Aluclad Window guides, calculator & reference

A standard triple-glazed alu-clad casement or tilt-and-turn window (Uw 0.78–0.85 W/m²K) costs €1,100 to €2,000 supplied and fitted. Large fixed floor-to-ceiling screens cost €1,400 to €2,800, a full 3-bed semi-detached house (8–10 windows) costs €11,000 to €20,000, and a 4-bed detached or one-off self-build package (12–16 windows plus a lift-and-slide patio door) costs €16,500 to €32,000.

A true alu-clad window has a structural core made from laminated, knot-free engineered Scandinavian timber (usually slow-grown Nordic pine or European oak) on the inside of the room, protected on the outside by a ventilated, clip-on extruded powder-coated aluminium skin. You get the warmth and natural insulating properties of real wood indoors without ever having to sand or paint the outside.

Some manufacturers market uPVC frames with clipped-on aluminium outer caps or polyurethane-foam cores as 'alu-clad'. True Scandinavian alu-clad joinery uses a solid laminated timber frame indoors, which can be factory-painted in any RAL shade, clear-lacquered to show the woodgrain, or repainted 25 years later if you change your interior decor.

Yes. On pre-2011 homes undergoing a qualifying energy upgrade, triple-glazed alu-clad windows (at Uw 0.78–0.85 W/m²K) comfortably beat SEAI's 1.4 W/m²K requirement and qualify for the €4,000 detached grant, €3,000 semi-D grant, €1,800 mid-terrace grant or €1,500 apartment grant.