Collection · 12 notes
Market notes
A market is a climate plus a code plus a port. These notes take one market at a time and read the three together, because the figure that decides a window in Manila is not the figure that decides it in Toronto, even when the product name on the order is the same.
- October 20, 2026Rénoclimat window rebate: the conditions a unit must meetA Rénoclimat window rebate pays a fixed amount for every existing rough opening where an ENERGY STAR certified unit is installed, and the money follows the paperwork rather than the product. A model that is not on the Canadian certified list cannot be claimed at all, and work finished before the pre-renovation energy evaluation cannot be claimed either.
- October 18, 2026Hail-rated windows in Texas: what the class isThere is no North American standard that rates a window for hail. A hail-rated window is not a certified class — it is a glass and frame build-up that a project decides to specify because the address sits in hail country. What can be tested, and what a Texas address actually asks for, is impact performance under ASTM E1886 and ASTM E1996, plus the wind grade from AAMA/WDMA/CSA 101/I.S.2/A440. The laminated interlayer is what changes the outcome on a hail strike. Everything else on the schedule follows from those two facts.
- October 17, 2026AS 2047 cyclone zones: which zone your opening sits inThe rating a window needs in Australia is set by where it goes, not by what it is. AS/NZS 1170.2 names the wind region, A to D, with C and D the cyclonic ones. AS 4055 names the wind class for housing, N1 to N6 and C1 to C4. AS 2047 is the standard the unit is tested and labelled against, and it takes its rating from one of those two. The AS 2047 cyclone zone question is therefore answered before the frame is ordered: the zone sets the rating, and the rating sets the frame, the glass and the document pack.
- October 12, 2026Canada energy code: ER, U-factor and the cold caseThe Canada energy code line is a provincial line: the national model code sets the envelope targets, the province of record writes them into law, and the window is measured against CSA A440.2:22 — U-factor, SHGC, air leakage and the ER number that combines them. The cold case is the heating case. The window is the largest heat-loss surface on the wall, and the schedule states the build, the rating and the report per opening.
- October 10, 2026Windows for Africa: UV, dust and the long haulWindows for Africa run on three forces: the UV that peaks in the top band of the index on most days, the dust that works into every gasket channel and track, and the long haul that runs from the consolidation port to the site. The specification answers all three — solar-control laminated glass first, the powder line on the exterior, the screens as first-class items, and the crating built for the road leg. On the current range the solar-control schedule runs 35–50 days in production, and the sea leg is typically 25–33 days.
- October 9, 2026SGCC-marked glass and the Singapore window scheduleSGCC is the Safety Glazing Certification Council, a United States non-profit that certifies safety glazing materials against ANSI Z97.1, CPSC 16 CFR 1201 and CAN/CGSB 12.1. It certifies glass, not windows. A Singapore schedule usually needs both documents, and they answer different questions: the SGCC mark on the lite, and the window system tested to the performance line the developer states — wind load, water tightness, air permeability — with the report issued per order and per model. The tropical ventilation combination carries the schedule across the region. On the current lines the production clock runs 30–45 days, and the sea leg to Singapore is the shortest of any market line.
- October 4, 2026Bushfire-rated windows: AS 3959 BAL levels and the buildA bushfire-rated window is specified to a BAL level, not a general fire rating: AS 3959 sets six levels (BAL-Low through BAL-FZ) from the site vegetation and slope, and the window build — frame material, mesh, glazing and seals — is chosen to the site level. On our schedule the BAL case runs on the same frame lines as the standard range, with the mesh, the toughened or laminated glazing and the metal seals the level requires, and the certificate ships in the document pack.
- October 4, 2026US inland vs coastal: two specifications, one factoryThe US inland vs coastal call comes down to the address: the same villa can carry two different products in the United States, and the site decides which. On the coast — the hurricane belt and the high-velocity hurricane zone bands — the specification is impact-driven: a large-missile glass build on the Miami-Dade or Florida listing path. Inland, the specification is energy-driven: an NFRC-rated thermal unit sized to the climate zone, with acoustic and budget doing the rest. One order can carry both, because the frame platform is shared and only the glazing, the hardware and the paperwork change.
- September 23, 2026Sourcing custom aluminium windows for the US marketSourcing custom aluminium windows for the US means building the specification around three things: the listing path your jurisdiction requires (Miami-Dade NOA for the hurricane coast, state energy code for inland), the glass schedule, and the documentation trail your AHJ will ask for. The factory work is the easy part; the paperwork and the port logistics decide whether the project lands on schedule.
- September 23, 2026The Australian cyclone rating system, explainedThe Australian cyclone rating is set by two standards working together: AS/NZS 1170.2 names the wind region — A to D, from the regional wind speed and the exposure class — and AS 2208 names the impact rating for positions in the cyclone impact region. The window proves both at a NATA-accredited laboratory on the configured unit, and the report ships in the document pack with the first container. On our schedule that is the IR-80 AU configuration: the AS 2208 cyclone build on laminated AS 1288 glass.
- September 23, 2026Windows for tropical South-East Asia: ventilation firstIn the tropical market the window is ventilation equipment first: the brief is cross-breeze that runs all year, monsoon protection without closing the room, salt air on the hardware, and an insect load that makes the screen a first-class line item. The schedule that works is the sliding door with its integrated screen track, the tilt sash for controlled opening, and the glass-roof and louvered lines that keep the outdoor room usable through the wet season — factory-assembled, SGCC where Singapore applies, on a 30–45 day schedule.
- September 23, 2026Security glazing in South AfricaThe South African brief puts security in the glazing itself — security glazing, not a grille behind it: a laminated core that holds the glass in place after a strike, key-operated multi-point locking at the sash, and the impact-rated line where the position demands it — all on a solar-control schedule for the bright, hot climate. The units test to SANS 10400-N with the report per model, travel crated for the long haul to Cape Town or Durban, and quote at 35–50 days on the solar-control schedule.
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