Double glazing or single with secondary glazing?

[NinaRose]

We are thinking of getting some of our very poor (draughty, leaky) wooden double glazed windows replaced. Having spoken to a few people, there seem to be a difference of opinion on whether we should go for new wooden double glazed windows or wooden single glazed with aluminium secondary glazing. Has anyone got any opinions or experiences? Do wooden double glazed units always fail? Upvc is not an option as it would look very wrong for the house and the area.

We had (expensive) secondary glazing put in and it didn't work. So much so, they had to remove it and obviously we didn't pay. We're now back to draughty single glazing. The short while it was up it looked really ugly too. Totally wrecked the look of the inside of the room. If you must go for it I would look carefully as somewhere like Storm secondary glazing. In hindsight if we had gone with them (we had a quote) it might all have worked out OK. They do very slim secondary glazing and do it for National Trust etc.

If you are replacing existing double glazing you will have to replace it with double glazing to meet building regulations.
You can only use single glazing in certain heritage applications.
Secondary glazing is used with existing single glazing.
You might be able to have wooden double glazing repaired/refurbished instead of completely replaced.

Wooden double glazing doesn't always fail, just sounds like you got a dodgy lot.

Secondary glazing looks ugly IMO.

double glazed sealed units eventually fail and go misty.

It seems to happen more quickly with dg doors that are opened and shut frequently, maybe it's the movement and vibration.

Secondary, with its bigger gap, is better for sound insulation, but not quite as good for heat.

I was most amazed at how effective secondary glazing was for heat and sound insulation when I was staying in a gatehouse at Salzburg castle. The walls were maybe a metre thick, and there was a casement set in from the outside of the wall, and another recessed on the inside.

I agree that secondary glazing is ugly. My parents-in-law have it and it looks awful.

Double glazing all the way. At the end of that day, if you are paying out for windows then you want them to look good!

Secondary glazing is just bleugh

If you want to get an idea on styles and prices then this website is good: www.doubleglazingpricesnow.co.uk/

You just select the style you like and you can get a price for it.

Hope this helps :-)