" Much of the bad reputation that timber windows and doors receive is due to inexperienced builders and carpenters."
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IMAGE: VAN ACHT
Despite common belief, wood varnish is not recommended.
Maintenance can be performed annually, or up to every 18 months. " If you were to varnish the wood, you would have to sand down the entire door or window frame to a raw state. With a deck sealer, one simply wipes the wood down with a rag to remove dust and then apply. In this way, the maintenance regime is reduced significantly."
He says wood is simple to work with when you have the right tools and is also slightly cheaper than aluminium, depending on the thickness of the application. " You can get very cheap, thin stuff as you can with aluminium."
According to Guest, the industry in South Africa is relatively good, although demand is somewhat seasonal and can be dependent on marketing.
" You need a bit of capital to get into the market, as costly machines are needed. These are a lot more expensive than aluminium machines, as that manufacturing process is essentially just cutting and joining metal, whereas with wood, guys are turning raw planks into whatever is desired."
UNDERCUTTING
" There are smaller aluminium guys whose prices are significantly cheaper than the larger suppliers because they source cheap components from overseas and assemble in their garages," says Philip Fisher, owner at Strongwood South Africa.
He says buyers must be educated about the ability of metal components to withstand South Africa ' s climate. " The frames of inferior products corrode quicker and you
" Much of the bad reputation that timber windows and doors receive is due to inexperienced builders and carpenters."
wind up with long-term issues. People need to research these things, shop around and consult with various suppliers before just taking anything off the shelf.
" Some builders won ' t bother to source a fancy window or give homebuilder ' s options. They tend to just go with run-of-the-mill stuff," he says.
Aluminium folding doors are usually more expensive than their timber equivalents. " This is a slight grey area though, as aluminium doors usually come with glass, whereas timber products are generally supplied without glass."
Aluminium folding doors cannot be made in people ' s garages, and so these guys are unable to compete with larger companies.
" Most housing estates, if they decide to go with timber, use entry-level products. There are low-cost timber windows available, but these are not great and are really only made for budget housing."
His company offers a maintenance-free composite wood door frame which, he says, is unique in South Africa.
42 OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2017 //