There is ONE window in our house that I really love, and another that could be lovely if the view was a little nicer. The rest are all in need of a bit of work! The one I love is a stained glass sash window in the corner of our living room. We’re not sure how old it is but it’s probably 1930’s or 40’s which is when we think the original flint cottage was extended to form the other half of our home. I’d never change it as I think it adds character to the room and also helps to block out the view of the level crossing outside!
The other window I really love is the huge bay window in the kitchen. We have two other smaller ones (one has one of those plastic ventilation things in that squeaks when it’s really windy, how old fashioned!) in the kitchen too but we have our dining table in the bay window and it floods the room with light in the afternoons and evenings. The issue with it is that it’s basically rotten outside as it’s a wooden frame with sash windows we’ve never actually tried opening it for fear it will all fall apart! It’s something that we’d love to get replaced with a sliding sash either side to get a bit of a breeze flowing on warmer days. It is at such times that we need reliable contractors like http://royaltywindows.com/.
I’m dreading winter too with a huge single glazed window like that! Thankfully getting it replaced shouldn’t be a problem as the other windows at the rear of the house are double glazed and local companies like Newview Windows and Conservatories who give free homeowner quotes.
The one window that doesn’t exist but I wish did is a sky-light in one of our attic spaces. After we moved in we discovered that the attic over the newer part of the house is fully boarded with lovely pine boards, floors, walls and sloped ceilings! Obviously someone has used the room as a proper room rather than just storage up there in the past so it’s a proper shame that they’ve not put a sky light in! We’re hoping to get one fitted if we can ever afford it, and if planning permission is granted so that we can turn the room into a study, it’s my dream to not have to sit at the kitchen table or on the sofa with my laptop and to have a proper office space!
We have two more sash windows, one in each bedroom and these things are gigantic; the drop is about six foot! Wonderful for letting light in but as they’re single glazed I’m already worrying about how much cold they will let through in the winter! When we moved in I went to give them a good clean and discovered that the tenants who were living here before we bought the place had taped clingfilm over the windows, presumably for extra insulation which is a little worrying! However there are lots of companies who provide double glazing in West Sussex who will be able to help us work out the best design of windows for such a big gap to minimise heat loss. I’ve seen some locally where there are smaller panes in a grid rather than one large one; I’m sure there is a technical term for this but I don’t know what it is!
So, along with getting a new roof sorted before winter these windows are on the to-do list too!
This is a collaborative post, all words and opinions are my own.
Ooh, I had to have six rotten sash windows replaced in my old flat – it was a listed building in a conservation area so they had to be like-for-like (specific sort of wood; weighted the old fashioned way etc). It was horrendously expensive (because of the restrictions) but most of the cost was covered by listed building grants – I wonder if you might be eligible for something like that?