Gavin got some good news yesteerday: we don’t need planning permission to replace our windows

I therefore continued preparing a short list for who might be able to do the work.

I had indentifed 3 possible suppliers of windows but on further investigation realised that they were all manufacturers, some located a long way away (Broxwood, Scotland; Swedish windows, Somerset). I therefore decided to look at installers. I came up with a short list of installers including:

• Archway joinery (0800 587 4130)
• Howard & Mason (01234 711375), recommended by Peter Hall
• Oxford Timber Windows (0845 6527301)

I decided to have a chat with Peter Hall who said we were best getting a local builder who would then be liable for the quality of the installation. He is going to recommend some builders and also recommend a specification for the windows.

Specification

I know we want:

• timber frames
• double of triple glazing
• Building Regs require a u value <2.0, double glazing is typically < 1.6, triple glazing < 1.1
• double glazing units get a lot of their insulation properties from the frame. Since we will be limited here becaue our units will have to be bespoke made the details of the vacuum , e.g. argon, will be important
• energy saving trust hallmark