We are pleased to inform all our customers that on the 14 June 2011, Crown Commercial Windows received the coveted Secured by Design (SBD) Award for UPVC Casement Windows.

Secured by Design is the initiative of the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) that aims to reduce crime through effective environmental design. The scheme also calls for the installation of security products that meet police approved standards. Manufacturers and installers, whose products have been certified by an accredited testing body to the specified standards, can apply for SBD membership and licence to utilise the scheme's logo. Further information on the scheme can be obtained by visiting www.securedbydesign.com.

 

Besides our desire to create as little environmental damage as possible, reducing the amount of waste that goes into landfill saves money by avoiding excess skip hire charges and the inevitable charge for landfill tax. Therefore recycling of materials is an important part of our Environmental Policy. To this end we now have skips and containers provided by various recycling companies to collect cardboard, PVCu off-cuts, aluminium off-cuts, old timber items and timber window frames, old PVCu, steel and aluminium window frames.

With regard to PVCu recycling, we are successful in reducing the amount and size of the off-cuts by using a computer program to optimise the cutting procedure. This is designed to calculate the most efficient way of cutting the 6 metre lengths of window profile, to keep the amount of waste (off-cuts) to less than 3%. The off-cuts are stored in small containers, which are then collected by a specialist recycling company, to be reprocessed and re-extruded into other profiles. In fact our window formers/cavity closers for new build apertures are made from recycled PVCu.

Recycling of old PVCu window frames is a relatively new initiative, and as we find that we are taking out an increasing number of old PVCu windows, we have now introduced the latest of our re-cycling facilities – a skip for collection of old PVCu frames. The frames are processed for re-use as extrusions in much the same way as our off-cuts recycling facility. Contrary to popular belief, PVCu is one of the most sustainable materials available as it can be recycled up to 10 times. More information is available on this subject by visiting the website www.pvcaware.org

This attractive addition to our conservatory range is becoming an increasingly popular purchase for the discerning client, especially those that require a little bit more of a traditional design over and above the usual structure available in today's market.

Many local authority Building Control departments are now interpreting the requirements of Building Regulations Document B to mean that window formers/cavity closers must have a fire resistance lasting at least 30 minutes. We are pleased to announce that from this month we will be able to supply the Cavalok 60 minute fire resistant cavity closer. Cavalok is part of the Eurocell Group – our window system supplier.

It is our understanding that where the requirement arises for fire resistant cavity closers, delivery can take up to 4 weeks, severely delaying some building projects.

For express orders, we can reduce this to a matter of days. For more details go to our cavity closer page or contact us.

After a recent fire destroyed classrooms and a cloakroom at Holy Cross Catholic Primary School, Plymouth, the headteacher was stuck with the problem of accommodating his pupils whilst months of reconstruction work was undertaken.
Holy Cross Church had been empty since June 2008, and the parish decided to offer the use of the space to the school until the building work was complete.

However this meant that temporary classrooms had to be installed in the Church in a very quick time. Crown windows were contacted by a Plymouth construction company on Friday 22nd January 2010, with a view to supplying and installing windows into the temporary classrooms. The sizes and price were agreed on the 22nd January, the order was placed and the Crown express delivery operation swung into action and the windows were manufactured and fitted on Wednesday 27th January 2010 – in 4 working days.

From the devastating fire on the 19th January, the pupils were able to move into their temporary classrooms in early February – a positive result!