Not having UPVC windows?

Teapot55

New housing association homes don’t seem to have UPVC (plastic) windows but high quality wooden outer frames & metal / glass double-glazed units. Also, all those programmes on the telly with architects re-designing people’s houses seem to avoid plastic too. It sounds very green & environmentally friendly but are windows like this unbelievably expensive? Is there anyone out there who has had them fitted as replacement windows & what’s been your experience? Thanks. 

ytfcmad

You wont find many if any housing associations fitting high quality Wood/Aluminium windows (Velfac is the biggest seller) for two reasons, 1, cost a compo (trade term) is very expensive versus Aluminium or PVC. 2 Compo windows need upkeep, the wooden bit may need painting and they are easier to damage.
The reason you dont see PVC on the Grand Design programs is because it's cheap and looks bad, Aluminium, Wood/Ali composite or Timber is all they use, nobody with a big house money and taste would have PVC. 

strawb_shortcake

My parents opted for wooden double glazed windows, they do take more upkeep but as they are now older they have made a few replacements with brown UPVC, both sets of patio doors are now UPVC and you generally don't notice - but I guess it would be picked up on more as and when their house eventually goes on the market. 

fenwick458

not as much price difference as you'd think. whatever you buy they all need a bit of upkeep, PVC windows and doors are supplied with cheap metal locking mechanisms that rust and stick together, the gearbox mechanisms are incredibly flimsy and the gears just get chewed to bits at the slightest resistance and they need replaced. hinges just rust and stick. seals all perish if not looked after.

avoidtheupsidedownbottles

The new dark grey uPVC frames and doors look good, in my humble, but it's all personal preference.

roddydogs

The UPVC snobs out in force.  Looks great on my house, hate the brown/ supposed fake wood thou.

Jackmydad

I love wood.
I have the machinery and the skills to make my own wooden windows if I needed to.
But I'd rather have UPVC every time thanks!
Life really is too short to paint window frames every few years.

grumbler

ytfcmad said:

 nobody with a big house money and taste would have PVC. 

Were there many real wood windows, not painted in white, before PVC came? Were white windows tasteless? Is white PVC worse than wood painted white?

FreeBear

grumbler said: Is white PVC worse than wood painted white?

uPVC is cheap, requires very little maintenance, and is quick & easy to manufacture.

Wood is relatively more expensive and more labour intensive to manufacture a frame. It also requires painting at regular intervals.

uPVC expands & contracts considerably more than wood, it will discolour and go brittle over time, and can not support any weight.

Wood frames can have a much thinner profile and last two or three times longer than a uPVC frame ever will. Wooden frames can also be repaired without too much difficulty unlike uPVC.

Given a choice and an unlimited budget, I would fit oak frames here without a second thought. But I don't have the money, so uPVC is the only real option.

grumbler

FreeBear said:

Wood frames can ...last two or three times longer than a uPVC frame ever will.

Any evidence supporting this? I guess many from the very first PVC frames are still alive and, if were replaced, then mainly because of better designs became available, not because of deterioration.

With regard to discolouration, my 25+ y.o. PVC windows, despite very poor mechanical quality, are perfectly white.

That said, when comparing, I meant only aesthetics and "taste"

Teapot55

Thanks, everyone for your replies! 😄 I’ll have a proper read of them this evening TP55