Double glazed wooden frames? Listed building.

[waddleandtoddle]

I am looking at a listed property at the moment and 2 windows that are UPVC need replacing. I've been told they need to be hardwood and if double glazed, less than 16mm.

I have also been told that hardwood windows are rubbish and will stop working at the 18-24 month mark. So now debating whether to buy the property.

Does anyone here have any advice on installing period wooden windows, and whether they will cause major maintenance problems in the future?

Thanks :-)

Have a search on google for conservation double glazing. There are several providers that do them.

My parents had them at their last house, I can't remember the provider. They are fine but there is more maintenance involved than UPVC. If you don't do the maintenance then they may start sticking, etc. It's not a huge amount of work, checking for and sealing cracks in the paint work, things like that.

I live in a grade 2 listed cottage and have recently replaced lots of our wooden casement windows - not due to any problems but because we wanted double glazing. It is possible to achieve with certain specialist providers. Which was a pleasant surprise because I had assumed you couldn't fit double glazing in a listed building. Our windows have been in a year. Nothing whatsoever wrong with them and look like they'll be good for years to come. We had lived here for about 7 years before replacing and I know the original wooden windows to be at least 12 years old and apart from the double glazing issue there was no need to replace them, they worked fine. Obviously, wooden windows are painted and you may have to repaint every 10 years or so, but honestly ours are all perfect. As a starting point try Ventrolla as a supplier.

I had my Windows made in hardwood and double glazed a few years ago and they still looks good as new !

This was one just after they were painted this summer ...
I live in a very old old cottage !

We had a double glazed wooden conservatory put on our previous edwardian house and no problems for the 10 years we were there. We are now in a victorian cottage and had double glazed wooden windows put in the kitchen when we made changes and they were put in 4 1/2 years ago - no problems so far. If the property is listed could you put in wooden single glazed windows coupled with good secondary gazing?? I dont think any double glazing lasts that long which is why there are so many companies offering to replace blown glass now.

"I have also been told that hardwood windows are rubbish and will stop working at the 18-24 month mark"

how strange

was it by any chance a plastic-window salesman who told you that tale?

You can often get better results in a listed building by having original or replica windows, with secondary glazing inside. It is also better for sound insulation and draughtproofing. Old windows are quite difficult to draughtproof, especially sliding sashes.

Secondary glazing can be arranged to be invisible from outside, and unobtrusive from inside. People with net curtains can have invisible secondary glazing.

check your buildings linsting if you might have to replace like-for-like...

The property has plastic windows at the moment and the local conservation officer has said that they are in the process of enforcing them to be returned to the original windows as LBC was not given. I didn't want to go jumping in, all happy to make the changes and then find I had a super cold building with rotten wooden windows!

All sounding positive for wooden windows so far :-) I'll also take a look at secondary glazing. Sound isn't the problem where I am, it's trying to retain heat.

secondary glazing can also protect the original sashes from condensation, which is quite harmful to timber.

If you're in the process of buying the property it is worth ensuring that the current owner either sorts the process before you exchange, or you agree that the owner covers the full cost of replacing the windows. Otherwise you will be the new owner having to deal with planning enforcement, as well as a window change.

Can I add about the double glazing? We have double glazed glass panels within our sash and casement wooden windows. Guaranteed for 10 years. It is possible to do in a listed building as long as the spec is correct and the glazing bars a certain mm thickness. When we renovated our listed building the conservation officer initially said no to double glazing. I went to a listed building property show and found that Ventrolla had introduced a new product with a low protruding (is that the right word?) glazing bars and invited them round with the conservation officer for an on site demo, conservation officer agreed and we were granted permission. I know this was not part of the original query but please, if you face any initial rejections please shop around until you find the right spec product. I'll try and put a picture up, but you can't tell any difference between our double glazed or single glazed windows. The only reason I know which is which is the cold coming from the single glazed ones.

Also (sorry) you need a specialist sash window renovation company which provides new windows and restores existing ones. I keep mentioning Ventrolla but I didn't actually use them in the end - but shopping around I found it was not a service most 'normal' wooden window suppliers could undertake. There's a difference in spec when finding windows for a listed property - well, there was in my case. That could be different in different locations.

"was it by any chance a plastic-window salesman who told you that tale?"

I laughed. They do spout the worst nonsense.

I have modern oak frames around my door and front window. They need maintaining with paint or some other sealant, and you need to budget to keep on top of this if you are the kind of person who might otherwise let it slide (and let's face it, we all are that person under in the right circumstances). They were installed for me by a local joiner, with the glazed panel coming preformed. I'm really pleased with how they look, and it's worth the extra effort. I've had them 3 years now.

I'm kind of glad planning are enforcing wood windows. UPVC has ruined a lot of very beautiful roads.