LOVE LOVE LOVE

We fitted double glazed critall windows and doors to our Art Deco house on the south coast......BIG mistake, they rusted within a couple of years, despite my asking the supplier if they were ok in a coastal setting. Heartbroken, having spent thousands of pounds on them.

Sorry to hear your story. When we first started looking for this style of window we found that some suppliers wouldn't supply steel windows as we also live close to the coast. If you live in a salt air environment they should be made from high grade aluminium, it doesn't rust.

Yes I know that now, don't think my wife would be too happy if we ripped them all out and spent another £80k. Thing is the windows look fantastic, rust aside, It just means I've got to start rubbing down and painting them......if I'd wanted to do that I could have put softwood frames in !

martyn16 You should go for some sort of redress if you specifically asked if the windows were suitable and it turned out they weren't. I would contact your local Trading Standards or Citizens Advice Bureau. It would be best not to do any work on them till you resolve this issue.

I'm a bespoke metal worker and every few months someone will ask me to make a Crittal like door or window because they're having so many problems dealing with Crittal themselves. Not sure if this is a common customer services complaint or just people baulking at the cost...?

They do look great though.

Southpoint........I did seek redress and someone from crittall came out, they said they would replace the worst effected window, which just so happens to be the smallest window on the property. Suffice to say I'm still waiting !

There was never anything in writing about their being suitable for a coastal environment, just a telephone conversation.

martyn16 - I would keep at them. Sounds like a bit of a brush off. If one window is affected, they are all likely to be affected/ Was the installer an approved or certified Critall installer? If so, they would have seen the location of the building before installing the windows. You would not need to have anything in writing.

They are all affected, some worse than others. I will chase them again

martyn16 - Good luck.

It might be easier to sell th house : )

I love these doors! I really want them for the house I just bought but I have no idea where to buy them. Living in Dublin. Any help would be great :)

@Victoria Clarke - The original Crittall windows are manufactured by Crittall Windows Limited, their Houzz profile is here for more information. You can search for Crittall in our Find a Pro section to see who's a local installer and supplier.

Duration windows manufacture alloy windows in the style with thermal breaks and Art Deco handles etc: We are using them for our 1930;s art deco bungalow, Jan 2017

LINK

We have the Duration windows for the rear and new extension of our 30's house. At the front we have original Crittall, they are prone to a great deal of draft and condensation but we are reluctant to have them removed as they are very attractive and we are in a conservation area. A glazing company has just suggested that they can convert them to double glazing, has anyone had any experience with this?

Kind regards

Jan

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this post- We've been debating tirelessly whether to go for the more expensive (and aesthetically pleasing) crittall windows/ doors or a kitchen upgrade and your input has tipped the balance towards the kitchen.

The number of posts using the word 'rust' terrifies me, as does the idea of anything that needs to be cleaned with a toothbrush that isn't teeth!

We love them! :)

I absolutely love Crittall Windows but not the price of them. Does anybody know of any companies in London that offer the Crittall style but cheaper?

Duration Windows in Essex. but they sell through deAlers. . aluminium versions which don't rust and have correct thermal breaks.

Aluminium alternative

Triple glazed aluminium screens

all well and good but do Skygkaze cover the north west. 14 windows and a Bi fold cash waiting

We are often approached to fabricate this style door or internal partition wall, particularly lately. We've done both steel for interiors and aluminium for bathrooms/shower. We are able to supply with or without glass as some customers would rather install themselves.

I'm not sure this style is going away anytime soon.

Here a picture of a London house partition wall door we recently completed.

Anyone know of any suppliers in / around Essex that do the aluminium style with slim frames etc. Already have skyglaze, just looking for a few more options.

Many Thanks

GReg

Hi Greg, Duration windows on Canvey Island make an aluminium thin framed window, think it's called Heritage.

I tried to buy 13 windows via duration dealers . 3 local fitters. 1 never replied. 2 came to see us. one quoted. 16 weeks later ... no windows. cancelled. Took on a different alloy window company Sept. still waiting though promised 6 weeks. then end of Oct..... then end Nov.... nope. seems that it's a hard thing to supply in the north west.

I find it interesting and a little amusing that nobody who loves the look of Crittal windows, actually lives with them. I had them installed into a house in 2001, all brand new and modern, galvanised and powder coated, friction hinges on the casements (but we did have catches added as the company advised the friction hinges would cease to be effective after a few years!), rubber seals for ‘insulation’...they were as modern as you could get but, from a practical perspective, only a marginal improvement on the originals from 1934.
Yes, they look absolutely fantastic and fit with the industrial look perfectly, but I would never live with them ever again.
And, just my take, I think the industrial look has legs. While it is likely to evolve, it will be just like Art Deco and have eternal appeal.

Hmm quite an interesting point of view.. Who designed and fitted your windows? We are seriously contemplating on having Crittal windows installed in our extension but after reading many of the views, seems like its a cause for concern.

They do look super cool but they are quite an expensive mistake to make when there are other options that would also be value for money.

Are there anymore people out there that have Crittal windows? How do you find living with them? In your opinion do they function well or are they quite draughty?

Your thoughts appreciated....

i think steel windows are a no no. alloy is the answer if only for the thermal break they offer.

Lots of negative comments about steel windows

Skyglaze has just supplied and installed this steel screen

These are triple glazed and out perform aluminium in every way and are thermally broken so no condensation

Only down side is they come at a cost and are expensive

Skyglaze do you have a link to the 'Steel screen' on your website? I am unable to locate it. Thank you.

We love them! Especially as shower enclosures, they are a great way of adding character to the bathroom!

I'm having them in the brick farmhouse I'm building in the Marche countryside in Italy. They'll be in the large kitchen over the sink and in the living in the two corners. Can't wait!

I love them adds character and style to any room they look great

I have just become an agent for Duration Heritage range in the North West area. as an addition to our current products it fits. Looking forward to offering a direct link to this style. 80)

I am a maker of decorative screens and doors. I personally think that replacing your home windows with antique Crittal - Hope style frames is a step backwards. Unless the latest thermally broken styles are used....Then they look amazing!!

Thinking of getting Crittall double glazed french doors for the back of our house. Trying to chose between them and aluminium steel replacement doors... I’m slightly concerned by condensation of steel frames, thermal insulation and the cleaning required. Has anyone had any experience with modern double glazed Crittall doors and would you recommend over aluminium ones?

We used this company www.modularscreens.co.uk for a vintage industrial steel Crittall style door, there really beautiful and reasonably priced :)

We have new double-glazed Crittall french windows on 3 floors at a holiday home facing the beach. We have a long list of problems with them. They run with condensation on the frames in winter. The powder coating finish is unable to resist salt and sea air after less than 3 years and Critall are unable to suggest a maintenance regime for salt removal (but void the guarantee if you don't follow it). The hinges and handles are crude - not sealed or resistant - and have corroded/seized after a couple of years. I am sure they are ok in a sheltered setting and look fabulous but they have performed much worse than run-of-the-mill windows on our neighbours' houses.

Bill, that is such bad luck. Are the frames thermally broken? If they are, then condensation should not be a big issue. Also, powder coating next to the sea should be specified to be a marine grade product. Is this what you were offered? You may have been badly advised and, if so, could consider making a claim againt the installer. Ask your local Citizens Advice Bureau. Condensation can be a problem with holiday homes due to ventilation problems. What happenns is that the building is occupied and moisture produced by cooking, bathing, drying clothes etc. is not removed when people leave and the building is shut up. Extract fans in kitchens and bathrooms can help as well as trickle ventilation. It might be worth considering automatic humidity controlled ventilation left permanently on to stop moisture build-up.

Southpoint, haven’t Crittall only introduced thermally broken frames just this year? They’ll be phenomenally expensive, too!

Critall is a term used generically like Hoover or Kleenex. Although they are not the only company making steel windows, the term Critall windows is often used to describe any steel window. The manufacturer Critall may have introduced thermally broken windows recently but thermally broken steel frames have been around for quite some years now. Yes, they are likely to be more expensive than non thermally broken frames.

Hi @Southpoint thanks for the thoughtful reply - all right on target. We bought the house with the newly installed windows, so the contract was with the previous owners - not us. Would be nice if Crittall would honour their guarantee or even offer any help but they've yet to do the decent thing. They will not toss their installer under the bus for mis-selling them, nor will they obviously go on record saying they're not suitable for a marine/coastal environment. We're happy to be their test lab!. With respect to condensation the thermal break question is a good one - thanks. If there is one it's not visible and seems woefully ineffective. We have trickle ventilation for the house as a whole but it doesn't reach the windows unfortunately. We do have all the usual extractors and we're starting to look at further air circulation/ventilation solutions. Cheers Bill

It does seem shoddy behaviour by the manufacturer. The other thing you could try is to contact on of the consumer champions on a National Newspaper, such as Miles Brignall at The Guardian.

We had Crittall windows installed over twenty five years ago and yes, we live 500 yds from the sea. so far no rust! but the original “double glazing” is barely effective. does anyone know if it can be improved, i.e. thicker units ?

Hi can anyone advise how much soundproofing between rooms these doors give please!

I have critall windows. They are great for endurance and I live 500 yds. from the sea. but the double glazing has not proved very effective. if anyone has advice on updating this would be very grateful?

With regard to soundproofing between rooms: There may be some figures available but these would be lab tests or tests for individual components. The best idea is to go to a house where these doors have been fitted and see the real life performance. I think the frames would be quite poor because steel will not dampen sound. To get sound reduction through the glass would entail having acoustic double glazing which has a wide gap and would not fit steel frames. The only simple and not expensive option is to have draughtstripping between the doors and frames to reduce air movement and hence sound waves. If you want sound reduction I think this is the wrong product and you should look for an acoustic doorset.

We live in a house in rural Essex with what I believe are some of the earliest surviving examples of original Crittall windows, first produced in 1889 (our house was built in 1890). They still function amazingly well given their age. I can't bring myself to rip them out even though half of them are fixed (ie. non-opening) and some rusting. We just get them re-painted when required. Condensation is an ongoing battle. In the winter the ones in our bedroom need to be wiped down daily to avoid mould growth, but we've learned to live with that. If you put enough heat through the house, especially with woodburners, and ensure there's enough ventilation to let moisture escape, condensation shouldn't be too much of an issue.

Both Crittall and the aluminium lookalike option can look good.

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