The conservation, preservation and rejuvenation of historic windows is at the core of FINEO’s motivation. Thanks to FINEO’s advanced new vacuum insulated glazing (VIG) technology, older steel or timber sash or casement window frames can be retrofitted with glass that is the width of single glazing but offers the performance of triple glazing. That was the goal with Watford Town Hall and their historic steel windows.
Watford Town Hall
Rickmansworth Rd, Watford WD17 3EW, UK
Watford Town Hall: Introduction
Watford Town Hall: History
Watford Town Hall is an Art Deco / Neo Georgian grade 2 listed building protected by Heritage England. It was designed by architect Charles Cowles-Voysey and built in 1939 and was officially opened in early 1940. A large rejuvenation project was initiated by Watford Borough Council in 2019 that would see a large amount of renovation. This led them to the conservation of the historic steel window frames and the installation of FINEO vacuum glazing.
Photo credit: Watford Museum Facebook
Watford Town Hall: Results
The installation of over 2000 panes (600m2) of FINEO vacuum glazing old saw the removal of the old inefficient single glazing. This saw a huge improvement in the energy-efficiency and thermal performance of the glass. Going from a 5.8 W/(m²K) U-value of single glazing to an impressive 0.7 W/(m²K) with FINEO. As FINEO is only 7.7mm thick it is perfect for heritage projects, as it maintains the existing historic steel window frames, which have been preserved and renovated. FINEO comes with a 20 year warranty but has a much longer lifespan. And it doesn’t have a vacuum cap / getter so your view isn’t spoiled. This project was completed with the help of the Morgan Sindell Group and SFWR.
Photos credit: steelframewindowrefurbishment.com