Congratulations. You’ve decided to build your personal house. I must say that its one of the greatest investments you can have in Nigeria, because Land and Property are two things that appreciate here.
If you’ve actually started construction, I’ll probably be right to say that you’ve started facing a myriad of decisions pertaining to choice of materials to use. This will continue throughout the construction process, and could range from the type of cement to use (eg Sokoto, Dangote, Burham), to the type of roof cladding to use.
I have chosen today to focus my lens on the type of window frame to use. I dearly hope that my counsel will help you make a choice based on your conviction, and not on what your friend’s Uncle’s wife living abroad told you. You know what I mean!
Window frames come in varieties, but I am just sticking to the two that are of greatest fancy in the Nigerian Construction industry: Steel and Aluminium. Basically, I will discourse on some basic criteria developers look for in these materials, and do a comparative analysis.
Strength
Steel is stronger than aluminium, no doubt. It comes straight from the furnace (I mean real steel), and has great restraining properties. Aluminium on the other hand is an alloy and I not as strong as steel. However, steel is not as versatile as aluminium, which can easily be cut and put in various shapes without losing its essence. With strength also comes weight, thus, steel frames are heavier than aluminium. On a day you are tired or fatigued, you will definitely prefer to open an aluminium window than a steel window!
Durability
Steel has to be well treated against rust before being painted into your desirable color. This would definitely make it a bit costlier, and if not well treated will deteriorate in the presence of moisture and rust. The truth is that all materials wear out. After some period of use scratches develop which gradually go through the layers of paint and antirust, and slowly exposes the steel to rust. Aluminium however doesn’t rust, and this gives it a big edge over steel.
Aesthetics
This is another area where aluminium has an edge over steel. When properly fixed, aluminium is simply beautiful, especially with the fact that it can be cut into smaller sections than steel. Steel joints are created by welding, and we know that this creates those ugly joints that can’t be totally hidden by paint. Aluminium on the other hand is fixed by screwing or riveting, which overall doesn’t look too repulsive. In fact, they can be beautifully and effectively concealed. Over my experience in design and aesthetics, facades incorporating aluminium frames look more contemporary than heavy steel frames. This is why aluminium is getting increasingly more popular than steel.
Cost
I think the final downer for steel is its cost. Steel frames are costlier than aluminium frames. Adding this to the beauty, there’s little wonder steel is getting out of vogue. It is also more expensive to maintain steel frames over a period of time than Aluminium frames.
Sturdy Steel and Elegant Aluminium.
You must’ve guessed my pick already.
What’s important to me is that you should now be able to confidently pick yours.
