Would you buy a house with single glazing? Help me decide which house

[bananamonkey]

I have totally lost all perspective :(

We accepted an offer on our flat, found somewhere we liked, all was proceeding well till our buyers started messing us around and pulled out. We lost the house we were trying to purchase.

Now we have a new buyer and need to find a new house, there's not as much on the market now as a couple of months ago. We've seen 2 houses this week that we like but I can't decide which one I like more.

1. [Link removed at OP's request]

This street is not so pretty although it's in a great area, is in great school catchment, has 3 generous bedrooms and just has a lovely feel to it.

1. [Link removed at OP's request]

On paper this looks like my dream house but it didn't grab me as much as I thought it would and I just don't know why. DH loves it but likes both houses. This has fantastic living space downstairs (an extra room vs. house 1), is on a prettier street in the same area as house 1, is not in the great school catchment but in a decent one. The small 3rd bedroom and single glazing are putting me off though. It wouldn't have been so bad but the bedrooms had additional plug-in heaters in them and there was black mould in the bathroom which set off alarm bells. Is this house going to be drafty and damp? It's right at the top of our budget so we couldn't afford to get new windows and I'm anxious about the money as it is.

We've seen so many houses now I have house blindness!

I'm feeling a bit sorry for the owners of House 2 who have no doubt had this thread pointed out to them by now .....

It's individual taste though isn't it. The house is already in the public domain.

Why, tread? House 2 is lovely, it's just not as practical. I might consider such a house if I were a buyer who wasn't concerned about schools and only wanted 2 useable bedrooms and a study (ie didn't need 3 full time bedrooms).

if theres a draft and damp id worry where the damp is coming from, the only houses i ave experienced damp in have been after the windows were upgraded and then the lack of airflow allowed damp to appear where it had been dry before

I'm feeling a bit sorry for the owners of House 2 who have no doubt had this thread pointed out to them by now .....

Why do you think they have had the thread pointed out to them? I don't think anyone has said anything really bad about it anyway.

Regardless, it is more informative and honest feedback than they will ever get from the agent.

I know all that, and recommended House 1 based on the OP's requirements myself. I'd be a bit depressed if I randomly found my perfectly nice home being discussed in the public domain with most people recommending against it that's all.

I'm just looking for advice, if I didn't think it was a fab I wouldn't have a dilemma! Also Rightmove is in the public domain. Besides, They've got nothing to worry about, there's tonnes of viewings going on as its looks great and it'll get snapped up!

Happy to report thread for deletion now I've had lots of opinions.

House 2 has a lovely, if a little cluttered, interior. Very now and very easy to recreate with a browse on Design Sponge for ideas, Eames-a-like chairs off ebay (from £20 each ish), industrial lighting from somewhere like Rockett St George, sheepskin throws, big glass jars of eucalyptus or hydrangeas etc etc. House one is not cosmetically horrible at all so you could easily dress in the same way and £1000 would see you well on way to having all the trimmings. (Maybe not the aga but the kitchen in house one looks fine.) I don't think house one lacks kerb appeal either.

If you think this is going to be your family home and you plan on more than one child house one wins hands down for me.

I wouldn't set too much store on the ratings of the schools as a lot can change in 5+ years but obviously you may have a preference if the catchments are distinctly different e.g. prefer your children to be in a culturally diverse school so I would think about that.

why does everyone think house 2 is cluttered? dont you guys own anything? I am biased - always go for original windows and doors in Victorian houses so to me the first one looks horrible. You don't replace them - if there is a cold problem get them properly serviced and draft proofed and, if need be, get good secondary double glazing. If you are DIYers you can do it yourselves which is obviously a lot cheaper. Looks like you also get an AGA with house 2 - I love and own an Aga and wouldn't be without it. If it comes with the AGA that's worth £5K plus.

I loathe upvc windows we live in a cold house and interlined curtains and draft proofing, keeping doors shut etc makes it fine. In fact I'm so used to it I find most other houses too hot in winter.

Please don't take out perfectly good sashes in the misguided belief that double glazed UPVC are somehow better or 'the ideal'.

1. Sash windows will become extremely sought after at some point - they already extract a premium in some areas due to their beauty and rarity.

1. They are normally made from better wood than you can even get hold of to make new ones these days. They have lasted 100+ years - no UPVC window would last in operative order for that length of time

1. They are very simple to restore, renew and mend for a great deal less cost than replacing them with either wooden copies or UPVC

1. UPVC has a built in obsolescence in that the surface coating gradually degrades meaning they get a blackish staining from algae. This is not removable nor can you paint them unless you use a specialist paint and even then the prep isn't easy and it's hit and miss if it lasts. Plus that negates the whole maintenance free ethos.

1. They won't fit your house properly. Those houses were designed holistically, in one go, with windows to match the masonry. You will have at best an ugly load of silicon filler stuffed in between the frame and the brick. At worst, gaps and holes.

1. Even top quality UPVC windows are less good than well maintained sash windows, in almost every way.

You would be putting a Rembrandt in a skip and buying a set of canvas prints from Argos, in effect

Just my tuppence worth! FWIW I wouldn't buy a house without its original single glazing. It was one of my criteria. You can do very effective secondary glazing or draughtproofing anyway if needed but tbh it's not usually neededs if they are given a once over by an experienced joiner.

Oh and the house won't be able to breathe with plastic windows so you're more likely to get damp.

What's to like!?!

Oh and the house won't be able to breathe with plastic windows so you're more likely to get damp.

no problem at all if you open the wimdows regularly.

OP the reason House 2 looked dark when you visited might be that it's sunken at the back (garden goes up behind the house). That's probably why they put the fancy velux roof lights in to make it lighter. Also could be orientation (haven't checked).

Re windows - I live in a part of the country where plastic windows in Victorian houses are unfortunately the rule not the exception. They definitely don't keep me up at night worrying about them being inauthentic though (unlike plastic doors). Fridge freezers are inauthentic, but we're quite glad they've been invented.

Obviously wooden sash windows are much lovelier (old and new), but I just don't have the budget for those and plenty of people like me never will. So I wouldn't reject a house because of it (would rule out most houses round here, as I say).

I think Piglet John says they're a pragmatic choice too (i.e. not the end of the world).

(And obviously PJ's word is gospel )

I was really glad when the last guillotine drafty single sash was replaced with naice triple glazed tilt&turn...

Mous yes I know what you mean about guillotine - I used to have one of those...!

I totally agree with Sophie above

I don't even have an extractor fan in bathroom take hot showers regularly get condensation but no mould... Just open the window mould is due to poor ventilation and too much drying washing indoors/lifestyle choices

Single glazed windows will definitely become sought after in future they are beautiful and I really do hope when I sell someone who appreciates them will buy

Both are nice houses. I wouldn't get too hung up on ofsted reports for schools for future children a lot can change in 5 plus years.

I don't think anyone's trashed House 2, more recommended House 1 given the criteria of the OP. Properties are absolutely horses for courses.

I've had a Grade 2 listed home with replacement wooden sash windows which were double glazed, but of course that's at a cost.

single glazed windows might become illegal in the future due to energy savings regulations (and rightly so imo)

Plastic windows might become illegal in the future due to massive wasteful energy consumption in production combined with unsustainability in terms of their lifespan and non biodegradability on top of all that.

dream on, for both of those.

it WILL be illegal after 2018 to offer for RENTAL any house with an EPC rating of E or below. However no government outside a dictatorship is going to tell every home owner to replace their windows.

the plastic is now made and the best thing is to make it last as long as possible.

making glass uses quite a lot of energy!

Sophie I am so with you. I keep wondering when people will start to realise the real 'cost' of upvc windows and don't even mention the doors!! Who ever designs upvc doors should be shot. The design of most of them is deplorable.