The Window Company (Contracts) is proving itself to be a very good neighbour by carrying out ongoing window and door replacement work at the special needs school just a few hundred yards from its Chelmsford head office.
The award winning commercial installer, which was named Installer of the Year at both the 2014 and 2015 Glass and Glazing Awards, is fitting replacement windows and doors at Thriftwood School as it updates its buildings – some of which are 40 years old.
All of the work is being carried out during weekends and school holidays to minimise disruption to the school’s 110 pupils aged between 5 and 13, and it is being done in stages to help the school to best manage its facilities budget.
The Window Company (Contracts)’ has helped the facilities team at Thriftwood to specify the windows and doors on the project, advising on energy efficiency, practicality, safety and security. Because the family owned company is not tied to any single systems company or fabricator, it has been able to give truly independent advice to the school on the most suitable and best value products.
Over recent months, The Window Company (Contracts)’ fitting team have installed a mix of aluminium vertical sliders, door sets and an aluminium entrance screen and door set for the reception.
David Thornton, Chairman of The Window Company (Contracts), commented on the project: “We’re obviously best known for carrying out large scale new build and replacement projects in the social housing sector, but we also have considerable expertise in education and in particular in schools, where our fitting teams have been trained to manage the particular issues and associated risks.
“At Thriftwood, we’re very conscious of the fact that we are all part of the same community so we’re doing our best to accommodate all their requirements – whether that means fitting just one or two doors at a time when they have budget available, or advising on specialist hardware to guarantee pupil safety.”
The school is delighted with the work carried out and Head of School Georgina Pryke said: “The quality of the windows and doors supplied has been excellent and the fact that the fitting teams have been so flexible in terms of scheduling the work has been really helpful in minimising disruption for all of our pupils.”
