I've posted about my Very Ugly House before 
- it's now a lot nicer after a paint job, new driveway etc but have decided now to bite the bullet and replace the horrid picture windows with sashes and a bay window to replace a sixties floor to ceiling window.
So far I've had 2 quotes, one for about £20k and one for almost £30k. Bearing in mind these are only for the front of the house (8 windows), they both seem a bit on the steep side, though I appreciate that wooden sash windows are always going to be a lot more than upvc.
Just wondering really whether anyone has any bright ideas about getting the cost down a bit without sacrificing quality? Both companies are local specialists in timber windows.
Because I'm replacing the floor to ceiling window with a bay there's some bricklaying and roofing to do for that bit.
I'm near Marlow/Henley.
Any ideas?