Would this put you off buying a house?

[RobinSnood]

Looking at refurbishing/replacing the wooden sash windows in our Victorian terrace. One option would be to go with wooden sashes at the front but PVC at the back (ie not visible from the street). Any thoughts? And what if we went for non-sash PVC at the back? No plans to sell any time soon but obviously don't want to devalue the house.

Thanks for any thoughts

I think if the Windows mismatch it's an issue, as well as the fact a lot of people really don't like pvc windows in period properties. I'd wait and do it all correctly.

Depends where you are IMO.

Where I am (E Lancs) everybody gets Upvc pretty much - the average terraced house here is generally only worth a max of £200k & the cost of fitting proper sashes isn't worth it.

Live in London so house is ridiculously overpriced.

Bluntness - the windows woulyd match but there is no way that you could see both sides of the house at the same time iyswim. Would it still matter to you?

It would really put me off. Can you not refurbish them? Old wood is far more durable than modern woods. I've seen miracles worked on windows that look like they need total replacement too.

Removing period features does devalue IMO.

*wouldn't

And yes it would bug me that the front was different to the back.

Are you in a conservation area? Any kind of pvc would put me off- plastic sash windows or otherwise.

Would also put me off as would immediately think of the cost of putting sashes back in again....

We could refurbish, but considering replacing due to aircraft noise (we could get double glazed sashes which would be great but super expensive)

Not a conservation area.

Secondary glazing is meant to be far better for noise insulation- have you looked into that?

I'm not sure if word stop me buying if everything else was good for me, but it would bug me the windows were different front to back, I don't think a a deal breaker , I'd just think that's a shame..if that makes sense?

Yes it would but I much prefer pvc windows and wouldn't consider a house with wooden sash windows.

I'd prefer to see these: roseview.co.uk. They are v high quality pvc 'look like wood' windows. All the noise insulation and practicality of pvc but without the jarring effect of mis matching windows.

They are ££ though.

It also makes a difference whether the whole street is period wooden windows or whether they are all hideous plastic. If you are sellling, you don't need to be the best looking in the street, but can't look like the worst in the street.

It would put me off yes.I would save up and replace with double glazed sashes. I dislike the look of PVC but its practical for very cold or damp climates.

Thanks for the link Dust. The street has about half and half pvc and wooden sashes, I would guess. We would definitely keep to wooden windows at the frontof the house. It just seems like a bit of a pointless expense at the back of the house which no-one can see.

In our victorian terrace street in london all windows were often replaced with sash-look PVC. Ours was as the cost (and maintenance) difference was so large and they looked fine and wasn't a problem when selling.

Oh, and to those saying save up and do them later: the windows need something doing to them now (be that renovate or replace) or they will rot completely. We're also concerned about increasing aircraft noise in the next few years hence leaning toward replacing with double glazed (whether pvc or wooden) but we really need to make the decision now to avoid having to pay out again a few years down the line...

But the person living in the house can see! Do you have a back garden? You don't sit out on the street enjoying a glass of wine of an evening staring at your beautiful house. If the windows matter to a potential purchaser, why would the ones at the back matter any less?

I prefer PVC so would rather the whole house had pvc windows.

Our old downstairs neighbour got high end pvc Window much to our aggravation - we had restored the originals and she had originally agreed to do the same. But to our surprise, it was such a great match that we didn't even notice the new pvc window for first few days. So depends how cheap you go with the pvc

As a buyer I wouldn't want a house with pvc, so would be thinking of the cost to replace them and take that into account with any offer

I think do what is best for you, now.
You aren't planning to sell imminently, you can't second guess the attitude of any prospective buyer for a house you aren't yet planning to sell!

At the back is undoubtedly less 'risky ' than the front , the plastic windows are SO much better than they used to be, heating costs will rise, you say aircraft noise will rise in your area....

For every purist window aficionado, there will be a pragmatist.

I do not like plastic windows but my two last houses had aluminium (even worse ) and upvc windows. Still bought them for right size, price and location. In RL people are not all so prissy and picky .

One of my neighbours recently replaced the sash windows at the back of their large 1880s terrace (its actually 3 knocked together) with UPVC. The new windows were bespoke; moulds were made from the original wooden frames and they open upwards and outwards from the middle, rather than like a door. They look very good. From a distance you wouldn't know they were not sash windows. .