Window Manufacturers

Window manufacturers are in the business of reconciling multiple sets of opposites that on the face of it are irreconcilable.

In a way it’s because we all want our cake and eat it. We want to be warm but we don’t want the smelly smoke of an open fire. We want good reception on our mobile phones wherever we go but we don’t want a phone mast near our house.

And for window makers it’s the anomaly of everyone wanting big holes in the walls of their homes and other buildings, so they can enjoy the light and the view, but without the consequences of having wind, rain, cold, flies, thieves and anything else that’s undesirable out there coming in here.

Glass windows was the solution, and they’ve been around for thousands of years but it’s only in the last few decades that manufacturers of windows as such have developed their products into the hi-tec, precision instruments in widespread use today.

From being comparatively primitive concepts of a sheet of glass in a wooden frame literally stuck into a hole in the wall, windows have become a specialist product, with thousands of manufacturers throughout the world vying with each other on a regional, if not a global, scale to produce the best.

The first step away from wooden frames to metal was in around the 1930s, when in Europe and North America metal windows became fashionable. But these were rigid and prone to cracks just as much as wooden framed widows, where the glass had no room to expand when heated unevenly. And the frames needed frequent painting to avoid rust, and would soon become unsightly.

Around the same time the first double glazed windows, or insulated glazing units (IGUs) were developed in the United States. It wasn’t until the 1950s that manufacturers of windows started to flourish and produce advanced windows that did away with all the coldness and drafts formerly associated with them (in temperate climates, at least).

Double glazing gradually became the standard in Europe and North America, owing to their cold winters. But other countries also wanted windows that did more than just be transparent and open and close. Everyone was becoming more conscious of style and looks in windows, as well as the advantages of ease of use and longevity, thanks mostly to the manufacturers themselves, and their sales outlets.

Soon the industry developed into what it is today, with manufacturers spending millions on research and development, and producing windows that are not only good looking, but secure from wind and weather as well as housebreakers.

And there are so many types of window to choose from now. The traditional hinged windows with fanlights above can still be found, of course, but now you can also choose from sliding windows, louvre windows, double hung (or sash) windows, awning and casement windows and bifold windows in Brisbane. Leading manufacturers of windows, such as we at Streamline Windows, offer a variety of colour schemes and materials, and a number of further options as well, custom building window units to order. Window manufacturers have come a long way from the days of sheets of glass in a wooden frame.