2019-07-01 Homebuilding & Renovating

A

t IDSystemswetypicallygetaskedthree

questionsoneveryproject:“Howmuch?”,

“Whatarethesightlines?”and“Whatis the

U value?”Theseareallgoodquestions,butthere

is a fourthquestionthathardlyevergetsasked—

“Howwellwillmydoorswithstandwindandrain?”

Knowingtheanswertothisis crucialwhereveryou

live,becauseit is a goodindicationofhowwellthe

systemis puttogether.Andit is absolutelycriticalif

youarebuildingina ruralorexposedlocation.

Q

howisweAther

performAncemeAsured?

A

UnlikeU valueswhicharea theoretical

calculation,forweatherratingseverysetof

doorsonthemarkethasundergoneanindependent

physicallaboratorytestinthreecategories—air

permeability,watertightnessandwindload.

Thetestsinvolvetheentiredoorsystem,

includingtheouterframesandgaskets,andsees

airandwaterbeingappliedat increasingpressures.

Becausethetestsarecarriedoutona complete

system,includingtrackand frame, they offer an

indicationtothequalityof the overall product,

particularlyregardinghow well the doors are

manufacturedandhowwell they seal together and

totheouterframe.

Q

doesAgooduvAluemeAn

thedoorsAregoodAt

protecting from the

elements?

A

No,notat all.Theyare completely

independentmeasurements. In theory it is

possibletohavedoororwindow that has a very low

U valuebutis stilldraughty, because the U value is

calculatedontheglassand frame of a panel or sash

andnotontheoverallsystem.

Q

whAt figuresshould

ibelooking for?

A

Findingtheactualtest figures can be a

challengebecausesome manufacturers,

unsurprisingly,don’tmake it clear how well (or

poorly)theirdoorsperform in the tests. For the

airpermeabilitytest(EN12207) the classes range

fromclass0 (thelowest) to class 4 (the highest),

whileforwatertightnesstesting (EN12208) the

classesrangefromclass0 (the lowest) to class 9

(thehighest).AtIDSystems, our SUNFLEX bifold

doorsachieveClass4 for air permeability and Class

9aforwatertightness,ensuring the systemsare

idealforeventhemostexposed locations.

homebuilding.co.uk 159

Top:Three-panel

GrandSliderII

slidingdoorsfrom

IDSystems

Bottom:Six-panel

SUNFLEXSF55

bifolddoorsfrom

IDSystemswith

gableendglazing.

Advertising feature

whatever

the weather

How can I tell if my doors and windows will be good at

withstanding wind and rain? IDSystems’ Edward Stobart

explains how to choose doors and windows that will

withstand even the most exposed locations

images: Chris Taylor

pho

Tography

(Top);

ma

TT

Clay

Ton

pho

Tography

(Bo

TT

om)