Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/178323
colouration and beauty of the wood grain are excellent, Kobialka says. "We offer the thickest all-wood casement and awning sash on the market. For energy performance, strength and durability, there's nothing that compares to it." Virtually all of All Weather's products are available in true triple pane, which is important to consumers who are now doing research online prior to purchasing new windows. But triple pane can mean different things depending on who manufactures the windows, Kobialka cautions. "We don't compromise the air space between the glass to achieve triple pane. If you skinny up the air spaces between the panes of glass, you're not providing the same bene it because you're not achieving the same thermal performance." The majority of the company's work is residential windows, and All Weather was awarded the Energy Star manufacturer of the year for Canada in 2010 and 2011. "When British Columbia started implementing its Energy Ef iciency Act, we were all ready at and exceeding the standards it set because of the strength, air tightness and thermal performance of our window systems," he says. "Many companies struggled with the new standards but it's been part of our mission ever since our inception, 35 years ago, to be the energy-ef icient leader in residential products." Low pricing on windows has been the downfall of many companies in the window industry, says Casey Kerkhoff, CEO of Westeck Windows in Chilliwack, B.C. "There's some optimism on the horizon due to the fact that some of our competitors have fallen by the wayside, mostly due to poor pricing," he explains. "They feel that increased volume will make up for reduced pricing, but in the end, they get neither volume nor price. There's a cost to supplying a good product to a Residential Windows p.24-33Windows.indd 29 customer and providing proper service. So customers can pay a little more for service and follow-through, or pay a low price today and the warranty will be gone when the company fails." With ive regional of ices in B.C., Westeck has also moved into the multi-family housing market aggressively in recent months. It offers European-style tilt and turn products, heavy-duty casement and slider vinyl windows, wood windows and vinyl windows with all-wood interior and thermally broken aluminum windows and sliding doors. The company supplies across the country, up to and including Ontario. Windows constitute 75 per cent of Westeck's business and the majority of them are painted as per customers' choice of colours in the company's 60,000-square-foot Chilliwack production facility. Tilt and turn Euro doors are becoming more highly sought-after than sliding doors, says Kerkhoff, because they have a far higher rating for water and air in iltration. "Look at the products available and examine how they meet the building code, CSA requirements and Energy Act requirements," he advises builders. "We've developed many different and totally new architectural speci ications, which are speci ic for type of construction, elevation and geographic locations" At EuroLine Windows in Delta, commercial sales coordinator Al Godin speaks from a technical perspective on the residential window industry. "From a technical standpoint, there is de initely a push for higher performance standards," he says. "In the northwest area in particular – B.C., Alberta, Washington, Oregon, Alaska and California – the industry is moving toward PassivHaus standards." Godin points to German supplier Rehau's new RAUFIPRO® material as an example of the evolution of Durabuilt Windows & Doors' Tri-Bridex series is the only window system on the market that features a PVC core with an extruded aluminum exterior and interior wood finish. Sandstone exterior colour with triple pane option shown here. residential window products. "RAU-FIPRO is the irst ibreglass-hybrid material in North America," he says. "This composite is a result of Rehau's experience creating materials for airplanes and Formula 1 race cars." The RAU-FIPRO material was used in the irst highrise building, located in Germany, ever built to PassivHaus standard. Why is the ibreglass-hybrid material preferable to a conventional ibreglass window? Aside from the fact that conventional ibreglass windows can only be painted, Godin points out they have mechanically AUGUST 2012 /29 7/13/12 10:03 AM