Date:30/10/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/10/30/stories/2008103060400500.htm

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Shut yourself from the din

Demand growing for noise-proof uPVC windows and doors

- PHOTO: P. V. SIVAKUMAR

MUCH-NEEDED: The uPVC casement windows that keep out noise pollution.

HYDERABAD: Din is all around. Though prescriptions are on paper on the noise levels for different zones demarcated as residential, commercial and so on, high decibels have turned pervasive. Whether one is working in an office located along the main corridor or enclosed in residence, high noise levels are hard to avoid.

Offering a way to shut oneself from the high decibels is the latest window and door system called unplasticised Polyvinyl Chloride (uPVC). The system completely seals the outside buzz and there is no noise leaking the way it happens with wood or aluminium facility.

Unlike the conventional system which leaves scope for noise to enter in with the shutters not fitting snugly into the frames, the uPVC fits in properly thereby shutting out the interiors completely from outside. Aparna Enterprises, one of the manufacturers of the system has already installed the same in 110 flats at its project and is in the process of fixing 17,000 more windows in another upcoming one.

Fit snugly

“These door and window profiles sit in snugly and prevent any noise sneaking in,” says T. Chandra Sekhar, Director – Materials & QA, Aparna Constructions. Unlike aluminium, these profiles also do not transfer heat through the frame and ensure better thermal insulation. And it also is free of problems such as warping, contracting or expansion with weather changes as with wood.

Factory made according to given specification, they come as fixed, sliding, casement openable, arched apart from folding and sliding. “We have the biggest bending machine that can ensure arches of more than 3 metres too,” he says.