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Window dilemma - please help!

6 replies

Crimson72 · 30/08/2018 13:01

I live in a typical two-up, two-down late Victorian terrace in London and am hoping to change the window in the bathroom at the back of the house.

The current window frame is a 1980s metal (aluminium?) job, with a wooden frame surround (not in great condition due to water damage) and patterned double-glazed glass which has blown. Also, despite being quite large, the window only opens a fraction at the top - meaning ventilation into the bathroom is poor.

There's one adjoining room to the bathroom, which is the spare bedroom, and this also has an aluminium window which although fairly old, works fine and will be staying put. The front of the house still retains the original wooden windows, which we love.

I had a quote to install a new PvC window in the bathroom recently which came in at just under £1k, but was told that the horizontal bit of plastic halfway up the window, which separates the two panes of glass (IYSWIM!) will be thicker than the equivalent part in the spare room window - meaning the two adjacent windows on the first floor won't look identical when looking up at the house from the back garden.

Given that information, I'm now unsure whether to proceed - would slightly mismatching windows be a deal breaker for you?

I'm also wondering whether PvC is just an ugly option anyway and whether I should go for aluminium instead, although the house is nothing fancy and isn't exactly grade-II-listed or anything! Most of the neighbours have PvC windows front and back, so it's quite normal round here. We're also on quite a tight budget and I've heard aluminium is more costly.

Please help me decide as I'm going round in circles here! Confused

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Figmentofimagination · 30/08/2018 13:18

Mismatching windows isn't a deal breaker for me, but I couldn't afford to have all my windows replaced. When I moved in, I paid to have the bathroom, second bedroom and bay window in the master bedroom replaced. The bathroom and second bedroom windows were old and wooden, and the master bedroom window was drafty. They were replaced with white pvc. However, the rest of the house has the existing brown pvc window frames, including the brown pvc conservatory.

I agree it looks odd, but it was what I could afford.

PeridotCricket · 30/08/2018 13:22

Our house is part UPVC and part wooden (older) windows. We didn't really think about them to be honest being mismatched. We are gradually replacing them as they fail....and even though I don't like UPVC, are going with that for less maintenance. The house is a pain to get painters in because of where it is.

serbska · 30/08/2018 13:26

Missmatched windows at the back would not bother me at all, unless it is a really pretty house in the first place where you might spend a lot of time looking back at your beautiful house.

Sweetheart1313 · 30/08/2018 13:47

Do you think that you'll replace the other windows in the near future? If so, I'd go with uPVC.

If not, it might be worth getting a quote for an aluminium window too and seeing what the difference is.

Crimson72 · 30/08/2018 13:56

Thanks for the replies everyone.

Sweetheart, I'm not planning to replace the other windows at the back as they work and look fine, so if I did go for PVC there would be that mix of materials. Although all the windows would be white, so that's something?

Good to hear this isn't an issue for some posters. Maybe I'm over-thinking things? I think I just stress because the house needs a lot of work, we don't have huge amounts of cash and I don't want to screw anything up and waste what money we do have in the process. It's so hard!

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Crimson72 · 31/08/2018 07:26

Also, is £1k a reasonable quote for a new window? It's quite a lot larger than your average bathroom window (and I am in London..!)

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