Draft proofing sash windows

[pigindisguise]

Has anyone had this done, and if so, does it work, how much does it cost and do you have any recommendations (am in Brighton)?

thanks

it does depend on what type of sash windows they are ..... I know of a few places where they are fitted in listed buildings and the authorities insist that the windows must be single glazed! if this is the case, draught proofing will not make a great deal of difference as the single glazing will get very cold.
if the sash windows are already double glazed and it is still cold, you can fit draught strips to them and it will make a big difference ..... costs about 40 per window diy

We had some replacement and some refurbed (draft proofed) from these. Very good, they work all over the south.

Hi pigindisguise, we had our sashes draftproofed last year. They all needed extensive repairing as well so it was a pretty big job altogether. Really really worth it though, the whole house just felt 'sealed' and warmer instantly. We have original sashes - single-glazed but I wasn't going to rip them out and replace with double-glazed, they are really lovely and finding a house with originals is quite rare round where we are, plus I think you can make a lot of energy savings with good draft-proofing. Cost was quite a lot though - about £180 per window I think but tbh this was the cheapest of the 3 quotes we received

ditto to what elporto said.

thank you. I would want to keep the originals (and Ithink I'd have to anyway as we're in a conservation area and lots of rules)
massivemammaries I tried the draft strips (sort of sticky rubbery tape?) last winter and it did really help but they tended to peel off

they do draft strips you can rebate into the frame which will not come off .... those are the sort I use. If the windows are in decent shape then that is the thing to do.

The thing that will always make the difference is the glazing itself,though, it is worth investigating if you can reglaze the existing frames with double glazed units - if LPA will allow

I believe that Massivemammaries isn't correct about the relative effects of double glazing v draft proofing. I've seen research that states that draft proofing is likely (IIRC) to be more effective than double glazing without draft proofing - one of the reasons double glazing appears so effective is that it tends to involve draft proofing as well. I know it seems utterly counterintuitive, but when I think over my own experience, draft proofing with the DIY strips does make a terrific difference alone. Simply the ones at £3 from B&Q make an extraordinary difference.

If you ask on the forums at PeriodProperty.com, they might be able to recommend you someone to do the draft proofing.

oh right, and how many properties do you own with sash windows? if you read my comment again you will see that I recommend rebated draught strips but single glazed windows get cold - fact. Double glazed units or simply thicker glass makes a huge difference. I have been there lots of times!

I know it sounds very odd, and I didn't believe it myself when I was told about it, but this is what the research I've seen says. The research might have been by SPAB, but I think it was a different organisation. (IIRC, I belive that the research argued something along the lines that the money you spend on double glazing isn't cost effective, and could be considerably better spent on other insulating techniques first, before moving onto double glazing.)

I spend quite a lot of time looking into the research on various methods of insulating old and listed houses, as we have both a listed house and a Victorian flat, both with sash windows. I'm even sad enough to attend courses on thermal efficiency in old houses.

We've just had all the windows in our house repaired, and I've been wondering about getting some of them replaced with double glazing, hence recently looking into whether it really would be effective.

It sounds like a load of bollocks to me. I have 7 properties with sash windows and I have owned several more over the years and I know what happens in real life - keep your research