Only Crittall makes Crittall® windows. The name is a registered trademark, and the company has made steel windows in Essex for more than a century. Any other window described as “Crittall style” “Crittall Replacement” or “Crittall look” is incorrectly using a name it doesn’t have the right to use, and we never describe our products in this way.
What you can find are alternatives to Crittall windows, whether made of steel from another system or in other window materials. Timber, PVCu and composite windows also offer what is marketed as alternatives, but neither of these come anywhere near the styling or sightlines. Each material aims to replicate the steel window styling in its own way, but none are the genuine article.
This guide explains how a steel window is built, what alternatives to steel windows are available and, why as a homeowner, you may want to look at these alternatives. We also explain where steel remains the right answer and what each alternative material can offer.
We cover doors separately in our guide to the alternatives to Crittall doors.
Why Homeowners Look for Alternatives to Steel and Crittall Windows
There are several valid reasons why you might want to conser alternatives Crittall and other steel windows when you want this iconic style of glazing in your home.
Cost is usually the first reason. Steel frames are cut, welded and mostly made by hand, then hot dip galvanised before they are colour coated. Each stage adds time and expense, and on a whole house of windows the difference is significant.
Overall, the manufacturing times for steel windows are substantially longer and this has to be reflected in the cost.
Lead time is the second. Because the windows take longer to make, the lead times are longer. If your property renovation or new build project is dependent on getting the house watertight, then the choice of windows and doors; and how long they take to make, can be the deciding factor.
Timber and aluminium windows take about half the time to make, with PVCu having the shortest lead times but the least authenticity.
Another reason for choosing steel alternative windows is that the original opening never had steel windows. On a new extension, a barn conversion or a house that had timber or PVCu windows, the steel look is a design choice, rather than replacing an original material with the same. Therefore, you are free to choose the material that suits the building.
steel-styled windows in other materials
With the exception of aluminium, the key takeaway here is that all other materials mimic the look purely with the addition of glazing bars. There is little more that can be done because of the aesthetics, overall sightlines and design of the profiles. Here’s a further explanation:
Timber
Timber is the material conservation officers know best, and a well made timber window suits many period properties. It does not look like steel, but can recreate the grid-like pattern, albeit with heavier styling and sightlines.
Timber is also a painted materials so does need some maintenance, although modern timber windows today have quite extensive product and coating guarantees.
PVCu
PVCu windows marketed with a steel look are widely available at the lower end of the price range. The frames and sashes are substantially wider and deeper than steel, and the glazing bars are often applied to the face of the glass rather than dividing it.
From a distance the colour may suggest steel. Close up, the proportions are those of a PVCu window. The most obvious will be the plastic melted/welded or timber-look corners which of course, look nothing like the welded corners of the original.
Timber and aluminium composite
Composite windows have an aluminium profile outside and a wood inside. They are intended to provide the low maintenance advantages of aluminium on the exposed face, with a timber look inside. They are durable and thermally efficient, but the combined profiles create a similar overall window depth to timber windows. Of course, with the inside being wood, it’s not a steel-like product.
However, like all other materials, the application of aluminium glazing bars creates the window grid that identifies this style.
Aluminium
Aluminium is undoubtedly the comes closest to steel. Not only is it substantially slimmer than PVCu, timber and hybrid materials, but is can be extruded, so a profile can be shaped precisely to reproduce steel proportions, from the stepped frame to a rolled profile and of course, the slim glazing bar.
It accepts a polyamide thermal break, takes thicker glass units, including triple glazing, and like steel, is powder coated in a factory to a durable finish.
Do bear in mind the limitations of aluminium as well. Because it is not as strong as steel, it will require either wider sections, couplers or additional reinforcement for larger spans.
Whilst aluminium can be shaped and curved, it does not have the flexibility of steel. Therefore, gothic shapes, intricate detailing and very tight radii are better done in steel.
The corners are mechanically jointed rather than welded, and the quality of that joint is one of the clearest differences between one aluminium window and another.
The best aluminium steel look windows are designed to look like metal windows from the outset. They are not adapted from a standard casement system with bars added, although plenty of such windows are available in the market.
How Aluco Elite Windows Approach the Steel Window style
Aluco Elite Windows were designed and engineered to look as close as possible like metal windows. Ultra-slim frames, very similar sightlines, rolled steel styling, hidden trickle vents and period hardware are just a few of their benefits. They are made to order and hand finished in our Cambridgeshire factory, and every window is inspected before it leaves.
The frame is 70mm deep for replacement work. Narrower frames are available where the window sits within stone mullions or a timber subframe, which is common in older houses.
You can choose from several styling versions, with or without the glazing bars. Your design can include equal or unqual sightlines, fixed and opening windows as well as matching doors.
Glazing bars are available at 20mm, 25mm, 37mm and 38mm. The 20mm bar is the slimmest; the 38mm bar gives the heavier, industrial proportion of a commercial steel window. Mullions, transoms and bars are colour matched.
Corners are double cleated as standard. Casements hang on adjustable butt hinges, which echo the face mounted hinges of a steel window, with multipoint locking. Restrictors are optional, and fire escape hinges are available for first floor windows.
We use 28mm double glazed units at 1.4 W/m²K or 44mm triple glazed units at 1.0 W/m²K. Both are thicker than any traditional solid steel profile can hold.
Trickle ventilation is concealed within the frame, and our 165mm cill needs no drainage holes, with an integrated overhead drip bar. The windows meet Part L for energy efficiency and Part F for ventilation.
RAL 9005 matt black and RAL 7021 matt grey are standard, with over 150 RAL powder coated colours to order. Hardware includes the Aluco Steel Look Window Handle, a cockspur design in Satin Chrome, Gunmetal, Antique Black or Dark Bronze, and the Art Deco Window Handle in Solid Brass or Black Cast.
The Aesthetics of Steel Window Profiles
Most steel windows made in the UK use a small family of profiles recognised by the Steel Window Association. Knowing which one you are being offered tells you a great deal about how the window will look and perform.
These allow the repair and replacement of original metal windows, as well as meeting the requirements of new build and replacement window projects.
SMW
Standard Metal Windows are the single glazed windows fitted to many homes built in the first half of the twentieth century. The profiles are 25mm wide and overlap the frame by 3mm. They remain available for like-for-like replacement, usually where a conservation officer requires the existing windows to be matched exactly. These windows are always single glazed.
W20
W20 is the traditional heavy duty section, 32mm wide with 5mm flanges, first developed for commercial and industrial buildings. Fixed lights and opening casements are glazed in the same plane. Glazing bars have a face width of no more than 29mm. W20 takes glass or sealed units up to 16mm thick.
W30
W30 is a slimmer derivative of W20 for outward opening double glazed windows in homes. It gives a 51mm sightline on opening casements and takes sealed units up to 18mm thick. The Steel Window Association describes W30 as the basis of today’s domestic steel window.
W40
W40 keeps the casement sightlines of W20 but uses 40mm wide profiles. That allows 26mm double glazed units, gasket glazed with drained and ventilated rebates. It also accommodates concealed friction hinges and multipoint locking.
W50TB
W50TB is a thermally broken steel section designed to replicate the character of W20. Because it is engineered differently from solid hot rolled steel, it is also manufactured differently. The Steel Window Association quotes U values as low as 1.4 W/m²K.
T60TB
This is the most thermally efficient window made by Crittall offering some of the lowest U-Values and suitable for many window refurbishment and new building projects today.
What the profiles differences mean
The profile sets the thickness of glass the window can hold. In the traditional solid sections that is 16mm in W20, 18mm in W30 and 26mm in W40. Triple glazing is not usually available with steel windows.
The profile also decides on the thermal insulation of the window and how it performs in the cold. Solid steel conducts heat easily.
It is generally acknowledged that in severe cold, with little ventilation, condensation can occur on the inside of the window on the frame and glass.
The more recent thermally insulated sections address this, but just like all window materials, none should promise to eliminate condensation entirely.
So when you receive a quotation for steel windows, ask which profile it is based on, whether it is thermally broken, how thick the sealed units are, and whether the U value quoted is for the whole window or the centre of the glass.
Most important is that the windows must meet current Building Regulations for Insulation under Part L, and your steel or other window material installer must confirm that these windows comply with your new build or replacement windows project.
How a Steel Window Is Built
The traditional profiles are hot rolled from solid mild steel. Frames are welded at the corners and dressed square and flat. Glazing bars are tenon riveted or welded into the frame. Steel is strong for its size, which is why these sections can be so slim and create bigger windows than all other window materials.
When it comes to fitting locking systems and hardware to steel windows, the choice is extensive. Traditional hardware is widely used from various brands.
Where Steel Remains the Right Choice
There are situations where nothing replaces steel, and this is important to know before you make your decision on whether the alternatives to Crittall windows and other steel window brands are right for you or you need to stick with the genuine article.
If your home is listed, or in a conservation area, the planning officer may require steel, and in some cases the exact profile and glazing pattern of the originals. Single glazed SMW or W20 made to match is sometimes the only acceptable answer.
If the existing steel windows are sound, refurbishment may be better than replacement. There are specialist steel window companies that also undertake repair and bringing windows back to a good condition. Their work includes sealing, adjustment, replacement or repair of the hardware.
If you have steel windows, with only a very small budget, then secondary glazing might be a solution. These are very slim single or double glazed windows that fit behind your existing windows in the window reveal. They provide numerous benefits over just having the original and you’ll notice a better insulated and quieter room.
If you need fire-rated windows, without using timber or commercial aluminium, then steel can do this and is tested to 30, 60 and 90 minutes. No company should ever offer you a frame in any material with fire rated glass only. Fire-rated windows are specialist products.
Steel windows are also ideal for buildings where the glazing has complex shapes and curves such as Gothic styles, decorative steel inserts and other complex designs. This material is the easiest to work with. The slim but very strong nature of steel also makes it ideal for oversized windows and doors. Generally steel can go bigger, taller and wider than other materials.
And if you want the material itself, with its welded corners and the particular weight and feel of steel, then of course, this is the best.
Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas
If your home is listed, any change to the windows needs listed building consent, and aluminium may not be accepted. Some authorities have accepted aluminium steel look windows before, but you should not assume yours will.
In a conservation area, replacing windows on an ordinary house is often permitted development. Where the council has made an Article 4 direction, those rights are removed and you will need planning permission. Check with your local planning authority before you order and take the window details with you.
Making the Decision
The right material depends on your building, its planning status, your programme and the performance you need. These questions will settle most of it:
- Does the planning status of your home require steel?
- Are the existing steel windows worth refurbishing?
- What U value are you aiming for, and is it quoted for the whole window?
- How thick are the sealed units, and can the profile take triple glazing?
- How are the corners made, and can you see a finished sample?
- What are the sightlines of the fixed lights and the opening casements?
If aluminium is the right route for your home, you can see Aluco Elite Windows and the wider Elite Exterior Collection at our showroom and factory in Huntingdon or you can contact us for details of your nearest Aluco Approved Installer.
Crittall® is a registered trademark of Crittall Windows Limited and is unconnected to Aluco Aluminium Ltd.
