During our 60 years of manufacturing, selling and installing Architectural Louvre systems we have come across a number of projects where cost has been the main focus. But taking shortcuts to get a low price and a super-fast delivery can often leave you with economy louvres that really aren’t up to the job, leading to rain soaked equipment, long down times and expensive remedial costs.
Here are two prime examples of projects where choosing the cheapest product available has had some rather nasty consequences.
Project 1
Standard Z blade louvres (supplied by another company) were installed in the wall of an equipment room at an international airport 6m above the ground.
Unfortunately, these louvre systems were not up to the job, before the project was even finished, large quantities of rainwater passed through the louvres and on to a number of electrical switchgears and control cabinets, causing damage, lengthy downtimes and all manner of chaos for the airport.
Until such time as the economy louvres could be replaced with CS Performance louvres, the temporary fix for this problem was to wrap the expensive equipment in tarps and not use it!
Project 2
Standard Drainable louvres (provided by others) were installed on four walls of a roof top penthouse in a major corporate business office, just above an area which housed the building’s emergency generator.
The western wall of the building was directly exposed to high wind and heavy rain whenever storms passed through the area. But because the chosen louvre was not up to the job, massive amounts of rain water penetrated the louvres and fell directly onto the generator.
When the power was knocked out during a storm, the generator shorted and did not engage, leaving the building owner with a flooded generator room, no power and a sticky situation.
The original louvres in both projects were eventually replaced with CS Performance louvres.
So what were the actual costs of the mistakes on these projects?
The Obvious Costs:
- Labour, scaffolding and access equipment to remove existing louvre
- Disposal of the original louvre systems
- Temporary protection for the affected building areas
- Temporary shutdown of equipment room and the building it serves
- Furnish and install replacement performance louvres
- Architectural design costs
The Hidden Costs:
- Management’s time to report and review problem, itemising occurrences and problems
- Identifying, meeting and appointing louvre specialist to implement the changes
- Additional drawing and administration costs
- Downtime of building and claims for consequential losses
- Damage to costly equipment
- Damage to reputation of designer and impact on repeat business.
The anticipated savings from using economy louvres on these projects were never realised because the remedial costs, down time and damage to equipment were substantially more than any potential savings or even the cost of choosing the right louvre for the job first time around.
So be warned, cost isn’t everything, especially when it comes to such critical items as louvres always make sure that the solution you have chosen will be up to the real world conditions of your project.
The CS Service:
When you choose CS you not only get the best product solutions for your project, from the market leader, you also get the best service. We are committed to providing the best architectural louvre system for your project and are willing to go all out to find that solution for you. We offer a range of services for architects, contractors and building owners:
- Site Surveys – to gain a better understanding of your project requirements, whether it be a new build or a refurbishment, our team of in-house surveyors can visit your site to advice, support and recommend solutions that will best meet the requirements of your project.
- Take-offs – Not sure how much of a certain product you need for your project? Send us your drawings and our team will do a take-off and provide you with an estimated quantity for your project.
- Technical Support – Our expert team are able to assist you with any queries which you may have, at any stage of your project, and are committed to ensuring you find the right solutions for your project.
- Specification Support – If you’re unsure of where to begin with specifying our architectural louvres, someone from our team can visit your practices and walk you through it, offering advice and technical support so you can be sure the right products for your project are specified. You can also check out our handy guide below for tips.
For help with your projects or to find out more about the CS Service, please get in touch.
