This is likely to be the last home improvement for a while - when we moved we planned, and budgeted for, a few things, and have got to the end of that list. But this is finally a windows update.
As people ask, why and how much: The why is that old windows that came with the house are somewhat cheap and nasty, and I wanted acoustic glass to offer some sound dampening. We will see how that goes, as living on the A40 gets annoying (yes, people have worked out where I live now). I also wanted more protection from sun, especially for my office, and improved privacy, with mirror film (at front of house). How much? Around £800/window on average, including the mirror film, acoustic glass, frames and new windowsills.
The new windows are different...
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| Old |
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| New |
We went for brown, to fit with the wood doors and porch. But you will also notice, for example, that this window is not split in the middle now - why? Well, to be a fire escape for a bedroom the opening window has to be a certain width, and they were not before. Indeed, it seems most of the bedroom windows were not up to code - big surprise. ("fire escape" is more for firemen or someone else with a ladder, rather than jumping out from 2nd floor).
The company we used have been amazingly good - very neat and tidy - attention to detail. Small company in Cardiff. Centric Home Improvements. Well worth a recommendation for South Wales.
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| Leaving things neat and tidy |
The whole job is taking a week, which is not surprising for a house of this size. But then the windows update will be complete, and...
My dad had his study window change to acoustic glass recently and he says it made very little difference. He was offered triple glazing, but it is about twice the price of double glazing because so few people order it.
ReplyDeleteWell so far I am impressed, my office is a lot quieter now the window is done.
DeleteI wouldn't expect acoustic glass (or even triple glazing) to do much for the rooms with the dormer windows.
ReplyDeleteMost of the sound transmission will be via the roof itself and there's nothing you can do about that with those slates. You can get roof tiles with sound damping properties but they're significantly heavier than the slate tiles you currently have so the worry with a house that age is roof loading.
YMMV of course.
Those windows are not the best example, the rest of the house is the main reason for this all, but even there we are fitting thick sheets of Celotex tightly between the rafters in and above the ceiling, which will help I am sure (and improve thermal insulation).
DeleteUnfortunately good PIR/solid heat insulation generally has poor sound attenuation qualities. It'll attenuate higher frequencies to a certain extent but if you're on the A40 it won't be those which are a problem - apart from the occasional lunatic biker going past at 10k rpm :)
DeleteIts either one or the other really - sound or heat....
I looked into this a lot when we were looking at buying a business in Scotland - the newest building we considered was 118 years old; oldest will be celebrating its tri-centennial next year. Thank gods we didn't go through with it as we'd be bankrupt now (fuel costs).
Can I turn of your tesla battery? :)
ReplyDeleteAfter someone tried to break into a neighbour's house, I wanted some obvious windows to be laminated for better security, but was quoted around £600-£800 for the film to be applied per window. It turned out that £70-£100 will buy (and have fitted to the existing frame) new double glazed laminated glass.
ReplyDeleteAs a bonus, it's meant to retain the heat better and we found it was noticeably quieter too :-)