Hardwood window questions

Properly specified and maintained hardwood joinery has a realistic service life of 60 years or more. The timber is rarely what fails — it is the finish and the seals, and both are renewable. That is the fundamental advantage over uPVC, where a failed unit or a distorted frame means the whole window goes.

Far less than people expect. Wash the frames twice a year, inspect the finish annually, and expect to recoat exposed elevations every eight to ten years. Sheltered elevations often go considerably longer. Modern micro-porous coatings are a different product entirely from the gloss paints that gave timber its reputation.

Yes, comfortably. Timber is a natural insulator with far lower conductivity than aluminium or steel. A standard hardwood double-glazed window achieves around 1.2–1.4 W/m²K whole-window, against a 1.4 requirement for replacements. Triple glazing in a deeper section will reach roughly 0.8.

It depends on the finish. For painted work, Idigbo and Accoya are excellent — stable, even-grained and superb paint substrates. For a stained or oiled finish where the grain is meant to show, European oak and Sapele are the usual choices. We will recommend a species at survey based on your finish and exposure.

Usually, yes — using slim-profile sealed units as narrow as 11mm, which fit within traditional glazing bar sections without fattening them. Conservation officers vary, so we specify from the outset to whatever the local authority has stated and provide section drawings for the application.

Accoya is timber that has been acetylated — chemically modified so it no longer absorbs water. It barely moves, does not rot, and carries a 50-year above-ground warranty. It is the single best paint substrate available. For exposed elevations and coastal sites the premium usually pays for itself.

We repair wherever repair is the right answer. Rot is normally localised in a cill or the bottom of a stile, and splicing in new hardwood is typically a third of the cost of replacement. We will tell you honestly at survey which way the economics fall.

The guide price tool gives you an indicative range in a couple of minutes. If that range works, we book a free survey — measurements, profiles, exposure, access — and issue a fixed written quotation with a drawing. Nothing is manufactured until you have approved that drawing.

Yes. That is most of what we do. We record the existing sections at survey, reproduce the mouldings and sightlines, and match the finish. On listed buildings we will produce like-for-like profile drawings for the consent application.

Ten years on the joinery and the manufacture, and the sealed units carry their own manufacturer's warranty. Accoya frames carry the 50-year above-ground timber warranty from the material supplier. All of it is confirmed in writing with the quotation.

Yes. Multi-point locking, laminated glass options and key-locking handles are all available, and a solid hardwood frame is considerably harder to attack than a hollow plastic one. We can specify to PAS 24 where a planning condition or insurer requires it.

Not if it is specified correctly. Sticking comes from moisture ingress into unsealed end grain, or from solid stock used where laminated sections were needed. Kiln-dried timber, sealed end grain, factory finishing and engineered sections on longer spans between them eliminate it.

Yes. Removal and responsible disposal are included, along with making good internally. We work one opening at a time so the property is never left open, and we clear the site each day.

Where Building Regulations require background ventilation, we design it into the head of the frame at manufacture. That looks far better and performs far better than a vent drilled through a finished frame on site.

Less than most people fear. A straightforward replacement is one opening at a time, typically two to four windows a day. Scaffolding is only needed on higher elevations. We protect floors and furniture and leave the site clean each evening.

Regularly. Listed building consent turns on detail — sightlines, glazing bar sections, opening method and glass type. We survey the existing joinery, record the profiles and produce drawings you can submit. We will not quote a detail we know will not pass.