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Well, that saved a few bob - more. Riser blocks

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Harry Bloomfield

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Jul 17, 2018, 7:22:35 AM7/17/18
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Having tracked down the company that made these wedges for UPVC doors
and windows, plus had a quick email exchange with them. The wedges are
called 'riser blocks' and they are supposed to be installed.

Idea is that they help keep the door supported and centralised in the
frame as it closes and when closed. Obviously the professional window
installers (one of the big companies) were not aware of their purpose
and intention, because they just chucked the riser block loose in the
frame bottom.

Windowwidgets has kindly volunteered to send me some spare blocks, free
of charge following my enquiry.

John Rumm

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Jul 17, 2018, 7:40:28 AM7/17/18
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Plastic frames need support from the DG sealed unit to stop sagging in
hot weather - so normally you use the plastic blocks to "heal and toe"
the glass into the frame, so that it is under compression across the
diagonal - much like you would use a diagonal brace on a frame and ledge
door.

--
Cheers,

John.

/=================================================================\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\=================================================================/

jkn

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Jul 17, 2018, 7:56:51 AM7/17/18
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"Heel and Toe", I think that is, as you probably know...

I would love to see a proper understanding of the proper procedure around this -
I've never seen a really good explanation of how to go about things.

J^n

Andy Burns

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Jul 17, 2018, 8:05:31 AM7/17/18
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jkn wrote:

> "Heel and Toe", I think that is, as you probably know...
>
> I would love to see a proper understanding of the proper procedure around this -
> I've never seen a really good explanation of how to go about things.

It's quite straightforward, with an opener (door or window) you want the
packers supporting at the bottom and on the hinge side and at the top on
other side of the opposite diagonal.

<http://a6windows.co.uk/img/toeing%20and%20heeling.jpg>

the spacers on the other sides are basically to stop it shifting, rather
than take any weight/pressure.

Harry Bloomfield

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Jul 17, 2018, 8:58:58 AM7/17/18
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Andy Burns expressed precisely :
> It's quite straightforward, with an opener (door or window) you want the
> packers supporting at the bottom and on the hinge side and at the top on
> other side of the opposite diagonal.
>
> <http://a6windows.co.uk/img/toeing%20and%20heeling.jpg>
>
> the spacers on the other sides are basically to stop it shifting, rather than
> take any weight/pressure.

Thanks for that. Looking at the diagram, there are some entirely black
blocks and some a lighter shade. Are we saying that one spacers, or
only the setting blocks are supposed to be fitted or should it be both,
all 6 blocks?

Our front door (the one under discussion) was fitted by one of the
national companies and they left it with no blocks fitted, just one
dropped loosely in the frame.

I had a local company replace all of the windows and the back door, the
year after the front door was fitted. Having now checked - all of the
windows are fitted with the blocks, but there are none at all on the
back door.

Andy Burns

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Jul 17, 2018, 9:04:34 AM7/17/18
to
Harry Bloomfield wrote:

> Andy Burns expressed precisely :
>
>> <http://a6windows.co.uk/img/toeing%20and%20heeling.jpg>
>>
> Looking at the diagram, there are some entirely black
> blocks and some a lighter shade.

The black ones are the ones that should be 'tight' the grey ones with a
mm or so of play.

> Are we saying that one spacers, or only
> the setting blocks are supposed to be fitted or should it be both, all 6
> blocks?
>
> Our front door (the one under discussion) was fitted by one of the
> national companies and they left it with no blocks fitted, just one
> dropped loosely in the frame.
>
> I had a local company replace all of the windows and the back door, the
> year after the front door was fitted. Having now checked - all of the
> windows are fitted with the blocks, but there are none at all on the
> back door.

I'm taking about between the frame and the glass, rather than between
the door itself and the frame, you can't see them after the glazing bars
are fitted.

Sounds like your lifting blocks are within the frame, my doors don't
wedges have any like that (neither do my windows but I think that's
because they have multi-point locking all round, so there are metal
blocks as part of that).

Harry Bloomfield

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Jul 17, 2018, 9:29:49 AM7/17/18
to
Andy Burns submitted this idea :
> Sounds like your lifting blocks are within the frame, my doors don't wedges
> have any like that (neither do my windows but I think that's because they
> have multi-point locking all round, so there are metal blocks as part of
> that).

Both of my doors and the windows are all multi-point locking.
Protruding pegs which go into pockets on the hinge sides, on the doors.

What nudged me into investigating the front door, was that it had
developed a creak, as it expanded and contracted in the sun. On opening
it, I found it sticking on the one block which I had myself put
properly in place, one which the fitters had just left loose in the
frame. Now I have adjusted the fit of the door, it hasn't creaked
since.

Jeff Layman

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Jul 17, 2018, 11:12:12 AM7/17/18
to
On 17/07/18 14:04, Andy Burns wrote:
> Harry Bloomfield wrote:
>
>> Andy Burns expressed precisely :
>>
>>> <http://a6windows.co.uk/img/toeing%20and%20heeling.jpg>
>>>
>> Looking at the diagram, there are some entirely black
>> blocks and some a lighter shade.
>
> The black ones are the ones that should be 'tight' the grey ones with a
> mm or so of play.

Maybe a daft question, but if the grey ones have a mm or so of play, how
to they stay in place as they are on long vertical sides?

--

Jeff

John Rumm

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Jul 17, 2018, 11:45:29 AM7/17/18
to
On 17/07/2018 13:58, Harry Bloomfield wrote:
> Andy Burns expressed precisely :
>> It's quite straightforward, with an opener (door or window) you want
>> the packers supporting at the bottom and on the hinge side and at the
>> top on other side of the opposite diagonal.
>>
>> <http://a6windows.co.uk/img/toeing%20and%20heeling.jpg>
>>
>> the spacers on the other sides are basically to stop it shifting,
>> rather than take any weight/pressure.
>
> Thanks for that. Looking at the diagram, there are some entirely black
> blocks and some a lighter shade. Are we saying that one spacers, or only
> the setting blocks are supposed to be fitted or should it be both, all 6
> blocks?

The ones on the diagonals (black) are there for support - the other grey
ones to stop the unit sliding about too much or showing to much edging
tape behind the glazing bars.

In reality they are usually plastic stepped wedges - they often come in
a range of colours where the colour indicates the thickness. You just
stack them up in combinations to give the required overall thickness.

Jack James

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Jul 17, 2018, 3:20:04 PM7/17/18
to


"Andy Burns" <use...@andyburns.uk> wrote in message
news:fr64c8...@mid.individual.net...
Still not very clear and doesn’t explain the different colored blocks
or the significance of the letters. You presumably left the text off.

Harry Bloomfield

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Jul 18, 2018, 1:56:40 AM7/18/18
to
Jeff Layman laid this down on his screen :
> Maybe a daft question, but if the grey ones have a mm or so of play, how to
> they stay in place as they are on long vertical sides?

My example clips into the frame moulding, though I notice other
examples which would clip into place also include a screw hole to fix
them more permanently.

Harry Bloomfield

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Jul 18, 2018, 1:59:06 AM7/18/18
to
Tim Streater pretended :
> <https://www.ebay.co.uk/i/173003550588?chn=ps&var=471774352468>

Those are quite similar to the ones fitted to my windows, except how
they clip to the frame is slightly different.

Harry Bloomfield

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Jul 18, 2018, 2:08:22 AM7/18/18
to
Tim Streater pretended :
> This is why one uses a local, not a national, company.

The single job of replacing the front door, was quoted as around the
same by local and national installers, so I let the national company do
it. There was a much larger difference between the two quotes for the
back door plus 10x windows doing, so the local got the job. What really
put me off about the national, was they quoted, then rang few times -
each time quoting lower figures for the job. In the end I told them the
job had been awarded and not to ring any more. They never came even
close to what the local quoted and did the job for.

Andy Burns

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Jul 18, 2018, 4:46:07 AM7/18/18
to
Jeff Layman wrote:

> Andy Burns wrote:
>
>> The black ones are the ones that should be 'tight' the grey ones with a
>> mm or so of play.
>
> Maybe a daft question, but if the grey ones have a mm or so of play, how
> to they stay in place as they are on long vertical sides?

Actually these are the instructions I followed ... maybe I was
remembering putting them at the bottom/sides of the toplight openers

<https://windowsanddoors.co.uk/installation-instruction>
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