Steel windows from ASWS shine in school conversion

Top steel window refurbishment company, Associated Steel Window Services (ASWS), has completed a project which saw the full refurbishment of over 70 steel windows and the manufacture of ten new ones at Alexandra House in Brentford, London.  In 1938, the grade-II listed, Art Deco style building was a health centre and juvenile employment bureau; it has recently been converted to accommodate the expansion of St Paul’s Church of England Primary School.

A crucial part of the project brief from the Conservation Officer was the retention of the original windows. With strong horizontal glazing-bar patterns, the metal casement windows were key to the stunning aesthetics of Alexandra House as they enhance the sentinel quality of the ‘tower of health’, the building’s central feature. 

Working to a tight six-month programme, ASWS removed each window and installed temporary panels to secure the openings. The windows were then taken to ASWS’s workshops where the glazing and the brass fittings were removed and the frames taken back to bare metal. After thorough assessment, necessary repairs were made with some new sections inserted and a maritime primer coat spray applied to the finished frames. They were then reinstalled on site with the single glazing traditionally putty-glazed before the frames were hand-painted to meet listed building requirements. 

New windows, made up to replace those that had previously been unsympathetically replaced, were fabricated using W20 sections and hot dip galvanised and primed prior to delivery to site. Fittings to all the windows were refurbished and polished before being reinstalled.

Matthew Cox, commercial director, Ash Contracting, comments: “Overhauling the windows was a substantial element of the project so we had to trust in the specialist knowledge of ASWS. They were very responsive and worked closely with us and the architect, meeting every date in what was a challenging programme while reacting to some quite late changes in terms of a requirement to fit restrictors onto the ground floor windows. There was very little snagging.”

David Loxton, of architects Loxton & Associates, comments: “ASWS was involved from beginning to end and they were exceptionally helpful, working assiduously right the way through the project. We were very pleased with their proactive approach. They have done really well and came up with the goods; I’m very happy with the result and would certainly go back to them.”

For further information on Associated Steel Window Services, please visit www.asws.co.uk or call 020 8665 5335.