Solutions for original single glazed windows that look good?

[MrsKDB]

We still have the original single glazed windows through a lot of our house (Victorian terrace). Two big bays, two sashes. In the sitting room in particular it is SO draughty you might as well be sitting in the garden.

We can’t currently afford the thousands it would be to renovate existing sashes / add double glazing, we don’t want to switch to upvc .

I was considering those stick on / DIY panels but do any actually look good / in Keeping with the age of house? Has anyone added them successfully in a period property? My ILs have some that look awful - huge plastic surround clunky looking things - which we definitely don’t want.

Maybe thermal curtains? Or internal wooden shutters? Might be ok for winter since you don't get that much daylight anyway.

We have thick curtains. They block the radiators too though! Shutters are crazy expensive and those plantation ones are really not to my taste.

Have you tried blocking the gaps with folded cardboard/paper/wire wool. Draught excluder that is essentially a type of plasticine available on Amazon/eBay too.

Three layer curtains: top cloth, bumph,,
Lining

Internal shutters

DIY take them out and put fraught proofing on.

Secondary glazing inside

Have you tried a local glazier/glass merchant? We have one that has recently started making units to size for diy secondary glazing.

You could do one room and see if it works.

We got Invisitherm fitted as secondary glazing to our old crittle windows a couple years ago and it was very subtle. I imagine it might work on Victorian windows too.

Alternatively if you’re handy, My Tiny Estate on Instagram are painstakingly renovating all their original Georgian windows themselves - might be some inspiration!

Thanks all. Invisitherm looks to be Scotland only but that’s exactly the type of thing we need. Looking into secondary glazing more now!

We had something like this on a period house - it was brilliant: www.extraglaze.co.uk/

I think invistherm are based in Scotland but they fit everywhere, or at least they used to. Our windows were done in London

We’ve done secondary glazing in our house - which has both metal frame and wooden framed windows. My husband got the stuff cut to correct size and diy and you really can feel a bit improvement. You really can’t see the secondary glazing either.
Other advantage is that it’s stopped the windows being covered in condensation so I think it will help preserve the frames longer term as well

Ecoease might be worth a look OP, they use a magnetic strip around the window and on a flexible Perspex-type panel, which effectively double-glazes the window. I found them very effective on my Crittall windows, and easy to install.

Could either go for secondary glazing or new double glazing, depending on how much you like your windows as they are of course! Somewhere like this site can help you find both - www.doubleglazingontheweb.co.uk/double-glazing-cost/

If you have actual draughts (ie from gaps between the frames rather than cold air currents) then self-adhesive seal will help until you find a long-term solution.

I find the P and V shapes from Stormguard good and you can use whichever is most suitable for the type of gap or window closure. They're widely available from DIY stores. Steer clear of any basic foam strips as they don't last long, but there is a more robust version which does last.

www.stormguard.co.uk/product-category/foam-epdm/

We saved up and did one window at a time, full refurbishment with wooden sashes and double glazing. We really couldn’t afford to do the whole house at once. I’m really glad we did it this way though as secondary glazing just didn’t look right in our bay window (neighbours have it).

It’s not a quick fix, agreed, but for us was well worth the wait.

We have great secondary glazing made to size for each individual window, glazing bars match the original sashes and it tilts inwards to clean but slides up and down to open. Totally sound and draught proof but no damage to original windows and cant be seen from the outside. It is visible around architrave on inside but we have curtains and pelmets at every window so it is fully covered.

Really heavy and were only a couple of hundred pounds per window but installation cost will likely be high but we fitted it ourselves which is quite a big job. We made templates for ours from MDF first before ordering to ensure windows would fit as nothing is square and they are metal and supplied fully assembled so cant be alterered.

Invisitherm are amazing and might consider an English job - there's no harm in asking. www.glazeandsave.co.uk/