Wooden Vs uPVC windows

[AlyssumandHelianthus]

Were having our windows replaced. The quote for wood is nearly twice the amount as for the same rough 'look' in uPVC. The wooden have a better u value (1, rather than 1.2). We can afford to do the wood. Wwyd?

I was in my local window door place , they fit higher end products, wood, aluminium,upvc. They had this , it’s upvc but looks great .

@RampantIvy You can definitely still get good quality wooden windows that will last every bit as long. They should last longer as now they are treated in ways that weren't previously possible.

Am I missing something? We have wooden windows and I’ve done zero to maintain them?

Wooden windows need painting. I think it probably depends on sun/rain, bit I was told it would need to be done every 5-7 years. Same story as sheds, fences and so on. One of the main reasons we have pvc windows (main reason was cost!).

And I would not worry about emissions from the windows if you have new carpets and sofas or are regularly repainting your house.

Depends on the age of the house surely? I live in a 1990s house and it will be odd to have wooden windows. Most new builds have uPVC isn't it?

Depends on the quality of the build and the style of the house, but OPs house obvs has wood windows at the moment

Wood.
I wouldn’t even look at a house with plastic window frames, unless it was so cheap that it would cover the cost of replacing them all.

What year was your house built .
What is the approximate market value ?

Curve ball - have you considered aluminium? We were having the same dilemma and our builder suggested aluminium.

We have a cottage type house and have flush casement aluminium windows. No maintenance and recyclable!!!

The house is Georgian, we've just bought it.

Absolutely not UPVC in a Georgian house!

you don’t say if you have sliding sashes or not ?

we had our windows from here ,

https://www.evolutionwindows.com/windows/window-design-features/traditional-window-features

They are not wood but they are not your usual upvc either. They do plenty of options. You can even have normal butt hinges and the old type of window stays.

ours have been in about 4 years now and difference in sound and insulation is impressive over the old ones.

Wooden windows in a Georgian house. UPVC will have a negative impact on the value of your house.

Can you tell me more about your windows please . I am thinking about using aluminium. My house is not Georgian!

They are being manufactured as we speak. They are going into a house in a conservation area by the sea so look was very important. There are so many different styles. Ours look like cottage windows. They have a much slimmer profile than regular windows. The only downside is handle choices are limited as a result.

Cost a little cheaper than timber but more expensive than UPVC and composite alternatives. They also can be finished in any RAL colour you like and don’t need repainting.

They come in numerous styles. A lot of companies show quite contemporary styles but they can make them look traditional. Best to find a local supplier who can talk you through the options.

This is what ours will look like but in a different colour

For a Georgian house definitely wood.

We've had accoya windows fitted at two out of our three most recent houses, one of which was Georgian. In our current- much older - house we had accoya flush casements fitted two years ago. Neither house was/is listed or in a conservation area but we felt it would be wrong on many levels to go with upvc.

However, I disagree with the poster that said you can't paint upvc. If you use a good all surface primer it's possible to paint them. We had some white upvc fascia on a later extension here and have successfully painted it to match our windows/doors by using Zinsser primer and two coats of Little Greene external eggshell.

I would agree that you should absolutely go wood in a Georgian house.

Someone mentioned Evolution windows above. They do look good BUT the frames are wrapped in a plastic film stuff to give the timber grain and they are essentially souped up, much better aesthetically upvc windows.

vinyl chloride emissions from polyvinyl chloride (PVC), ethylene dichloride (EDC), and vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) plants cause or contribute to air pollution that may reasonably be anticipated to result in an increase in mortality or an increase in serious irreversible, or incapacitating reversible illness. Vinyl chloride is a known human carcinogen that causes a rare cancer of the liver.' 1

from

1 National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for Vinyl Chloride Subpart F, OMB Control Number 2060-0071, EPA ICR Number 0186.09 (Federal Register: September 25 2001 (Volume 66, Number 186)

in smaller doses, these can continue to offgas from new pvc, much of which is currently produced in China, which has been lax about enforcing quality standards.

I had my wooden windows (22yo house) replaced with UPVC last year.

The wooden windows had been maintained (I've lived here for 20 years) with regular staining, but the ones at the front were suffering quite a bit from sun damage.

The last quote I had to stain was £8k, although that included the soffits as well.
The replacements, including 2 doors, were £10.5k.

I was going to suggest aluminium too. I think we will replace our patio door (wood, rotting) with aluminium.

I have been googling for evidence to support that UPVC windows are toxic and have found it inconclusive. I have read that UVC windows disintegrate, but ours are still going strong after 27 years.

I'm not convinced that UPVC windows are as evil as the UPVC haters say they are.

Georgian?

Wood, absolutely wood. Ours haven’t rotted, they need a bit more maintenance but are fine

I prefer UPVC, as wood is much harder to maintain, and if you don’t repaint and fill any signs of rot the windows will need replacement again.