Single glazed windows

Slinky

We're interested in buying a property that has wooden single glazed windows and is in a conservation area which will refuse replacement with uPVC, and wooden double glazed could be prohibitively expensive. Secondary double glazing could also be tricky to install.


I grew up in a house with single glazed windows and totally inadequate heating which meant the glass was streaming with condensation every morning in the winter.


Obviously we intend to heat this house properly, but what is it like living with single glazing in the winter? There are A LOT of windows, and they are multi-pane. The mopping up of condensation each day could take ages. The walls are solid also.


Is the winter likely to be the misery it was in my childhood home?

rosyw

Not necessarily! My last house had single glazed wooden sash windows, we never had a condensation problem in the 24 years spent there. Provided the house is properly heated and you have some decent curtains to help with heat retention, you probably won't have any problems. I also remember the condensation problem, and in winter ice on the inside of the windows, as a child, but back then we had no central heating, it makes a big difference.

G_M

By choosing to live in a conservation area you are ensuring you incur costs above those a similar property outside the area.

As rosy says, efficient heating combined with thick curtains and other effective insulation will help, but your heating costs will be inevitably higher.

I'd strongly recommend double glazing, despite the cost of complying with the planning requirements, and the sooner you make the improvement the sooner you'll re-coup the cost (as well as feeling the bemefit).

HappyMJ

Slinky wrote: »

We're interested in buying a property that has wooden single glazed windows and is in a conservation area which will refuse replacement with uPVC, and wooden double glazed could be prohibitively expensive. Secondary double glazing could also be tricky to install.


I grew up in a house with single glazed windows and totally inadequate heating which meant the glass was streaming with condensation every morning in the winter.


Obviously we intend to heat this house properly, but what is it like living with single glazing in the winter? There are A LOT of windows, and they are multi-pane. The mopping up of condensation each day could take ages. The walls are solid also.


Is the winter likely to be the misery it was in my childhood home?

Why would secondary glazing be tricky to install?

It normally is fitted on the internal windowsill and is relatively easy to install. You then don't have to change the external windows.

Secondary glazing also cuts out a lot more noise than double glazing so can be a better choice if you're on a main road.

You can also use cheaper materials such as UPVC or aluminium.

jimbog

Easy to solve, do as I did:
Buy secondary glazing and cut with jigsaw (or order online and get them to cut it):
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CLEAR-ACRYLIC-SHEETS-FOR-SECONDARY-GLAZING-2MM-3MM-4MM-PERSPEX-GLAZING-PANES-/201601475251?var=&hash=item2ef06262b3:m:m0xAHX8EAdmF9TU0sSFFstg

Attach with magnetic strip onto frame:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Self-Adhesive-Magnetic-Steel-Tape-Strip-10M-Kit-For-Secondary-Glazing-/222020209519?hash=item33b16f8b6f:g:ogYAAOSw~OVWuwI7

Lift off and store in summer or to clean the window. No condensation, you keep the original Victorian frame and you're snug inside!

ruelle

jimbog wrote: »

Easy to solve, do as I did:
Buy secondary glazing and cut with jigsaw (or order online and get them to cut it):
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CLEAR-ACRYLIC-SHEETS-FOR-SECONDARY-GLAZING-2MM-3MM-4MM-PERSPEX-GLAZING-PANES-/201601475251?var=&hash=item2ef06262b3:m:m0xAHX8EAdmF9TU0sSFFstg

Attach with magnetic strip onto frame:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Self-Adhesive-Magnetic-Steel-Tape-Strip-10M-Kit-For-Secondary-Glazing-/222020209519?hash=item33b16f8b6f:g:ogYAAOSw~OVWuwI7

Lift off and store in summer or to clean the window. No condensation, you keep the original Victorian frame and you're snug inside!

Does it work for noise reduction too?

jimbog

ruelle wrote: »

Does it work for noise reduction too?

Yes, very much so.
I keep it fitted in the front room downstairs (even in the summer) as it cuts down on the street noise

AlexMac

We lived until recently in a house such as you describe, and yes, it was dearer to heat than a modern cavity-wall-insulated, double-glazed (whether UPVC or timber) modern box...

But if any neighbours had proposed ripping out the area's beautiful 160-year-old timber windows in perfectly restoreable condition and replacing them with tacky plastic with a 30-year lifespan, awful aesthetics and a bad carbon footprint, I'd have grassed 'em up to the planners myself.

Find a specialist to restore and draughtproof 'em, and live with the beuaty and a few hundred more p.a on the gas bill...

or buy a soul less modern box?

And by the way, thinking back 60-70 years, I grew up in the era when central heating meant a coal fire in the living room; The only room in the house to have a fireplace. So forget condensation, we had ice inside the windows... And it somehow didn't make for misery; you just piled another layer on!

dragonsoup

Solid walls and single glazing here. No condensation on the windows though so it isn't a given by any means.

keith969

Slinky wrote: »

and wooden double glazed could be prohibitively expensive.

Not necessarily so. Had to replace the windows in a previous house (that was built in about 1860) and we had wooden double glazed windows. We were on a tight budget but found a supplier who could do the job on time and on budget.

emmatthews

We have timber single glazed windows and do get a lot of condensation, the house is definitely properly heated - have the bills to prove it!

Might be worth having a look at Residence 9 windows if you think replacement is needed.