As the most fundamental, necessary features of any construction, doors and windows play a crucial role in determining the personality and environment of any building.
Australia’s climate plays a massive role in determining the doors and windows required to maintain a liveable, workable environment. Many products out there are unable to compete with Australia’s harsh conditions, and manufacturers often forgo quality and compliance with the Building Code of Australia, for cheap solutions. Unfortunately for designers and builders, they choose inferior systems that reflect negatively on their reputation.
When selecting a doors and windows system, carefully consider these four compliance issues:
- Wind pressure and water penetration
Each type of construction and site location is different and requires its own mandatory minimum specification relating to air infiltration, water penetration resistance, structural and wind loading. Failing to specify conditions can result in costly building damage.
- Thermal requirements and energy rating
Keep in mind the type of environment required for your construction, as well as its costs and sustainability. Regulating temperature in some buildings, particularly large ones, can be quite costly. Windows play a role in trapping heat: 40 per cent of a building’s heat can be lost through its windows, and 87 per cent of its heat can be gained through them. Thermal performance, certified by Australia’s Window Energy Rating Scheme, states it is crucial to reduce energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions.
- Acoustics
If you are building in the bustling heart of the city, your options would be very different to if you were building in the quiet countryside. Noise transfers through windows and doors at a much higher rate than through walls, so choose features that are designed to reduce noise: frame design, glazing, glass pane type, distance between panes and seals.
- Bushfire protection
With Australia’s tendency to experience raging bushfires yearly, buildings in bushfire prone areas must be constructed with materials to withstand them.
This seems like a lot to consider, just for some doors and windows. Fortunately, Wintec Aluminium streamlines your decision making process with its online solution for technical and architectural window and door design. Specify Wintec places a technical expert at your fingertips, intuitively evaluating your requirements so select the best Wintec Aluminium product for you.
Wintec Aluminium offers high quality Australian designed and manufactured solutions for your designs. Its Wintec philosophy delivers modern composition and a quality finish, while offering complete testing and performance results on the four key compliance issues.
To find out more on how Wintec Aluminium can customise your building designs, contact Wintec now and discover how easy it is to choose the perfect system.
