Are uPVC and aluminium installers missing a trick?
Posted on 29/03/2016
Only install uPVC or aluminium? You could be missing a trick, says the MD of a one of the UK’s largest timber and uPVC fabrication businesses.
Following news that the UK timber market grew 17.1% (according to the latest Palmer Market Report), Peter Dyer, managing director of Dempsey Dyer, thinks more installers should consider offering timber and capitalising on this booming sector.
Peter commented: “Not all that long ago it looked like timber had been decisively overtaken by uPVC and aluminium, but buoyed by uPVC fatigue among aspirational end users, timber is staging a comeback. According to the Palmer Report, 739,000 timber frames were installed in 2014, while the installed value grew 25.4% to £439m.
"What’s more, the Palmer Report to predict that timber will continue to outperform the window market as a whole between 2014 and 2019, expanding 10% to 811,000 frames in total. This represents a big opportunity, and I would encourage any installers that don’t currently offer timber to consider adding the material to their portfolio. The statistics are particular pertinent for installers that operate within the domestic sector, considering that 69% of all timber windows sold are going into this sector (according to the Wood Window Alliance).”
As Peter explains, high margins are another benefit: “Wooden windows continue to demand a considerable premium over uPVC products. While in real terms, the average installed price for a uPVC window has remained flat for 14 years at £271 per unit, the figure for timber windows has doubled, now standing at £594.”
Dempsey Dyer has manufactured timber windows, doors and conservatories since 1977 and their range encompasses storm-proof casements, flush casements, sliding sash windows with weights and pulleys, and sliding sash windows with spiral balances, as well as residential, French, patio and bi-fold doors.
Specially engineered to resist the elements, Dempsey timber products feature sloped or concealed drainage systems, eliminating standing water and significantly reducing the risk of warping and rotting.
Peter concludes: “For us, it’s no surprise that the industry and the public as a whole is coming back round to the benefits of timber. Timber is light, strong, naturally sustainable and brilliantly thermally efficient, and now, thanks to advances in wood treating methods, can be just as robust and weather efficient as uPVC. Properly looked after, a high-quality timber window can now be expected to last over 60 years.”
