Hand built and modern

Deceuninck fabricator Spectral Windows makes traditional handmade windows with the support of a modern supplier. We report.

Spectral Windows was established in 2020 by seasoned window professional Jason Wilder with fellow directors Nick Rudd, Phil Redfern and Scott McQueen, in response to a demand for high quality products that some window companies felt was not being met.

Today, Spectral operates from two sites in the UK: Aldridge in the West Midlands and Kettering in Northamptonshire. While the site in Aldridge focuses on the production of fully welded chamfered and sculptured Deceuninck PVC-U windows, the Kettering site is dedicated to aluminium production alongside high-end fully mechanically jointed windows, which are hand-built rather than machine finished.

Nick Rudd, who manages the Kettering site, explains that while hand-crafted mechanically jointed PVC-U heritage windows may give the impression of a drawn-out process, Spectral Windows still has to respond to the demand for quickly delivered modern windows.

So, when the firm was looking for a systems partner in 2020, choosing Deceuninck was an obvious choice.

“Installers don’t expect to wait anymore,” Nick explains. “It’s not like the days of wanting to wait five or six weeks for an agate grey window. You just need to be able to react quickly to the market trends – which is really important to us as a business.

“When we looked at the product range that Deceuninck offered, along with the colour choice and speed of turnaround, it was a no brainer, really.”

Nick said that at a headline level, Deceuninck offered a bevelled chamfered casement (2500), a fully sculptured casement (2800) and a flush casement all in one system, which simplified stockholding and allowed for greater flexibility on projects.

“And then they offered that in a huge choice of colours,” Nick says. “30-plus colours from stock and then 20 colours on a 15-day lead time – so, 50 colours to choose from. And they are not limited to just one range. They offer the colours across the full Deceuninck suite. No other systems company comes close in terms of that product offering.”

When establishing Spectral Windows in 2020, the directors – all experienced window professionals – were aware of the shift to high-end products, and could see the strategic advantage of dedicating a facility to hand-built mechanical flush casement windows which closely replicate traditional timber windows.

“Since they tend to be a replacement for timber, much of what we produce tends to be in colour – about 85% to 90%,” Nick says.

Deceuninck launched its Heritage Flush Sash window in 2016. It combines subtle balanced aesthetics, replicating traditional timber windows with advanced thermal performance achieving WER of as high as A++ and U-values as low as 0.90W/m2K. Airtightness is Class 4, Water tightness Class E900, Wind Resistance AE2400.

PAS24 tested and Part Q approved, the Flush Sash comes with a night vent facility, Georgian bar option and choice of traditional ironmongery. Deceuninck added a dedicated open-out flush door sash alongside its flush window offer at the end of 2019. Fully suited with the system leader’s Heritage 2800 system, it achieves U-values as low as 1.0W/m2K and DER A rating.

“It’s a question of balancing traditional skills with a modern approach to procurement and manufacturing,” Nick says. “If you look at our dedicated mechanical flush window line, you will see that there is little in the way of machinery – just a saw and a room of craftsmen building individual windows. It’s almost like going back to how we used to make windows 20 or 30 years ago.”

Nick explains that many of his customers supply homes in conservation areas, and the 45º weld on many flush PVC-U windows made it too obvious that the window was not timber.

“Die-hard conservationists, or those fitting windows in listed buildings or conservation areas, would refuse the window on that basis, even if the window otherwise looked great,” Nick says. “Basically, the best way to get that 90º traditional effect was by hand-jointing them.

“So, it’s a handmade process, because people are looking for a handmade window. Yet it is fully modern because we can offer it in a wide choice of colours in a competitive lead time, alongside excellent thermal and weather performance.”

For more information about Deceuninck’s product and service offer please call 01249 816 969, email deceuninck.ltd@deceuninck.com or visit www.deceuninck.co.uk