Frame Fast keeps it local for Wheeldon Homes

Frame Fast keeps it local for Wheeldon Homes

Derby-based Frame Fast (UK) Ltd has helped Wheeldon Homes keep it local by supplying Modus windows for 47 new build homes in a Conservation Area of Middleton, near Wirksworth in Derbyshire.

Wheeldon Homes has become the latest in a growing number of major housebuilders to specify the innovative new Modus window and door profile system from Eurocell.

The developer has a policy of employing quality local suppliers, wherever possible. The fact that both Frame Fast (UK) Ltd and Eurocell are based in Derbyshire exemplified this approach on the Hopton Rise project.

Modus® is the UK’s first fully integrated window and door system, available with three stunning sash design options. Frame Fast (UK) Ltd offer all three options including the standard rebate, slim rebate and fully flush sash styles, providing its customers with a much wider range of design aesthetics.

The 47 properties at Hopton Rise required over 450 Modus windows, all with the flush sash option, in a White Ash woodgrain finish. This offers a genuine aesthetic alternative to timber windows, without creating an ongoing maintenance burden for homeowners.

With continued investment in its 30,000 sq ft, purpose-designed production facility, Frame Fast (UK) Ltd, Derbyshire’s largest trade fabricators, was able to supply and fit the [u value] Modus windows exactly to the agreed schedule.

Frame Fast (UK) Ltd was able to keep it local, too, for Wheeldon Homes by highlighting that 50% of the Modus frames are made from post-consumer recycled PVC-U, at the dedicated Eurocell recycling facility in nearby Ilkeston. This material is then made into the new Modus window profiles, at the Eurocell production plant in Alfreton, before being fabricated at Frame Fast in Derby. Fitting the windows in the Middleton properties helped Wheeldon Homes achieve an exceptionally low carbon footprint on this development – a total of just 53 miles travelled.

The post-consumer recycled material is concentrated in the central core of the profiles, where it is completely invisible in an installed window or door.

Being in a conservation area meant that planners had to agree on all external elements of the 47 properties, including the windows. The Modus flush sash was specified because the planning authority felt that the windows offered a genuine alternative to timber, which helped to retain the traditional aesthetic integrity of the village.

“The planners had a clear vision of creating traditional-looking limestone homes and of course the windows had to complement this,” said Louise Greenhoff, Quantity Surveyor at Wheeldon Homes. “Timber windows were considered, but we were conscious that these would leave homeowners with maintenance issues in the long-term.”

“As soon as we presented the Modus flush sash to the planners, they agreed that it was suitable for this development,” said Louise. “The planners liked the fact that Modus retained traditional aesthetics that complemented other properties in the village.”

Nigel Leivers, Sales Director at Frame Fast (UK) Ltd, said: “The Modus windows have managed to achieve a great balance between contemporary performance and traditional aesthetics. Modus is a real game changer for housebuilders looking for high performance windows with aesthetics that really help sell a property.”

To find out more about the benefits of sourcing Modus® windows from Frame Fast (UK) Ltd., visit: https://www.framefastuk.com or call: 01332 344459.

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