windows

[noddyholder]

I have seen a v old house I like which needs a lot of work I am trying to put the costings together atm to make an offer and I am not sure what to do re windows.It has old metal crittal windows which really suit the front and I was thinking of re doing all the side and back windows but leaving the front and having shutters for a bit of insulation.Or should I just do the whole house?The only other house in the road which happens to be next door still has the old windows and is by far the nicest on the street.The others have double glazing which has ruined the look and even though I would choose wood I still think the originals look best.

what about noise though? Do the old windows let a lot in?

The house is in a very quiet side road No noise at all

Shutters don't really give a lot of insulation - you're better off with secondary glazing as well/instead - we have both on the front of our house & it works well. We had the ricketty old windows at the back replaced with wooden copies but they cost around £400 per window. We were limited because the house is listed, so had to get exact copies of the old windows made. If te house isn't listed you might be able to get it done more cheaply.

Definitely not listed £400 sounds ok I know that some are a lot more.Did that include fitting?

If they are in an okay state of repair I'd leave the originals, at least at the front (and probably all the way round as well but I'm a bit of an original window freak!). You can make sure it's insulated well in all other ways, eg cavity wall, loft, floors.

We're in the process of buying a house with original metal window frames all round and it seems really important to the feel of the house (but then again I haven't had to paint them all yet ).

I haven't looked into the cost of replacements of any sort, but I guess it would be possible but v expensive to get double glazed metal replacements that look like the originals.

You can get Crittal windows that are double-glazed from the Crittal suppliers (we had them in our old home). Not cheap but worth it - see here It is a real shame to lose features like those - the house had secondary glazing when we moved in and I found it pretty useless and a nuisance when we wanted to let in fresh air.

I had them made up by a local carpenter, and yes, he fitted them.

We had the windows at the back replaced because you could see daylight between the frames and the walls...