wooden windows

George_Bray

I'm determined to keep my wooden windows as long as possible, even in the face of nearly everyone else going over to UPVc.

In giving my wooden windows a face lift under the oppressive new regulations, I don't want to use either (a) Fensa members or (b) give the local authority about £100 to sign off my 'new windows'.

How far can I go before a face lift would be deemed a replacement?

The main thing I want to do is replace each existing single pane of glass with a sealed double glazing module. The frame will be almost untouched. Then I will 'fill out' the wood which holds the double glazing module to accommodate the much greater depth and make it look OK (good even) from outside.

Would this be deemed a 'replacement' under the regulations?

Regards
George

Rex_Mundi

You can replace 'like for like' with the glass. As soon as you upgrade the frames or glass you need to comply with part L.

Give your local council a ring. They are normally very helpful even over the phone.

Double glazed units come in different thicknesses. The minimum you can get is 4-6-4 or 14mm units. These are used in wooden frames mainly, but they do not comply with the new regs. The minimum standard 'k' unit you can use is 4-16-4 or 24mm units. This complies with part L. You can go down to 4-12-4 units with 'k' glass or 20mm, but, these have to be 'k' glass and argon filled to comply with the regs.

The best you can do at the moment without having to worry about the regs is to use 6.4mm laminated glass single glazed. It's a bit better than than normal 4mm single glazed, but not much. I wouldn't personally waste my money doing this. If you do, bed them in with butyl putty not linseed oil putty. The linseed oil creeps up into the laminated layer and ends up looking bad+weakens it.

Sorry to make things awkward for you George. Your best bet is to freshen up your present frames with a lick of paint/varnish and wait till you are ready for completely new stuff. It is of course your choice if you decide to ignore the regs, but this could only possibly cause you future problems if you decide to sell your house. Not worth it IMHO.

George_Bray

Rex_Mundi wrote:

You can replace 'like for like' with the glass. As soon as you upgrade the frames or glass you need to comply with part L... if you decide to ignore the regs..this could...possibly cause you future problems if you decide to sell your house.

I agree about the nighmare of ever trying to sell the house, whether it's me doing the selling or the person managing my estate after I'm carried out in a box.

These regulations make me more angry than I can express here. It's crazy. The present UK Government has gone mad. My existing single sheet glass has very little insulating value. Any upgrade to double glazing would be an improvement but they don't want that.

I guess there's not much chance of buying (approved) double glazing modules without the dates stamped inside, is there?

Regards
George

Al_Inshearah

I once had a wooden car. It had a wooden engine, a wooden steering wheel, a wooden roof, wooden body, a wooden gearbox, wooden suspension, wooden wheels, the only problem is that it wooden work

mckat_2

thanks loads for all the replies. great help...