are single glazed windows that bad?

[Lilacbluewaters]

We viewed a 1940s estate home today, part of a hall&gardens owned by a lady and a lord. Are they good homes built at this time? It is single glazing and oil fired.. my worries are the house will be freezing!
some of the windows have an extra layer over them like a sliding window.

anyone?

What you're describing sounds like secondary glazing. It will function somewhat like double-glazing (sound and temperature insulation) but not be as effective, or look as unobtrusive.

You do use more electricity, but as long as you put the heating on enough then they get as warm as double glazed houses.

Secondary glazing can be more effective than standard double glazed units and you can add magnetic secondary glazing quite cheaply to other windows (it's what lots of people in listed buildings and in conservation areas do). This wouldn't put me off.

Are you renting or buying?

We're buying a single glazed 1960s home with huge windows. We're hoping, as the previous owner lived in it for 40 years, raised their family, and had decent money (good career and the house is very well maintained otherwise), that it isn't too much of an issue.

But if it is, then we'll slowly get them all changed over time, no biggy. The window frames are gorgeous at the moment though so very much hoping we don't need to.

My biggest concern is more about home security to be honest and the ease in which someone can break in, although I suppose double glazing isn't all that secure either.

You can specify security glass with double glazing, for the vulnerable windows.

I grew up in a house and as an adult then rented a place with single glazing. It was really cold and my parents definitely had high heating bills.

When I bought my first home it was mostly double glazed but had secondary glazing in the bedroom and bathroom. That was also cold and the secondary glazing didn't look great.

My mum had a flat in a conservation area (not sure why anyone would want to conserve that particular building) and she wasn't allowed to change the huge sash windows other than like with like. She had more expensive secondary glazing and that was much better both in terms of warmth and look, but they let insects in and it was major to get them removed so they could be cleaned.

In a nutshell don't buy a house with single glazing unless you are able to replace the windows with double glazing unless you can afford to replace the windows relatively soon as your heating bills will be huge or you will be cold.

I’ll never forget the ice on the INSIDE of the single glazed windows of my flat…

From memory yes they are awfully cold and you will be using a lot of heating oil.

Is the building listed? Will you be able to replace the windows with double-glazed over time?

If not, your heating bills will be much higher. If the window frames are wooden, they will need annual sanding, painting and resealing.

I'd never live in a single glazed home again. I grew up with ice on the inside of my bedroom windows.

If you can afford to replace with decent double glazing, it really will chop your heating bill. Even so, secondary will help, just add thermal curtains and that should make a difference. Also consider a thermal door curtain as an old door is another way of loosing a LOT of heat.
Do check the oil tank is a modern bunded tank, and hopefully plenty of capacity - you need this to take advantage of the best buying season, sign up to eg Boiler Juice to get daily oil prices, monitor Brent Crude price and the external temperature - you want to buy as much as you can in a heatwave when nobody else is buying and to NOT have to order when snow is on the ground, and also consult your local neighbours and see if they bulk buy in the road - ours do, in the hot spell a couple of weeks ago they advised a good buying window was coming up so those that needed bought on the same day with the same company and the person who organised got the price down so we paid 55.5p/litre when BJ was quoting 58.5. We use about 600l oil a year, I know this is low but we have solar too. Consider solar to heat hot water - we don't use any oil in summer our boiler is off. - that's assuming buying not renting (OP not clear)

Oil fired heating and single glazing? What is this? The 1970’s?

I'm in a conservation area and had single-glazed sashes, with secondary glazing. When I wanted to get rid of the 2ndary glazing and replace the sashes, the council would only allow me to replace 'like with like' .... BUT, that means replacing single-glazed sashes with double- or triple-glazed sashes, as it's no longer possible to get single-glazed sashes. The man who made my windows said they no longer met Building Regs so no-one would make or sell them.

We moved last year to an Edwardian house with huge single glazed sash windows. We've got 18 of them in total. We have bought magnetic secondary glazing which makes a big difference and is almost invisible. We,ve also bought thermal curtains for every room, and put a thermal curtain over the front door. It. makes a big difference

Heat will fly out and cold will fly in. It will be cold, condensation will be rife and your energy consumption will be through the roof, or, you'll be wearing your coat in bed. There's a reason double glazing is the norm.

We would be renting so not option to replace them unfortunately. The market is very competitive atm and it’s an opportunity I wouldn’t want to miss but I do worry about the single glazing. Seems to be mixed opinions on here. I did speak to the neighbour who said the houses are very warm. It had incredible grounds and views I feel very torn

I live in a country where most places still have single glazing, and it gets cold in winter. Condensation is a very minor issue, I just wipe the bedroom windows in the morning, and I am very warm in my bed - and have never had to wear a coat! Don't be so dramatic.

On the BBC morning programme the pay back time for replacing single with double glazing is 125 years.

More likely rural. Oil fired heating is not rare, away from towns.

That doesn't sound right. I bought a house in 2011 with single glazing. We went through one winter, then replaced all the windows with double glazed units.

It cut our heating bill by 60% or about £400 at 2011 prices. The new windows cost us £11,000 for the whole house. So pay back was about 27.5 years.

But it also meant I didn't have to spend every summer, sanding, puttying, repainting.

And double glazing is infinitely more secure. Have you ever tried to break one. 🙂

We have similar in our
original leaded glass windows and secondary glazing
it is cold in the winter but not unbearable by any means - but we’ve got used to it - electric blankets and blankets in the lounge
we love the period features and that’s the payoff for us

OP, you won't be responsible for maintenance so you don't need to worry about that.

So try it. Rent the house and see how you get on. For your sitting room and bedroom, buy some heavy interlined curtains, and then go through the first winter.

If it proves too cold for you, you can always move again.

Our home had two large single bay windows and the rest double. We did replace them with sash double glazing after a few yrs. But since you can’t, I’d say go for it if you like the house, our house did get warm and cosy, just didn’t keep the heat well. Probably more expensive than other options for you.

We live in a detached 5 bed Edwardian house with all the original single glazed sash windows (as well as no cavity walls). It is not a cold house. We can afford the heating and we obviously spend more than we did when living in a terrace but I've not been cold in winter at all. We are not changing the windows as it's part of the appeal of the house.

doesn’t sound like the BBC have factored in the maintenance and cost of having them repainted every X amount of years.