Retro fit DG in wooden casement windows

lunanalan

Hello All, as a first time buyer I would be very grateful for advice anyone can offer on my windows.

I am in the process of doing up my victorian house which includes replacing all of its single glazed windows. The front of the house is decorated in orginal ornate woodwork which matches the original wooden window frames. I am very eager to keep the windows, especially at the front, as original looking as possible while keeping the costs down.

I would love all newly made wooden double glazing but sadly that is out of my budget and I assumed my only option would be UPVC. However after 5 different quotes I have been ended up with a lot of confusing and contradicting information.

It has been suggested I keep the existing wooden frames, which are in good condition and replace the single glaze with double glazing.Which sounds like a perfect solution and was 'sold' as being cheaper than a whole new UPVC unit.

Another company recomended agaisnt this and said it is only usually done in rental properties (cheap and quick) and isnt the best long term solution. They said this sort of window might last 10 years and then the frames would be rotten. I did point out the frames are 120 years old and in good condition now and I was told that UPVC DG is designed to go into plastic/metal and drainage onto wood would rot it. Any thoughts on this would be great, are there ways to improve drainage?

Another comment was on the weight of DG in existing wood frames which I asume is to do with added weight onto opening hinges but are there any other risks?

It was also put to me that this method would greatly impinge on the light/glass as a thick UPVA would need to be added in replacement of the current wooden beading/framing directly on the glass. However this was not the impression which the company who suggested the idea gave me. This would be a particular issue with the front bay window as it is made up of five, very tall narrow pieces so there would be a lot of added frame on already narrow glass. Does anyone know if a product like slim line double glazing would help with this or if different thickness of UPVC frame could be used in this situation?

Thanks for getting to end of my lenghty post! Any thoughts would be most welcome

Yorkie1

I don't know but I hope that someone answers it as I've had similar thoughts around part of my home!

Owain_Moneysaver

If the beading will allow it you can put DG panels in timber. Have a look at
http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/hs-technical-paper20.pdf
and the suppliers in Appendix A.
and
http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/download/downloads/id/1707/double_glazing_in_listed_buildings_report

Gloomendoom

I had a quote from a company that specialises in fitting double glazing to traditional windows. They use specially manufactured and extremely slim profile double glazed units sourced from a firm in Scotland. The downside is that they are not particularly cheap.

Ben84

If your windows are in good condition, then I would get secondary glazing. It provides the same benefits as double glazing, but it's vastly cheaper and means you keep the original windows. I went with the simpler type which has a single panes of glass in a frame fitted behind the window, which works very well, but you can even get sealed double pane units now which should provide huge thermal and noise improvements. Might be excessive however unless you need some serious noise and heat loss reductions, but they're there if you need them, so keeping original windows doesn't have to be a compromise.

As for UPVC, it has its uses, but I think they're basically single use throw away things. The frames can last about 15-25 years with little maintenance, but many faults like a crack, hardware breaking off/failing, dent or discoloration, which would be very repairable with wooden windows will often be the end of a plastic one. So, maintenance free for a good while, but also pretty limited maintenance options if you ever need to repair one. Plastic won't take filler, or paint and you can't take it apart and replace bits or refurbish it like you can with wood. Still, not a bad deal for simpler style windows which don't cost too much in the first place for decent quality ones, but where the shapes are unusual and the styles complex, replicating all that in a material that simply won't last doesn't look like value for money. So if you want to retain the look of a house with more interesting or unusual windows, UPVC wouldn't be high on my list. Ultimately it rarely can replicate the details that well anyway, and trying won't be cheap.