Creating a striking aesthetic, steel windows were chosen by a homeowner in South London to form the rear ‘walls' of both a new basement area and ground floor extension during the year-long renovation of their 1900 house in Fulham.
The windows were supplied and installed by Steel Window Association member, Steel Window Service and Supplies.
The semi-detached, brick-built house was purchased some eight years ago and, as the homeowners three children grew up, they decided they wanted more space. A basement was dug under the house and a conservatory was demolished to make way for a rear extension. In previous properties, the couple had bi-fold doors but, having never been totally satisfied with the design, they knew that for this project steel windows would provide the look they wanted.
Steel Window Service and Supplies produced drawings before being commissioned to manufacture the two identical screens, each measuring nearly 5.4m by some 2.8m. Both screens have two sets of double doors that open out and two bottom-hung opening lights in the top set of panels to provide ventilation.
Manufactured from W20 sections, the windows were hot-dip galvanised and then finished with a factory-applied polyester powered coating in RAL 7021 black grey matt. They were installed on site by Steel Window Service and Supplies into openings prepared by the contractor, Noble Structures, and fitted with 16mm double glazing units. The product, therefore, meets current part L building regulations.
The narrow profiles of the steel windows ensure that the maximum amount of light is let into both the large ground floor kitchen dining area and the TV and games room in the basement. They also provide a good connection between the indoor and outdoor spaces.
The homeowner comments: "The steel windows are probably the feature that people notice most - we've had lots of wonderful comments about them. From start to finish, Steel Window Service and Supplies were excellent and they were incredibly thorough. I couldn't fault them; the guys were great and I was really impressed. We're really happy with the windows and they're a very good product and exude quality; the doors feel weighty and substantial; even the handles are nice."
Fursey Costello, quantity surveyor, Noble structures, comments: "Steel Window Service and Supplies issued drawings and we worked to those drawings when we created the openings. When they came and fitted the windows, it was quite straightforward and ran very smoothly. They're a good company with a very good product."
