Keeping the look but removing the wood

Replacing warped and crumbling wooden screen shutters with Wood Finish on aluminium has improved both appearance and safety. 

Project overview

Four residential blocks on Albert Road, North London, have recently undergone renovation, including removal of wooden screen shutters across the frontage of each apartment. The sliding shutters create an attractive appearance as well as providing shade from direct sunlight, but over recent years the wood has warped and deteriorated.

Warping caused cthe screens to no longer travelled smoothly across the windows, and deterioration caused the louvres to loosen with the danger that they might fall on people walking below. Refurbishment would also provide the opportunity to refit with materials conforming to current fire safety regulations.

A solution with many benefits

The developers were keen to retain the screens with the appealing appearance of wood, giving the apartments something of a continental appeal.  The blocks were developed and are managed by L&Q, a housing association that aims to deliver high quality affordable homes, and in their own words ‘better places to live’. 

The screens could be replaced using aluminium for the frame aerofoil blades and the look of wood could be delivered by using a shade from our Wood Finish (PWF™) range. PWF30, a dark shade, was closest to the original wood. In total Powdertech pre-treated and coated 9500 linear metres of extruded aluminium, each individual foil being 1.22m in length.

Using aluminium brings the obvious benefits of strength combined with a light weight. The screens will not warp and need only minimal maintenance. Powdertech Wood Finish conforms to the required reaction to fire specification for residential buildings of this type, A2-s1, d0, and the metal itself is non-combustible. 

In addition......

• Excellent corrosion protection and weather resistance
• High level of colour and gloss retention and excellent abrasion resistance
• Can be applied to most metallic substrates including aluminium, galvanized steel, cast metals and stainless steel
• The PWF range conforms to BS EN 12206-1 and Qualicoat specifications .