Please come and talk to me about getting double glazing

[Grassgarden]

I am in a badly insulated 1930s house with single glazed stained glass windows at the front, and non stained glass ones in the extension. The frames are rotting on the extension ones.

How much would decent double glazing cost? I am in London and they are two bay windows though not massive and two normal. I don't want to spend any more than I have to!

Most important tip when buying double glazing is to avoid the big national companies. They all operate in the same way, pressure selling, and over inflated prices with a special discount but only if you sign on the dotted line today (which still ends up being double the price you should be paying).

Find a recommended local company and you’ll cut out all that nonsense. They’ll give you an honest price, and leave it with you to think about if you want to go ahead.

An average window costs around £4-£500 ish depending on size. Bay windows will be more.

Thank you!

Is there any difference between different types of uPVC? Some seem to look better than others round here. Is this my imagination? How can you tell what the finished product will look like once in place?

You could ask if the company has any examples of the UPVC they use. Rehau is a good brand.

Second Rehau , we shopped around the local independent ones until we found an installer of rehau.

Very helpful!

I've recently had one large window, two smaller ones and huge french doors with windows at each side for nearly £6k. They are just white triple glazing and amazing! I went with a local firm I had used before and it took them two days.

The bays will drive up the prices as will the closers. The simpler the window the cheaper it will be. A local firm might be cheaper considering it's quite a big job.

But you will notice such a difference going from single glazed to double or triple.

I honestly cannot wait. The front bay is our bedroom window, you can practically feel the wind coming through it

As it's a 1930s house, the bay will very probably be a single skin so that makes it colder too - have you got a curved radiator?

Yes I have. I hadn't realised that, that's interesting and makes sense, the area by the windows is freezing

In that case, I'd get the double glazing done to eliminate draughts but if it stays cold, think about adding another layer of insulation to the bay. The problem with doing that is you'll need a new radiator as the curve will have changed - and probably you'll have to change the pipework. You can get curved radiators but you'll have to wait until the wall is finished as you have to do a template of the curve

That's really helpful @Svalberg. Are there specialists in insulation etc or would I be looking for a general builder?

I got a builder to do ours, but one who understood what we were trying to do & why!

But I'd try with silver boards behind the rad first to reflect heat. We did ours because we were having other things done at the same time, and replacing the blown window panes helped us a lot.

Also, check your loft insulation is enough above the bay

The other thing to be aware of is be sure you know whether the quotes are for off the shelf windows where fillers will be used to accommodate any difference between the window size and the hole size or made to measure which will be more expensive.