For a guide to terms used on eurocell.co.uk and throughout the building industry look no further.
| A - G rating |
BFRC Energy Ratings are a simple, clear and easily understood method of informing customers of the relative energy efficiency of a particular products. Windows are rated on an A to G scale, in the same way as things like fridges. A rated products are the most energy efficient, while G is the least efficient.
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| Bargeboard |
Another name for Soffit.
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| BBA |
British Board of Agrement. The BBA is the UK’s major approval body for new construction products and installers. BBA Agrément Certificates are recognised by specifiers and other industry decision-makers as proof that the products covered by them have been rigorously assessed, will comply with Building Regulations and will last for a defined period.
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| Bead |
Beads clip in to the window and hold the double glazed glass unit in place.
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| Bi-Fold Door |
A door system composed of 3 or more individual panes which opens fully to create a large and impressive opening. The door panes fold back upon themselves.
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| BPF |
British Plastics Federation. The British Plastics Federation BPF is the leading trade association of the UK Plastics Industry representing 80% of Industry turnover.
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| Building Regulations |
Building regulations are a set of goverment codes that set out various critera that new buildings and refurbishment work has to conform to. The parts of the Building Regulations that apply to windows and doors include, Part M, Part L and Part F. They help ensure buildings are safe, secure and energy efficient.
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| Butt Hinge |
A hinge that allows the full closing of a door or window. Butt hinges stand proud from the surface of teh door or window.
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| Casement |
A term used do describe a conventional window. This is where the sash is side or top hinged. Casement windows open outwards.
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| Cill |
Window Cill. The protruding lip at the bottom of the window that sheds water away from the brickwork at the bottom of the window opening.
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| Composite Doors |
A door that looks and feels like a traditional timber door. Composite doors are made of an outer skin of GRP that covers a wooden frame infilled with foam insulation.
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| Co-extruded |
The process of extruding the PVCu profile and its gasket simultaneously.
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| Curtain Walling |
Glazed walling used in a building, often multi-storys in height.
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| Deadbolt |
A secure locking system used in modern doors.
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| Double Glazing |
Glazing made up of two layers of glass with a space between them to improve insulation and reduce noise. Double galzing comes in several widths, although 24mm and 28mm are the most common.
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| Extrusion |
Most of the profiles used in PVU-u windows, doors, conservatories and roofline are extruded. Extrusion is the process of pushing PVCu pellets through a die to form a solid shape.
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| Fascia |
Part of the roofline system on a house that seals the house from the elements, between the tiles and the brickwork. Fascia is the front vertical board on the complete roofline system. Fascia is also sometimes used as the collective word for roofline.
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| French Doors |
Double outward opening doors that meet in the middle without a mullion, giving a clear unobstructed opening.
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| French Windows |
Double outward opening windows that meet in the middle without a mullion, giving a clear unobstructed opening.
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| Gasket |
The black rubber strip that runs around the pane of glass creating a weatherproof join.
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| GRP |
Glass Reinforced Plastic also known as fibreglass. GRP is a composite material or fiber-reinforced plastic made of a plastic reinforced by fine fibers made of glass. GRP is an extremely tough material used in the marine industry for its hardwearing and weatherproof characteristics. GRP is alo used as the outer skin on composite doors.
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| Head Drip |
Head drips appear at the top of a window and are a means of channelling water away from the front face of the window or door.
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| Hook-lock |
A type of door lock that throws a hook or multiple hooks into a keep when the door is locked.
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| Inline patio door |
A sliding patio door system where the moving door pane slides infront of the fixed pane.
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| Injection Moulding |
The manufacturing technique for making parts from both thermoplastic and thermosetting plastic materials in production. Molten plastic is injected at high pressure into a mould, which is the inverse of the product’s shape. Moulds are made from either steel or aluminium, and precision-machined to form the features of the desired part.
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| ISO |
The International Organization for Standardization, widely known as ISO, is an international standard- setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations. ISO sets standards on various things such as manufacturing and environmental procceses.
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| LAPFAG Approval |
The local Authority PVCu Frame Advisory Group (LAPFAG) is made up of a number of Local Authorities, Housing Associations and other public bodies engaged in the production or specification of PVCu windows. LAPFAG approval helps satisfy building regulation requirements.
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| Low ‘e’ glass |
Low-e glass stands for low emissivity glass. This glass varies from normal clear glass in that one side of the glass has a special metal coating, technically known as a low emissitivity, or a Low E coating. Low-E glass is a type of insulating glass, which works by letting in energy from the sun, while the special coating helps block the loss of heat from the home.
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| Main Frame |
The section of profile used to construct the outer frame of a window.
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| Mullion |
A mullion is a vertical structural element which divides adjacent window units
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| Outer Frame |
An alternative term for Main Frame.
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| Part M |
Access to and use of Buildings - Building Regulations. Part M stipulates things like the width of front doors and the height of door thresholds ensuring that people with reduced mobility can easily access buildings where possible. Our Part M compliant thresholds have been designed to offer easy wheelchair access.
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| Part L |
Conservation of Fuel and Power - Building Regulations. Part L sets the thermal efficiency standards that buildings must comply with. All windows must now meet the standards set out in Part L.
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| Part F |
Ventilation - Building Regulations. Part F sets out how much ventilation a building must have. Its impact on windows is often the addition of trickle vents at the top of the window.
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| PAS 23/24 |
PAS 23 – General performance of doors / PAS 24 – Enhanced security. PAS23/24 are accreditations that test the performance and security of doors.
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| Pilkington Activ |
Pilkington Activ™ is self-cleaning glass. In a dual-action process organic dirt is broken down by daylight and is then washed away by rain, thus making easier to keep clean.
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| PVC-u |
Polyvinyl Chloride Un-plasticised. The rigid plastic used to manufacture our windows and doors. PVC-u provides low maintenance coupled to long life.
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| PVC-ue |
Polyvinyl Chloride Un-plasticised expanded. Often refered to as foam products. PVC-ue is used to manufacture many of our roofline products. PVC-ue has a hard external finish and a slightly less dense core than PVC-u.
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| Sash |
The opening portion of a window.
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| Self cleaning glass |
Glass which uses a dual-action process organic dirt is broken down by daylight and is then washed away by rain, thus making easier to keep clean. Pilkington Activ and St Gobain Bio-clean are brand names for this type of glass.
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| Sill |
An alternative spelling of cill.
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| Soffit |
Part of the roofline system on a house that seals the house from the elements, between the tiles and the brickwork. Soffit is the horizontal part that runs from the fascia back to the house wall.
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| St Gobain Bio-clean |
St Gobain’s brand of self cleaning glass. In a dual-action process organic dirt is broken down by daylight and is then washed away by rain, thus making easier to keep clean.
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| Transom |
A transom is a horizontal structural element which divides adjacent window units.
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| Thermal break |
A way of stopping heat or cold transfer between two surfaces. In windows thermal breaks are often used within the double glazed unit - see warm edge spacer.
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| Tilt and Turn |
A style of window system that inwardly opens in 2 different ways. Tilt and turn windows swing completely in allowing for easy cleaning and accessability. They also tilt in at the top providing a good amount of ventilation without leaving the window fully open.
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| Trickle vent |
A ventilation system that is built into the top of the window frame.
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| U value |
A measure of heat loss. The lower the U value, the more energy efficient the window.
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| Vertical slider |
A window in the style of a traditional vertical sliding sash window. Our PVC-u sliding sash windows allow both the top and bottom frames to slide freely giving many opening options. The frames also tilt inwards making them easy to clean.
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| Warm Edge Spacer |
A new innovation that replaces the aluminium spacer used to seperate the two panes of glass in a double glazed unit with a spacer made of a different material (often plastic) that transmits less heat. This makes the window more energy efficient.
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| Secured by Design |
Secured by Design (SBD) is the UK Police flagship initiative supporting the principles of “designing out crime”. Windows and doors that carry SBD approval have been assessed to provide a high degree of resistance to break-ins.
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