Does anyone have upvc sash windows?

[everythingcrossed]

We're buying a Victorian house with single-glazed windows, some of which are in quite poor condition. I've seen some upvc sash windows on houses in neighbouring streets that look very convincing, you can only tell if you look quite hard they're not traditional wooden windows because the detailing is great.

Does anyone have these on their own home and, if so, do they open like traditional Victorian sashes?

Yes we do and yes they do. They are lovely from the outside but ours do have a slightly ugly bit on the inside. They also can open a tilted way too but we never do that. Ours have a thing so you can open them a couple of inches up and then it stops for security and then you release that for wider opening.
We put them at the front only and cheaper ones at the back.

We put them in the front of a Victorian house 25 years ago. No longer live in the house but they still look great. Full sliding sashes. The 3 sash windows were more expensive than a set of French doors with top opening side panels and 6 other windows. Used a local independent company and unfortunately can't for the life of me remember who they are as will be in the market for new windows soonish and would be very happy to use the same company.

Yes we do. They look wooden until close up and open top and bottom like traditional sashes, for letting heat out and fresh air in, although do also tilt which is handy for cleaning.

Ooh, thank you for answering. I think the inside looks OK, @Cheeesus. The house we are buying has a bay window like yours - were you able to keep the period detailing between the windows or did the whole bay have to come out?

Yep. They look lovely. However, they are noisy in the wind and they can't be opened very far. If I was doing it again I'd go for the much cheaper style that looks somewhat like a sash in terms of the horizontal split of the panes but that just opens like a normal window with the top half opening outwards

I've got roseview sashes and they're made so they can be used in conservation areas. You wouldn't know that they aren't wood unless up close and they are really good. Fitting is important - go with an approved fitter and supplier. One of the best things I bought in my house. See attached for an idea of before and after

We have them and a bag window didn’t have to lose any features of the bay window. They look lovely

We need to update our windows and although can’t afford to just now, we are planning on getting double or triple glazed wooden sash put in.

lurking on the thread to see if anyone has these and how they perform ☺️

I have them at the front of the house and recently added another on the ground floor back living room. The front ones were put in nearly 10 years ago and have been brilliant. We live on a fairly busy road at rush hour times and the lack of noise now is brilliant

@grannycake I don't suppose you could share the cost?

@wigtopia we have double glazed wooden sashes in our current house which are fine but I find them quite draughty. In the new house, maintenance would be an issue as we would need extra high and complicated scaffolding every time we needed to paint them.

We kept all the wooden bits in between. Even the sills.

@everythingcrossed

The four windows at the front were done at the same time as 2 more at the back. The two at the back were not sashes but the total cost with fitting was £6000. That was nearly 10 years ago. 18 months ago we had another sash fitted but this was at the same time as 2 external glazed doors - again in total this was £5000

We used a local company - they were definitely cheaper than the big national chains which were very difficult to get a price from and also difficult to see the windows before purchasing

Thank you... and yikes

We had some put in our last house and I hated them. They were really difficult to open and close.

Current house, we have had ventrolla system fitted and double glazed units fitted into the old wooden frames and they are much much nicer to use.

I had a quote recently for casement sash in woodgrain pvc, acceptable in a conservation area £1000 per window. Still considering it.

Can you get ones with trickle vents or similar? In my experience it’s best not to completely plug all the draughts in old houses as they need to ‘breathe’ so you don’t get moisture build up.

Yes, they are so beautiful. Lots of people comment on the way they look. Victorian house with bay window. Upstairs and downstairs.

The current standard includes venting.

@NC1001001 Did you go ahead in the end? Which part of the country are you in? I've had a survey back on a house in a CA and the wooden windows all need replacing, casements too, so I'm mulling over next steps.

@Crouton19 , no I didn’t, I went for a conservation decorator, between £250 and £500 per window depending on what needed replacing, it was mostly cills and the horizontal beading on half of the windows. They stripped them back to bare wood and started from there.

I would have preferred to replace them but couldn’t justify the £26k as I’m not planning on staying here for more than a couple of years.

Thanks for the update. I've had a ballpark figure from a national company for £3k per window and waiting for a local one to get back to me but have also found a firm who can repair so I'm trying to get hold of them.

We used Collins sash windows for a Victorian cottage; we used our own fitter, but the windows for our size were around £500 each with a woodgrain finish plus tilt and turn. If you want fitting as well, it was around £1k for each window including fitting from them

Windows seem great so far and comparable to other premium sash window brands

Where are you? We paid £9k for 9 upvc sash windows last year including a large bay in North West London. The company we used is in Essex and covers the surrounding areas up to West London.

South east (outside SW side of M25)

My quote was for casement sash, the conservation officer wouldn’t accept anything’s else. Wouldn’t entertain tile and turn. Made it very clear that it was a like for like replacement only, in wood grain pvc or composite.

A neighbour has used the firm I got a quote from and they’re really impressive. You literally cannot tell the difference from the roadside.