Green, efficient and desirable

By Nine Zero.

The modern timber window has come a long way since the 1960s where, poorly made, untreated softwood frames were fitted with single panes of glass on site after the frame was fitted into the brick work.

Timber gained a bad name and it stuck for some time due to the moisture leaks and rot that followed their use, so along came aluminium and then cheap, plastic windows.

For homeowners and installation companies to fall back in love with timber windows and doors again, large improvements needed to be made to the lifespan, performance, and accreditations.

The development of engineered timber components and modern decorative finishes, including Teknos paint and coatings that give maintenance cycles equal to other materials, led to higher performance timber windows that we can manufacture today.

Nine Zero has been working alongside The Joinery Network to promote UK-manufactured high quality timber windows and doors. In our factory in Cornwall, we have invested over £500,000 in design software, CNC machinery, and Leitz tooling to achieve a superior window and door system suited to the UK housing market. They come with Secured by Design accreditations, PAS 24:2016, Document Q BS5375-1, Document LB1, and Document M.

Wood is a universally popular material that is widely agreed to offer a warm and comforting aesthetic. As a natural material, it also has the benefit of helping a structure to blend in with its landscape.

This gentle visual impact can often help projects get planning approval in sensitive sites. We know from a survey completed by The Wood Window Alliance that 52% of householders believe that timber would provide the most character in a home and it has long been said by English Heritage and leading estate agents nationwide that property value is restored to a greater value when adding timber, such is the difference in look, feel and desirability.

While timber windows can sometimes cost 25% more to buy than their plastic counterparts, independent research by the Wood Window Alliance has demonstrated that the 60-year life of timber compares very favourably to the life of plastic at just 35 years, and will outperform all others. This in turns levels out the price difference in favour of timber when you calculate a whole life cost.

Finally, as increase in awareness about the environment rises, there are many reasons timber windows are seeing a gaining market share in the UK. One of the biggest advantages of timber windows from a sustainable source is that it is carbon negative and a naturally renewable material.

At the Nine Zero factory, we actively work to reduce our carbon footprint and impact on the environment using only FSC-certified engineered timber for all of our products. At sustainable forestries such as the FSC, at least as many new trees are grown than are harvested. FSC helps take care of forests, the people and wildlife who call them home and is recognised by WWF as the “hallmark of responsible forest management”.

Along with appearance, cost, and the environmental impact, our modern-day windows keep the weather out, offer double glazing and technological advances in glass, which all add up to products that are highly energy efficient, thermally insulated and offer outstanding U-values, exceeding the latest requirements for Part L of the Building Regulations.

www.nine-zero.co.uk