The most popular choices for window and door frames are timber and aluminium.
NICCO’s entry in the February 2019 Issue of Timber Trader News showed a snapshot comparison of Timber Vs Aluminium. Here is an elaboration based on documentation by WADIC.
If managed properly timber can be regrown on a continual, sustainable and renewable basis. This is an amazing difference to other finite and non-renewable building materials such as aluminium.
Australia has 149 million hectares of forest, managed for timber, environmental protection and other uses.
Timber windows and doors come in a wide range of designs, colours and finishes that allows for innovation and creativity. Other extruded materials such as aluminium find it hard to match timber’s versatility. Timber can be shaped, moulded, laminated, bent or assembled into much larger units. This allows for intricacy in both heritage and contemporary designs.
Timber is a superior thermal insulator and helps improve energy efficiency over the life of a building. The thermal insulation of timber is 350 times better than steel and 2000 times better than aluminium. Timber doesn’t allow expensively generated heat to escape to the outside or let in outside heat.
All new buildings in Australia have to meet regulated thermal performance requirements, controlling heat loss and gain through the windows and doors is a major concern.
Timber holds an attraction and visual appeal far beyond that of aluminium. It is aesthetically beautiful. More than that, wood is natural and plays a part in creating a positive mood and outlook. Designers recognise wood for creating more friendly and approachable environments for living and working.
Many timber windows and doors remain in service after hundreds of years. Unlike aluminium, timber windows and doors can be repaired, refreshed or upgraded. This has architectural and environmental benefits. The impacts generated by having to acquire new materials are avoided. Timber is resistant to heat, frost, corrosion and pollution. With regular maintenance, carefully designed and finished timber windows and doors can perform in the toughest external environment and provide a resilient response to internal wear and tear.
Timber can significantly reduce carbon emissions. Carbon is stored in growing trees that is retained and stored in timber for at least the life of a building. The production of timber produces low emissions unlike aluminium. Increased timber use supports the economic expansion of forests, these are significant carbon sinks.
Aluminium is a durable, strong, low cost and popular option but timber is very cost effective in the long run, and has a long service life when finished and maintained.
Want to learn more about the benefits of timber? Or perhaps you're thinking of using aluminium frames for your next project. It is important to understand that timber and aluminium frames both have their advantages and disadvantages. To find out more about each material you can download our comparison chart to see how they measure up against each other.
To find out more about our range of timber windows and doors, contact our team today.
