Quickslide’s Ade talks getting into shape – and we don’t mean shaking off your lockdown lard!
Arch topped windows are just one of the little styling touches that house builders have added to the homes they’ve built over the years to make them a little more interesting. But fear of not getting the installation right can often drive builders towards persuading the homeowner to get rid of them rather than preserving the feature. But they can be remarkably easy and inexpensive to replace.
Arch topped windows are renowned for their aesthetically pleasing appearance – offering a grand look and unique character. When they first existed, they were difficult to manufacture and install – and only existed in religious buildings and homes of the rich and royalty – and that means arched windows offer a certain element of luxury to houses. That’s why you will often find them in traditional homes – housebuilders have a long history of nicking the best bits to stylise and sell the properties they build.
Arch topped windows and door frames in PVCu have long been available, of course. But there have been significant advances in recent years to the technology and techniques used to manufacture these styles in modern materials. In essence they are made using standard PVCu profiles that are quite literally heated so they can be bent into shape.
However, in the earlier days this process – which essentially means distorting a precisely extruded profile into a form it was never intended to be – was quite hit and miss and could end with shapes that were less than perfect and with joints that could be seen to have been forced.
These days the best manufacturers are equipped with kit designed for the task that allows the process to be precisely controlled. At Quickslide we invested in automated state-of-the-art equipment that uses a cooler working temperature and multiple 3D cameras – which means that the profiles retain their structural integrity – to give consistently perfect results.
For replacements in more normal homes, even in quite average semis, they can, of course, cause a slight headache. But arch tops really should not cause any more grief than measuring and fitting more normal styles.
Measuring arches is simple. At Quickslide we require very little from our customers: If the arched opening is a true arch in a new build, we may not require a template as the curve will be even across both sides. However, for any bespoke or unique arches, we will require a template to ensure your new window will fit into the opening. We are used to working with all sorts of templates – paper, cardboard, wood. You name it, we’ve received it. And we have produced some cracking results with them too!
With these measurements we can calculate and manufacture your arched window or door. And you can take on any installation job that you might encounter and even write bolder designs into a job spec to give you an extra edge over less imaginative competitors!
For further information on Quickslide visit https://www.quickslide.co.uk/
