Tenants of Wade House reported that windows were draughty and difficult to open and close. This was affecting warmth in the winter and ventilation in the summer.
The windows are aluminium box sash, single glazing, 30 to 40 years old. The age of the windows meant that sourcing parts to repair the windows was difficult but our supply chain came through with balances, keeps, fitch catches and restrictors that could all be retrofitted to the windows.
Over 3 days, all windows on all floors were surveyed by our engineers. The windows were graded on a PASS / FAIL basis based on their functionality.
Of the 1028 windows surveyed, 561 were found to fail, mostly due to faulty balances, catches or stops.
Our recommendation was that refurbishing the windows would reduce draughts which made people sat by them cold in the winter and improve ventilation in the summer by giving them more operable windows.
The opportunity to return all the windows to full functionality was limited by Health & Safety considerations with one side of the building overlooking the glass canopy of the Merrion Centre itself. However, working with the Centre’s tenants we developed a programme of repairs for windows that would seal draughty windows whilst ensuring there were enough openable ones in each section of the office to provide ventilation in the summer.