and they generally opened and closed more heavily, giving a solid impression. This was especially noticeable with lift-and-slide doors, with no exceptions. The uPVC doors were easy to identify by prying, while every well-feeling door was exclusively pure aluminum or wood-aluminum.
Some might consider this a very superficial opinion, but that is just how I feel. As I said, I don’t have experience with wood; we would also want the wood-aluminum windows painted white on the inside, preferably with no visible grain. The extra cost is actually worth it for me, considering that we want two-tone windows anyway, so for us it would be “only” about €4,000 (€4,000) extra. BUT feeling alone is not everything—I would of course like to have the better windows and lift-and-slide doors (not knowing about insulation value, durability, etc.) so I won’t regret it in 20 years, since I expect to build only once in my life.
I hope I have expressed myself clearly and understandably… We are going to visit the factory next week, and I would like to be better informed on this topic. The windows will be purchased from our house manufacturer directly.
Best regards
Dany250
Similar topics