Astrical bars and warm edge spacer bars - tricked?

[ey143]

I have opted to have external astrical bars on my Rehau profile Windows. I specifically asked the company that I wanted the warm edge black spacer bars to be used.

In the photo below it shows the aside from the outer edge (which do have a black soft spacer bar), the centre sections seem to have black aluminium like the conventional ones.

Have I been sold a dud and should the warm edge spacer bar have been used everywhere?

 

[crank39]

Can't think of any reason why they would do that, very strange, what you've gained around the edge you've gone and lost 5 fold in the middle, I shall ask the question for you tomorrow at my place

 

[ey143]

Thanks. I was at Grand Designs 2016 show in London yesterday and asked Express Bifolds (they are not my window installer), and they seemed to think it was normal to put black aluminium spacer bars in the middle and only the warm edge ones, on the edge.

If you could confirm, that would be appreciated. Same with comments from anyone else.

Thx.

 

[crank39]

My supplier says it's not normal and can't think of any reason either but also says it's too big of a mistake to be an oversight, have you challenged your installer, maybe their supplier has cocked up and they're covering for them because if it's the whole house then it's an expensive mistake

Here's one of my suppliers samples

 

[ronniecabers]

I've seen it done both ways.... when I challeneged one supplier , they said that the ali bar is 2mm narrower than the warm edge and therefore doesn't touch the glass, so there should be minimal heat ransference

 

[ey143]

Well I am doing the house in stages because it is a rebuild project. I spoke to the glass manufacter (whose details are printed on the window label when supplied) and they said they supply all their windows like this and have done even for major manufacturers. They guy I am buying the window from just does the frame making and buys the windows from a supplier who buys it from the glass manufacturer I just spoke to.

The installer I know from 20 years and his finish is good and he's done my parent's place but just a little annoyed by this. Not sure if I will do all the remaining windows if it really is the case that the glass manufacturer should have done all the spacer bars the same.

 

[ey143]

Also should the plastic beading that makes up the external astrical bar, be larger that the height of the internal middle spacer bar? If you see the picture, it looks a bit bigger and not the same size.

Im trying not to be picky, but I'm just not sure what is wrong and what is right.

 

[Gazman16]

I've seen it done both ways.... when I challeneged one supplier , they said that the ali bar is 2mm narrower than the warm edge and therefore doesn't touch the glass, so there should be minimal heat ransference

To be honest I thought this was standard.
I still cant see why warm edge spacer is more expensive than Aluminum spacer bars. Surly plastic should be cheaper

 

[crank39]

I've seen it done both ways.... when I challeneged one supplier , they said that the ali bar is 2mm narrower than the warm edge and therefore doesn't touch the glass, so there should be minimal heat ransference

To be honest I thought this was standard.
I still cant see why warm edge spacer is more expensive than Aluminum spacer bars. Surly plastic should be cheaper

And if it doesn't touch the glass it will rattle when a door slams

 

[ronniecabers]

I've seen it done both ways.... when I challeneged one supplier , they said that the ali bar is 2mm narrower than the warm edge and therefore doesn't touch the glass, so there should be minimal heat ransference

To be honest I thought this was standard.
I still cant see why warm edge spacer is more expensive than Aluminum spacer bars. Surly plastic should be cheaper

And if it doesn't touch the glass it will rattle when a door slams

No it doesn't rattle because the plastic ' keys/crucifixs ' they use do touch the glass, its only the spacer bar that is 2mm smaller. It all comes down to cost ... as Gazman says the Ali bar is cheaper . We used to manufacture sealed units , and the cost of warm edge spacer and the corner keys for the bar was nigh on double that of Ali bar and its corner keys. I don't beleive warm edge bar is plastic though, I know the very early stuff was as brittle as fibre glass

 

[crank39]

But surely if the customer wanted an A rated unit or even just preferred the look of the warm edge bar then that is what they should of got not half and half, cost has nothing to do with it, it's irrelevant...........who's paying for the job the customer or the manufacturer?

 

[ronniecabers]

Oh I agree crank ...but bear in mind that , technically , it wouldn't be a rated anyway as it has a duplex unit in it. Even with obscure glass in , it is not a a rated . Frames were only ever tested as a base frame , never any additions to glass or frame...can you imagine how much it would cost to test every permutation of a window with extras on it. The stupidest thing of all , is people selling a rated windows with a trickle vent in it...

 

[ronniecabers]

Oh ... and one other point to note . There is no such thing as an A rated sealed unit. It is also energy rated once it is installed in s suitable frame. Sealed units on there own are not energy rated.

 

[God]

That is normal and that is how ours come. The Ali spacer does not touch the glass as it will crack the unit eventually and all duplex units should be toughened for that reason.

 

[God]

Thinking about it the aluminium bar is probably stapled in through the warmedge spacer, if you used warmedge where the Ali spacer is it will be stuck to the glass as opposed to stapled which I assume will eventually come unstuck or sag.