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PVCu (or Vinyl if you are from the USA)
 This is an excellent, highly insulate material, which benefits from little or no external maintenance. It is readily available and well tested and is usually the lowest cost option of all three materials. It is mainly seen in white but also available in Mahogany and Oak woodgrain styles. PVCu is by far the most popular material for windows and doors
today.
There are many well-proven PVCu extrusions available. Problems with discoloration are virtually unheard of and most suppliers will warrant against this. The design of the windows varies from company to company. Here are a few of the main points. You may like to raise them with your supplier.
Internal or Externally glazed windows
 Most PVCu systems will now give you this option. As a generalisation Internally beaded windows (where the glass is held in from the inside) are considered more secure and burglar resistant. That said there are a lot of satisfactory externally beaded PVCu systems about - many of which feature either internal wedge gaskets or a "double sided"
tape which holds the external bead firmly in place. You should investigate this particular issue with your supplier.
Thickness of PVCu walling?
Most PVCu systems for window and door construction are "multi-walled" with internal reinforcement by means of either Aluminium or Galvanised Steel box section. Wall thickness can vary from system to system - most are around 3 - 3.5 mm thickness. Generally speaking the "thicker" the walling - the stronger the section. Ask your supplier for an example section and enquire if the frames are fully reinforced. Note also that the greater the number of internal walls - the
greater the strength.
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Depth or thickness of frame
 Actual depth of frame extrusion varies from as low as 50 mm to a number at 70 mm and above. Most are in the 60 - 65 mm region. Clearly this does have an effect on the structural strength of your replacement window or door. This is especially worth bearing in mind when comparing prices. It would not for instance be fair to
compare the price of a conservatory built using a 55 mm depth of frame with a window made using 70 mm depth of frame.
We bring the points above to your attention purely to give you a feel for the sort of questions you should ask a potential supplier. The above is by no means the whole story, and there will be varying arguments one way and the other.
Here is a short list of PVCu systems companies supplying extrusion for the manufacture of PVCu windows and doors in the UK. These include Rehau, Veka, Spectus and Synseal.
For some, however, PVCu lacks authenticity when it comes to the more traditional designs. It is not acceptable to planners for use on listed buildings and not popular with planners in conservation areas.
Coloured Frame Options
 What colour do you want? You name it and today you can almost certainly get it. Standard colours for PVCu and aluminium are white, whilst for hardwood it is a natural stain option such as mahogany, walnut or light oak. You can, however, have hardwood already primed in green, cream and teak plus a whole host of options to your specification. PVCu in
mahogany woodgrain and cherry oak woodgrain styles is also increasingly popular. Additionally, both PVCu and aluminium can be specially coloured in red, blue, green, black and orange! (and that's just a few of the options!)
The above only really touches the surface on some of the options available. Your supplier will be pleased to give you a more detailed specification.
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