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wrote:
Helen Deborah Vecht wrote:

"legin" typed

Hi all, looking to put new windows in a new build that is in a recently
designated conser vation area. Local conservation officer has stated
that he is looking for timber windows. Given the sash style upvc ones
that are available can he insist on this as I am looking for low
maintenance. I doubt if anyone would be able to tell the difference
unless they got close up. Annoying factor is that only one of the
neighbouring six houses has the original timber windows. 4 are upvc and
one is aluminium.

Any views greately appreciated.

If you have the vaguest interest in buildings at all then plastic
windows can be spotted from half a mile! They may be low (no)
maintenance but they are also highly obsolescent and will need
replacing in from 5 to max 20 years. Lots of studies show that trad
joinery is cheaper and lower maintenance than plastic, in the longer
term. Higher initial cost but lower cost overall over time. Also adds
to house value: estate agents "retaining original features" means
higher value.
Plastic windows are also an environmental disaster - not only spoiling
the built environment but also using oil reserves and creating a waste
disposal problem due to being unrecycleable and short life.
The more conservation areas the better for all of us!

What a total pile of opinionated crap. Do you design for "Changing
rooms" in your spare time?

PVC windows have a life in excess of at least 30 years in the British
climate and designs can be far superior to wood. In all probability they
will last for well over a century. Maintenance is normally only a case
of replacing the sealing rubber when it shrinks. Wooden windows are
yesterdays technology and far more expensive when total cost through the
life cycle is considered. IME they all warp, rot, become draughty and
generally are a typical British unreliable high maintenance product.
Having seen the wooden product in the USA with exactly the same
problems, there's no way I'd go back to high maintenance wooden windows.
I think they come under the same category as Aga's, trendy at the
moment, but functionally obsolete.
The pvc is recyclable, the US does it. Anyway, why would you want to
recycle something which is perfectly functional?
Whenever I see a house without pvc windows, I immediately knock £20K
off the asking price to allow for replacement windows.
Conservation areas?, the Americans have a much better system, they tear
it down after 40 years and rebuild it with todays fittings and technology.
Not many real people want to live in museums, hence the demand for new
houses, sadly built with cheap and nasty wooden windows to reduce the
developers initial costs, so the buyers have to replace them with pvc
10-20 years later.

Regards
Capitol