NF Fenêtres Bois certification celebrates its 25th anniversary

Attesting to the quality of the wood, production control, performance monitoring, sense of finishing and continuous product improvement, NF Fenêtres Bois is today the certified quality reference for all manufacturers of wood and mixed wood-aluminium joinery, and beyond, for construction stakeholders and specifiers.

Managed by the FCBA Technological Institute, NF Fenêtres Bois has adapted over the years to meet, or even anticipate, standards and regulations. Its benchmark is regularly reviewed for requirements at the cutting edge of market practices and expected developments in terms of performance, quality and respect for the environment.

Result: in 25 years, NF Fenêtres Bois has established itself on the wood and wood-aluminium window market among professionals and aims, in the coming years, to provide the general public with environmental guarantees.

NF Wooden Windows: 25 years of high standards

Created in 1999, under COFRAC accreditation, NF Fenêtres Bois is the most rigorous quality mark for wooden and mixed wood-aluminium windows on the market in terms of audit frequency and requirements for both design and performance.

In particular, it attests to the design of the joinery through more than 90 points checked on files and by tests:

• Durability of materials: wood, wood-based panels, finishes, glues, sealants, joints, glazing, hoods, hardware, thresholds, etc.
• Technical solutions used: corner assemblies, implementation of glazing, mechanical characteristics, mixed connection, etc.

Thus, the design of NF certified joinery meets the requirements of current standards and the DTU.

The performance of the carpentry is also certified:

• AEV
• Maneuvering forces
• Endurance
• Stability

The NF Fenêtres Bois certification is aimed at manufacturers of wood and mixed wood-aluminium joinery, keen to have the quality of their products recognised by an independent third party.

It is recognized by individual marking of the joinery and a quality certificate, guarantees for the end customer of the conformity of the products to the requirements of the brand.

Holders engaged in progressive certification

15 French companies now hold the NF Fenêtres Bois certification. According to the latest study conducted by P&P[1], 1 in 5 wood and wood-aluminium windows is now manufactured in France by one of these certified companies, of which more than 1 in 2 are NF certified.

Committed voluntarily, these professionals manufacture products of excellence, ranging from overlapping joinery to traditional joinery. Quality, production control, performance control, sense of finishing, continuous improvement of products... so many advantages that the certification provides them, which has evolved, in terms of:

• Accessibility: by creating the NF Conception option, the brand wanted to open up to new mid-sized companies while facilitating the mass use of NF marking.
• Recognition of the competence of companies: the brand trains the test managers of its holders and issues them with a nominative authorization for 3 years, certifying that they are able to conduct, evaluate and write AEV test reports, according to the brand's requirements.
• Respect for the environment: the brand trains its members on normative and regulatory developments, such as FDES. Design support tools have been made available to them to facilitate the work of design offices and enable them to move towards the most responsible choices.

Thus, each year, more than 230 joinery products are collected and tested by the NF certification and its experts to ensure that the performance of the products is compliant. A meticulous check allows the joinery to benefit from the NF marking, a quality mark assuring the end consumer that their window is compliant with French and European regulations[2] and of impeccable quality.

[1] Detailed study of the window market in France in 2023 + 2024 - July 2024

[2] 86% of the general public are aware of NF marks.