Hardware? Don’t forget ventilation
By Dean Bradley, Glazpart sales director.
In June 2022, Building Regulations (Approved Document F) changed and ventilation became a compulsory requirement for replacement windows and new build. Since then, fabricators and installers have found that trickle vents are the easiest, most practical and most economical solution for compliance.
With demand increasing due to the legislation and more companies complying, trickle vents have become essential for fabricators and installers alike. In addition, it also now presents opportunities for the supply chain and installers to add value while increasing turnover and margins for their products.
Today’s trickle vents are significantly different to their predecessors in terms of addressing issues of design and performance. The Link Vent from Glazpart for example has – depending upon how you view it – either reduced its size by 50% or increased the equivalent area performance by 200%.
The Link Vent 5000 delivers 5000 EQA using a 13mm rout or 4000 EQA on a 10mm rout with just a 454.5mm width. Consequently, you can fit (depending upon the application) the same number of vents you fit today in a habitable room to comply with the new 8,000mm2 EQA requirement per habitable room.
It’s the scope of the windows that needs to be understood as the previous guideline of only fitting vents to replacement windows where the windows have vents fitted has long gone and the minimum requirements for background ventilation must be installed, depending on the room type, especially as the use of the night vent position has been specifically excluded as a means of compliance.
What has changed, however, is how the trickle vents look and the increasing opportunities to upsell a trickle vent from a ‘basic’ to a ‘better’ and ‘best’ option. The key is to sell these as you would any kind of hardware whether it is a high-end specification handle or hinge.
A basic trickle vent is one with the vent colour matched to the profile colour your customer wants and reduces the visual impact of the vent when installed on the profile or frame.
A better trickle vent can be delivered if the profiles are foiled with the embossed ‘tick’ effect, providing a better vent that matches the surface effect and camouflaging the vent into the profile colours on the inside and outside of the window, even on white foiled windows.
The best and ultimate trickle vent can deliver a premium where the windows are wood-grained, and using various technologies, Glazpart can now match these effects on the window. Creating an impressive premium finish on golden oak, Irish oak, natural oak and even ‘anteak’.
The added value is significant and many savvy installers and fabricators know how getting the right vent for the right window or door can differentiate their products from the competition. Most investments in new windows are not totally about price. If it were, everyone would simply buy a white window with plastic handles, and there would not be such a rise in coloured windows and doors.
As homeowners become more discerning on the finish and visual look of their homes, Glazpart has this year created handy packs of either 10 canopies or internal vents to help companies only buy the stock they need (rather than tie up cash in excess stock) and add more value, both in terms of revenue and kerb appeal for homeowners.
The premium finishes available in the new handy sized packs are the premium woodgrain range, premium vac foiled range, premium sprayed colours and super matt finishes.
The Link Vent has great flexibility and can be used on all types of windows and doors and also has rounded ends of the vent to allow for installation on timber windows. It is available in either screw or clip in fixing types – the design eliminates the need for end caps whilst the clip fix design (Pawl’s) allows for a fast, easy vent installation.