SEPTEMBER 2017 | 23
News
Read online at www.proinstaller.co.uk
DESIGNED TO LAST A LIFETIME
Sarah Hitchings, general manager of Residence Collection,
says everyone loves the look of a flush sash window,
but with R9’s stunning appearance and outstanding
performance they’ll keep on loving it in the years to come
without the drudge or cost of a lifetime’s maintenance.
Hats off to hardwood win-
dows. In the last 15 years they
largely caught up with other ma-
terials in performance, overtook
them in price, and set the stand-
ard for appearance. And factory
finished windows can last for
up to ten years before they need
repainting.
But younger homeowners and
homeowners with no experience
of first generation timber windows
won’t understand the significance
of the improvement, or why PVCu
makes such a point of low main-
tenance. Surely all materials and
home improvement products are
low maintenance?
Well no, PVCu is so low main-
tenance it’s virtually no mainte-
nance. But timber’s paint coating
is there to protect the timber, be-
cause without it water and weath-
er will do irretrievable damage to
timber. To appreciate that we have
to go back to the dark days of
timber windows in the 1970s, 80s
and 90s.
Everywhere homeowners looked
in the 70s they saw houses with
flaking, rotting, jammed or sagging
timber windows. At the weekends,
in their evenings and holidays,
people were hard at work repair-
ing, making good and repainting
their windows. Homeowners in
their millions couldn’t wait to
replace them for low maintenance
PVCu windows that gave them
their lives back.
Today’s homeowners aren’t used
to maintenance and don’t want the
hassle and loss of leisure time in
having to DIY, and certainly don’t
want the cost and difficulty of
getting hold of a reliable decorator
to undertake the necessary regular
rub downs, making good, and re-
painting them outside, and in. And
it has to be done if you want them
to last. Most people don’t want
that, so PVCu window installers
still see new build estates with
timber windows as money in the
bank.
Sarah Hitchings, general manager of Residence Collection
R7 is uniquely flush inside and out
New generation PVCu
Five years ago, with the launch
of Residence 9, a new generation
of PVCu windows caught up with
hardwood in looks, while main-
taining its lead in performance.
Even the most expensive PVCu
window costs less than hard-
wood, and the total lifetime cost
of a hardwood window including
maintenance over a 50-year period
is likely to be two to three times
the cost of an equivalent quality
Residence 9 which requires very
little maintenance.
Residence 9 (R9) is British
designed and British made for
British homes. This super-premi-
um, butt-jointed ‘timber-alternative’
flush sash has filled a gap, and
systems companies have followed
with their own flush sashes, add-
ing profiles to existing systems
rather than creating a dedicated
flush sash system.
R9 is still the only window
that’s designed to give planners
the dimensions and comprehen-
sive detailing they demand for
conservation areas. It’s perfect for
period homes, listed buildings and
upmarket private developers. It’s
so authentic you wouldn’t know
it’s not wood, and its outstanding
all-round performance, energy
efficiency, weather, security, plus a
lifetime’s trouble-free low mainte-
nance makes timber an expensive
alternative.
The mechanically-jointed nine
chambered 100mm R9 with
perfectly equal sightlines is a
hand-crafted super-premium win-
dow. It also brought a new range
of much copied, stylish colours
with distinctive names to the mar-
ket, and raised expectations for
traditional quality hardware.
Last year Residence 7 (R7) was
added to the range. This is a seven
chamber 75mm flush system with
perfectly equal sightlines that’s
uniquely flush inside and out. It’s
designed to be mechanically-joint-
ed or welded, and has opened a
new market in high-end contem-
porary homes and self-builds,
modern new builds and city apart-
ments, as well as semi-detaches
and country cottages. Like R9,
R7 has been engineered to meet
existing and future standards and
specifically designed to accommo-
date the additional weight of triple
glazed units, so heavy duty hinges
fit and operate perfectly. Its seven
chambers, and the extra 5mm its
75mm gives on the usual 70mm
dimensions, results in superior
thermal, acoustic, strength and
security performance.
R9, a new generation of PVCu windows that’s built to last
R7 is designed to set the
benchmark for PVCu systems
with mechanical joints or weld-
ing, while R9 is a mechanically
jointed product that’s built to beat
hardwood, aluminium, PVCu or
composite windows in looks and
performance.
If you’re interested in
fabricating or installing
authentic R9 or R7 windows,
visit www.residencecollection.
co.uk, email journey@
residencecollection.co.uk
or follow @Residence9 on
twitter.