Guides
Aluminium Windows for the UAE: Tower and Villa Briefs
A Dubai enquiry usually splits in two before it is quoted. One half is a tower package, where the frame answers to wind pressure at height and the glass answers to a cooling load. The other is a villa or a low-rise compound, where the brief turns on colour, an entrance door and the way the window meets the render. Treating both as a single aluminium window order is where a schedule goes wrong. This guide sorts them, and lists what the submittal should carry.
Height decides the frame
Wind pressure rises with height, and a facade module near the top of a tower is asked for stiffness that a ground-floor window never sees. That points to a deeper section with a heavier wall: the 118 casement runs 118 mm depth on six chambers with a 2.0 mm wall, and the 112 casement runs five chambers with a flush-line sash on the same wall. Below the podium, a 50 casement is usually enough.
Thermal break where the glass improves
A good insulating unit makes the frame the easier route for heat, which is why the break matters more once the glazing is upgraded. Both tall casement lines carry a polyamide bridge between the inner and outer shells, and the 118 holds a 5-27 A-5 unit. Where a module has to carry the break, ask the section drawing to show it rather than reading it from a family name. A break that stops short of the glazing line leaves a metal path beside the glass, and that is where condensation shows first.
Glass and the cooling load
Standard glazing across the range is 5-20 A-5 insulating glass, with single and triple builds on request. On a tower facing the Gulf the cavity does two jobs: it slows the solar gain that loads the chillers, and it holds the room-side face above the dew point. A coated or tinted outer pane can be added where the sun lands hardest. Fix the build-up per elevation.
Colour, the villa brief and the entrance
Two-tone faces are quoted on request where an interior scheme and a facade pull apart, and RAL matching holds a colour across phases of one development. At the door, the entrance range includes one-piece cast aluminium leaves on a thermal-break frame, as in the Anyue line, where a villa brief wants relief and weight rather than a glazed panel. Window and door finishes belong on the same schedule. Two-tone is a production step rather than a colour change, so it is settled with the order and not after it.
The submittal set and the port
A consultant wants the set in one file: frame and sash sections, the glazing line and cavity, hardware cut-outs, the finish code, and the alloy named as 6063-T5. The dimensional pack ships as a PDF with the quotation, and CAD drawings are available on request. A sample profile set and a finished test unit can be reviewed first. Lead time is confirmed with the quotation, and shipment is quoted against Jebel Ali.
FAQ
Frequently asked
What is different about specifying windows in the UAE?
Two briefs arrive at once. A tower package is driven by wind pressure at height and by the cooling load on the glass, so the frame is deeper and the unit thicker. Villa and compound work is driven by colour, two-tone faces and the entrance door. Quoting both from one series leaves one over-specified and the other short.
Do I need a thermal break in the UAE?
Where the interior is air conditioned through a long summer, the break keeps the inside face nearer room temperature and reduces condensation on a cold surface. Both the 118 and the 112 casement lines carry a polyamide bridge. Read the break on the section drawing, since a change of shape is not a break.
Which series for a tower and which for a villa?
The 118 casement suits tower elevations and large feature lights, on 118 mm depth and a 2.0 mm wall. The 112 casement covers the same wall on five chambers with a flush-line sash. Villas usually take the 50 casement for standard rooms, with the 95 slider on balcony fronts.
What should a submittal contain?
Frame and sash sections, the glazing line and cavity, hardware cut-outs, the finish code and the alloy. Adam Alux ships the dimensional pack as a PDF with the quotation, with CAD on request, and a sample profile set plus a finished test unit can be reviewed before production.
Which finish suits coastal salt?
Fluorocarbon holds colour and edge coverage longest where salt and sun arrive together, which covers the coastal strip. Anodised and powder coated finishes remain available, and all three take RAL matching with two-tone faces on request. Approve the finish on the actual section rather than on a screen.
Send your opening schedule
Series, glazing and finish come back as one quotation, with the full dimensional pack on PDF and CAD on request.