Replacing sash windows

[MightyMeerkat]

My house has beautiful single glazed sash windows including 3 bays but they are slightly past their best. Plus the cold and condensation is awful. So I've decided to replace them.

I've had a window company around and am awaiting a quote. They've recommended wooden replacements on the front - to preserve the look of the house as I wouldn't be able to get replicas in upvc. And upvc to the rear. Do you think that will look weird? I've always assumed the same windows throughout would look best and am concerned about resale value. Would it put a buyer off?

Thanks!

[OliviaBenson]

Upc would put me off. I wouldn't rip out original windows at all.

You can get your original windows repaired and draftstripped which makes a huge difference in terms of energy efficiency. The payback for new windows takes years, if at all.

[KarateKitten]

I would NOT out in UPC. We bought an old farmhouse and all the ones at the back are upc. They are no better than well made hardwood sash. No better at all. And look like shit.

We've replaced all the front old wood ones with handmade hardwood double glazed sash and are doing the same with the back.

These are the choices that make or break a certain kind of house (window snob sorry!).

[Poppyfields21]

Hi, s are looking in to replacing all of ours (but i currently feel queasy when I think of the coat so keep putting it off.....) and came across this brand called Heritage Rose which apparently do upvc windows which look so good you can't even tell they're not wood. They apparently are so good they fit within criteria of conservation areas even. I haven't seen them in real life yet but they're what I think I'll go for when I finally bite the bullet.
www.sashwindowsuk.com/sash-windows/heritage-rose/

There seem to be quite a few suppliers so you can probably get one locally to you but this is their actual website

[Sedona123]

Try The Sash Window Company. We had all single glazed sash windows, and have now had almost all of them either refurbished or replaced. They don't look any different to the originals, but are fabulous, and our house is so much warmer too. Our previous windows were extremely draughty and most had been painted shut too - presumably to cut down on the draughts!! 😳 They can just refurbish or replace the actual windows without replacing the whole of the frames, so it's maybe not as expensive as you think it would be?

[fufulina]

We had our past their best wooden sashes renovated. Rotten bits spliced out, reglazed where necessary, new fixtures, re weighted and draftproofed. It was a fraction of the cost of replacing and they look lovely.

I did flirt with PVC, but the only ones I would consider were the v expensive, supposedly can't tell the difference with real wood and they were the same cost as new wooden windows - defeating the object!

[TattyApples]

Terrible advice from the company.
I had wooden sashes in my old house and I had them replaced with UPVC sash windows. They were nicer than the originals, energy efficient and looked the absolute bomb.
They weren't cheap but they were worth every penny and added more than their value to the house when I came to sell it.
Avoid a mishmash of sash on the front and casement UPVC on the rear, it will devalue your property and look a mess.

[TowerRingInferno]

I recently got a local carpenter (a proper craftsman who came highly recommended) to renovate some existing wooden sash windows. Much, much cheaper than replacing them.

Upvc would definitely put me off buying a period property.

[LynetteScavo]

I think with windows go for the best you can afford, front and back.

If I was looking to buy a house I could overlook stained carpets and hideous wall paper, but decent windows would be a deal breaker.

Victorian houses with bog standard upvc windows give me the rage. Yes, I pend a lot of my life irrationally angry.

[poddige]

we are in just in the process of getting ours painted/filled/etc as we have quite a big victorian house with so many windows, all single glazed - can anyone give a rough estimate on cost?

a local handyman/decorator is sprucing up the outside of the house on a day rate, and think the windows will only see us another winter.

[childmaintenanceserviceinquiry]

Following this thread as my mum and dad are looking to get their sash windows repaired, renovated, replaced. There are already some recommendations of companies but any other names that you have used would be fantastic. I am really interested to hear more about the draughtproofing. (Sorry OP for jumping on your thread with these questions but it is so timely!)

[MightyMeerkat]

Thank you for all of the replies.

Ideally I would like to replace like for like with wood but the cost may be too much.

I think the company recommend UPVC at the back to save on cost. Plus most of my neighbours already have UPVC at the front and back. I went to the company's showroom today and to be fair the UPVC sash look really good - it's hard to tell what is wood and what isn't.

I don't think it's an option to refurbish the existing windows because they are single glazed and I've been told it's not possible to add double glazing. Last year, even with the heating on full blast, I couldn't get the inside temperature above 17 degrees so want the double glazing for warmth more than anything.

I'm waiting for the quote so will decide after that.

[PigletJohn]

"Last year, even with the heating on full blast, I couldn't get the inside "...temperature above 17 degrees so want the double glazing for warmth more than anything. "

spend your money on insulation and draughtproofing, it will give a better return. Maybe some lined curtains too. The cost of DG is far greater than their energy savings.

And, it sounds to me like your radiators are too small. This is very common. Do they get fully hot all over?

[MightyMeerkat]

I don't think the radiators are too small but some of them are old so they probably aren't as efficient as they could be. They do get very hot though. It's just that the heat immediately escapes through the windows - I have a lot of windows. Plus there is a 6 foot deep void under the house which makes the floors cold and 3 open fireplaces. If I had the heating on continuously then I could probably get it warmer but my bills are so high already that I can't really do that. What insulation and draught proofing would you recommend?

[PigletJohn]

if you have bare floorboards, cold draughts will come up through the gaps and under the skirting. This can be fixed by stuffing the space between the joists and round the edges with mineral wool insulation, as used in lofts. Get the stuff treated with Ecose as it does not shed irritant dust and fibres. Your void means it can be installed without much crawling. If not already present, get a trapdoor for access, preferably in a corner away from the door where it will not get walked on much (in case it squeaks).

If you have carpets, look for black marks around skirtings and gaps. This is fine dust blowing in with draughts and trapped in the pile.

Do not draughtproof the underfloor void. Like a loft, it should be cold and draughty well ventilated to stay dry and free of rot.

You can get chimney balloons or board up your fireplaces, but all flues must be ventilated top and bottom or they will become damp.

big lined curtains will reduce loss through windows.

If your windows are not rotten, draughtstripping is easy. I like the furry strip. You can add secondary glazing or the cheap transparent plastic film, though you will be lucky if it lasts more than one winter.

[Sedona123]

Pigletjohn has some good advice. I had totally forgotten about chimney balloons. We have 5 fireplaces so had to buy a few! They did make a difference though.

You can refurbish single glazed sash windows. You won't be able to add double glazing to them, but it does still hugely cut down on the draughts.

We have gradually refurbished/replaced our sash windows over a couple of years as we have renovated our house. Not all of the rooms required double glazing to be added, and our house was very cold before we started. You can just do one room at a time rather than your whole house in one go.

The chimney balloons are a good place to start as not very expensive. You can also buy a clear plastic fire guard which isn't obvious, but really helps. We then started with the coldest/draughtiest rooms, and had double glazed sashes put in them. We found that the rooms on one side of the house were affected more than rooms on the other sides, and that the downstairs was worse than the upstairs as obviously the hot air rising makes upstairs hotter anyway. We have ended up with double glazed sashes in the downstairs rooms, only one bedroom and two bathrooms. The other bedrooms, bathrooms and the kitchen are fine with single glazed refurbished sashes. Our rooms are usually around 22 degrees with the heating on twice a day.

[OliviaBenson]

Double glazing won't magically make your house warm. You would be far better draftstripping and the other measures that pigletjohn has suggested.