Sash window draught proofing/ secondary glazing

[jollyma]

I've just got a horrible Gas bill and decided that I must look into my options for energy efficiency.

My house was built in 1905 and still has its lovely original single glazed sash windows. Does anyone have experience of draught proofing and/or secondary glazing? Is it worth it? how much should I expect to pay?

If you want to be nice to your house, go for the Sash window workshop. The quality and customer service are excellent, which is why we had the 4th of our windows done last year. They are certainly not cheap but have serious, professional assessors who will give good advice on options. And you'll definitely not lose money on your house.

Last year we had the sash windows on the ground floor & DS's room draught proofed and slimline double glazing units put into the original sashes. IIRC it cost us about £250 per window for the draughtproofing with minor repairs, rebalancing etc and between £250-£500 per window for the double glazing (dependng on the size and ours were quite big). I would definitely say it has been worth it, visually you can't tell the difference unless you look v v closely and it has made a huge difference to the draughts/warmth of the rooms. Also improved the soundproofing and although our road isn't that busy there is a big difference between rooms that have been done and rooms that haven't. We're really pleased and as soon as we've saved up enough we'll be having the rest of the windows done. We also had the back french doors draughtproofed but not double glazed (fiddly little panes would have been v expensive) and it has made a difference to the draughts but the doors still get condensation/feel cold whereas the ones that have been double glazed don't.

We had ours done by http://www.paxtonrestoration.co.uk/ these guys who are local to us. We did get a quote from the Sash Window Workshop but they were more expensive (by about 20% iirc) and the guy who came around to quote was a bit too much of a pushy salesman iykwim for my liking! But if you do go with them they often advertise a 10% or 12% discount to Daily Telegraph readers so worth mentioning that

There are quite a few companies that do it now and it's definitely worth getting a couple of quotes but from our experience it is definitely worth getting done if you can afford it.

Thanks for your replies. Its good to hear that it is worth it as it is quite expensive.

Have you had any problems with opening and closing the sashes with the double glazed units as presumably they are heavier than the original glass?

We had our sash windows renovated and draught proofed.
That and having the loft insulation have made huge differences to the warmth of the house - am very relieved we did it before the winter....

We used a local carpenter who did lots of this work, much cheaper than the specialist companies.

There is a type of secondary glazing which looks reasonable, here

(havent used it but am thinking about ordering some for the few windows we didnt have done)

www.365plastics.com/

Part of what they do with the rebalancing includes putting in extra weights if necessary to counterbalance the additional weight of the glass so haven't had a problem with that. They are a bit stiffer to open because of the draughtproofing and the fact they actually fit rather than rattling around as they did before.

Very smooth sliding with sash window workshop new windows.

Another satisfied Sash Window Workshop customer here, I even went to visit the factory.

If you live in Devon or Cornwall, try South West Sash Windows, based in Plymouth. Their website is www.sashwindowssw.co.uk

We've had great service here in Clapham from Steve over at SPS Sash Windows. You can reach him here 07966 493641 or sundialps.co.uk - Mari