The Ultimate Incentive to get debt free… again. Dinah & NIM go head to head!

Cinny91

Cripes, remind me to never mention double glazing again :eek: Honestly though, I can't bring myself to believe any of that. Sorry if that sounds rude but I know how my house felt last Winter in comparison to next door where they have double glazing and run their boiler the same. I hate single glazing with a passion having lived with it, and I don't want another Winter full of mornings where the windows are either pouring with water or I'm lining the sills with towels for the thaw as it's completely frozen over. Even the sound ones are only good for keeping the rain out :rotfl: Plus there's the added security, and the fact I really want new windows.

Dinah93

I'm not saying there is anything wrong with wanting new windows, but if you're getting condensation that indicates your house is too well sealed rather than not well enough. One thing I will suggest is encourage him to get windows with trickle vents on them, especially in winter when there is a large difference in indoor and outdoor temperatures opening the vents increases the breathability of the property adn gives air flow, which stops moisture consensation within the wall which leads to mould. This is especially important if you don't always have the heating on and don't have a great bathroom extractor or if you dry washing on radiators in winter. If you house is post 1960s construction the advice is slightly different as you probably have a vapour control layer and certainly have cavity walls which will mean the house performs differently. As I say, it's poorly maintained timber/single glazing thats the issue, not the premise of single glazing entirely - and as you're not paying what does it matter really?!

Can someone get me off my soapbox on windows please! Normal chat is so much more interesting.

wendz86

All this window stuff goes straight over my head hehe.

Just been to new baby group and a walk by the canal and saw some cute ducklings and baby swans ... what an exciting life i lead haha.

Birdie85

I'm with you Cinny, about 2 years before my parents sold their house they had double glazing fitted and I don't know about the bare bones of the financial savings but the UPVC windows look better, they don't warp and stick like wood, they didn't steam up, the glass was stronger and it did feel warmer, probably because there weren't any gaps anymore! A massive improvement. Their house now is an C18th listed building so they have to have old fashioned single glazed windows and if you put your hand next to the glass you can feel the cold air coming off the window. They live next to a main road too and it's so much noisier than it would be if they had double glazing.

We have double glazed wooden sash windows and they're bad enough! I just hate wood windows and doors, it always seems to stick and I hate having to 'jimmy' things open! My parent's old front door would swell up every autumn and stay that way until summer, one day we had to get a mallet to bash it open from the outside because it wouldn't budge! :eek: UPVC might not look as authentic and pretty, but it's a darn sight more practical!

ETA: I think that's exciting Wendz, I love seeing ducklings! Wish I could be outside rather than just looking at the canal from my office!

clearmydebts

wendz86 wrote: »

All this window stuff goes straight over my head hehe.

Just been to new baby group and a walk by the canal and saw some cute ducklings and baby swans ... what an exciting life i lead haha.

How did the baby group go Wendz? Were they friendly?

clearmydebts

I won't get involved in the double glazing debate!

I will say that our flat was much cosier once the windows were done, comapred to our friends flat who didn't get them done.

N.I.M

Oh god Birdie dont say uPVC around her, she'll freak out properly.

While I don't know the ins ad outs of the heat / ventilation side of things one thing to consider with uPVC is you need to reinforce where they go into if timber windows come out. The timber is quite often structurally integral to the building and if they go the wall above your window will start to sag down which will cause the glass to shatter and your insurance wont pay out on grounds of contributory liability your contributarily liable because you didnt find out if the replacements were suitable.

I'll find the case reference if anyone is acutally interested but I REALY dont wanna trall google for it and I dont have a subscription to Bailii or irlii anymore.

wendz86

clearmydebts wrote: »

How did the baby group go Wendz? Were they friendly?

Yeah they were all very nice. Is one for babies up to 20 weeks so quite a small nice group and nice to moan about things to other people going through the same thing.

Dinah93

What are you trying to do to me Birdie?! UPVC is the devil's work to a conservation officer! I dispise the upvc in our house, I'd tear it out with my bare hands if I could! This is mostly just down to the lack of permeation it allows and the impact I know this has on the moisture within the house. Advise your parents that secondary glazing is more thermally efficient than double glazed, and if the glazing bars line up with those on the external window they are highly unlikely to be refused listed building consent (which is free of charge to apply for). It's also quite inexpensive although visually it's a bit inelegant from the inside. It does cut out a lot of noise though. There are a lot of local specalist companies who could do maintenance on their windows and that would cut out a lot of draughts if the windows haven't been well maintained. If they're newer softwood they will warp and stick, seasoned hardwood is really the only thing for windows but softwood is a lot cheaper and as it will be a few years till issues show housebuilders use it.

The ducklings sound so cute. We have ducks in a 'Good Life' type house's front garden on the way to work.

Cinny91

Glad the baby group went well Wendz, like you said it's good to be able to vent to people going through the same! And I get excited whenever I see little duckling too, we had about 3 different lots of them tottling around the lodge we stayed in on holiday. They're so sweet!

Believe me, this house is nothing if it isn't well ventilated! I'm sure Mr Window-man will know what he's doing when he comes to look. It's actually my Grandparents who offered to pay for them after me and my Cousin were talking about how much it cost to barely keep our houses above freezing and how all that got sapped through the single glazing. Be reet Wish I hadn't mentioned it now! :rotfl:

ETA: NIM, please exit your office and go give Dinah a cuddle! I'll never mention double glazing again I swear!