Mark Lofthouse, managing director of 3D Laminates, talks about the emergence of the market for coloured products. This includes second generation door panels and composite doors that now offer different colours both outside and in. However he warns that all components within a window or door installation need to match as consumer expectations are high in value added products.
The origins of the PVCu replacement window market began with the simple proposition of a long lasting white window, there were also a few door options too. If it was good enough for Henry Ford to offer his Model T in only black, then surely this was acceptable for the PVCu window and door industry to offer their products in just white? It was back then in the 1970’s, but this is now the era of near limitless choice for the consumer.
In the 1990’s the PVCu window and door industry brought out the first laminated options of mahogany, to be followed later with golden oak and rosewood. At this stage there was the introduction of matching ancillaries such as cills and even drain hole covers. However over the last few years the industry has seen the emergence of a large number of colours for both windows and doors and many of the large extrusion companies now offer a colour range far in excess of the car industry. The latest evolution of the Ford Mondeo has a choice of just 9 colours in stark contrast to the dozens of colours/foils on offer for PVCu profiles.
Modern foils or laminates are generally around 200-220microns thick with 3D’s latest laminates for door skins 300 microns thick. When compared to the hot stamp foil at 20 microns thick that were used well over a decade ago, these latest foils have been proven to last in various extremes in climate and are highly resistant to scratching unlike GRP.
Some of the latest developments such as CoolColours® from Hornschuch take this one step further as they reflect 80% of the energy-charged IR spectrum of sunlight, 4 times better than a standard foil. For door panels this was a major breakthrough in 2004 and proved the platform for the launch of 3D Laminates.
Dark colours absorb more heat that white PVCu products and this is something that the whole glazing industry has had to address. Colours are also a means to satisfy the replacement of the replacements market, not just vibrant colours such as red, green and blue finishes but greys, creams and even new woodgrain finishes. These products have improved immeasurably over the last 10 years and colours are proving to be a rewarding route to additional sales and better margins.
Door panels have come a long way over the last 20 years and we are now in a market where second generation products are primarily the norm. The problems associated with the first generation products are now a distant memory and companies are now able to offer coloured panels in a huge variety of colours and designs and are generally backed with 10 year warranties. Failures in coloured door panels are almost unheard of now thanks to new developments such as the CoolSkin technology we have developed at 3D Laminates with European partners Hornschuch and Röchling.
Yet composite doors are the major growth sector in the home improvement market and in recent years we have seen the emergence of a number of new companies looking to exploit the opportunities, including a number of the major PVCu systems companies. However these products are not the holy grail of doors, as the vast majority of these composite doors are manufactured from GRP. GRP doors cannot be foiled and therefore the colour match to the door frame can be an issue, as is the fact that the vast majority of GRP doors are only offered with a white internal finish.
New external colours and woodgrain effects are a great offering to the consumer and sales savvy installer but all the ancillaries also need to match. Door frames need to match the actual door slabs and the glazing cassettes in turn need to match the door skins. So what’s next?
In many instances external grade foils are used for internal purposes on window profiles while some composite doors are limited to a white-only internal finish, but there’s a wealth of choice for internal colours and foils. These add greater choice and are more cost effective for the latest generation of low maintenance home improvement products. The second generation of composite doors will address the key issues of colour matching, internal colour options and better scratch resistance. The future’s in colour for PVCu windows and doors.