Seal of approval

Chris Byers, managing director of ExtrudaSeal, explains why people shouldn’t neglect gaskets when looking to improve their windows and doors.

It’s the constant challenge for fabricators: how can we make our windows and doors even better? How can we improve the performance, design and functionality?

Those looking for product development will often focus on the obvious aspects. Trying to improve the profile or glass to increase efficiency or use the latest hardware to add to the aesthetics.

But making marginal gains in subtle areas, such as the seal, can have a bigger impact than you may expect. Using better window gaskets can help not only improve the performance of your product, but also make them more visually appealing, something which will help you convert more leads into sales.

Improving performance

Used to form a watertight seal, the gasket has a huge impact on the performance of a window or door. When it fails, it means the window or door is no longer weathertight and cold air and water can get through, leading to leaks and draughts. One of the common signs of this is when a seal shrinks and pulls away from the corner.

Often, underperforming windows can be improved by simply replacing the gasket instead of the whole window.

Our PremaSeal range reduces shrinking to stay in place and make windows and doors perform better for longer, as well as making life easier for fitters by reducing call backs. It’s not just a case of keeping the weather out though, better gaskets can also benefit the final product in many other ways.

For instance, our Se-Lon foam seals provide an anti-friction solution which produces a silent glide, with the more forgiving material of foam allowing it to be much more flexible.

Improving appearance

A big part of why people invest in new windows and doors is for aesthetics. Creating a product that stands out visually will put you in a greater position to sell more of your products.

Although it’s a relatively small part of the window, a gasket can improve this. Matching the colour of the seal to the profile creates a stunning finish and is popular with architects working on commercial projects. We can match any of our seals to your profile in 1000s of colours, helping you create windows and doors with impressive aesthetics.

As well as colour choices, our anti-stretch seals prevent ripples, meaning you have a better looking and smoother product, and having a more visually appealing window or door will ultimately help you increase sales.

Reducing waste

Our close relationship with customers and high levels of communication allows us to solve problems. We’ve spoken to a fabricator before who told us that they add an extra 35mm of gasket onto a window to compensate for shrinkage. Our PremaSeal range helps combat this, thanks to the anti-stretch cord, helping to reduce waste and save our customers money on extra material.

Product development

At ExtrudaSeal, our work is centred around product development. We are constantly innovating our products and working with installers and fabricators to see what they need, listening to their problems and providing solutions. Our PremaSeal range is a great example of how we worked closely with customers to produce a better performing product and help improve window and door performance.

PremaSeal was developed after a customer of ours told us he was struggling with the gasket stretching in fabrication. This meant we developed a gasket with anti-stretch technology to counter it. We needed a gasket which wouldn’t shrink or stretch lengthways, but also maintain its original flexibility, and the fibre which runs through the centre helps us achieve this.

Product development is all about experimenting, trial and error. All our products are made with the aim of providing a solution for the issues our customers face.

Working closely with our customers allows us to adapt and make products which fit different needs and our expert team provide solutions for customers’ problems. The focus we place on product development means we are always producing seals which offer marginal gains to our customers. So, if you’re wondering what changes you can make in order to improve your products, start by looking at the seals.