Timber windows in Tonbridge for listed buildings and village houses

Timber windows are fitted where they are needed. Here that mostly means listed buildings: the old town, Penshurst, Leigh and the older farmhouses and cottages in every village.

When timber is the right choice

• The building is listed. Listed building consent is needed for any significant work, and the council will expect timber in most cases.
• You live in a flat in a historic building, where planning permission is likely to be needed anyway and the council may ask for timber.
• You prefer it and accept the cost and the upkeep.

The cost difference

Timber box sash is from £2,650 installed per window. A uPVC vertical slider costs a little over half that. Timber flush casements cost about twice as much as uPVC flush. The clearest way to see it is two similar Golden Green cottages: five windows in uPVC flush against four in timber, where the smaller timber job still costs more.

Upkeep

New painted timber frames want their first repaint about three years after fitting, and then a repeat at regular intervals, with walls facing south or west across the Medway valley usually first to show wear. The installer does not take on repainting, so plan for it yourself or with a local decorator. On a weatherboarded house in Hadlow that usually means painting the boards and the windows together.

Secondary glazing for listed buildings

Where a listed building's original windows can be repaired, secondary glazing inside them can be the better answer. As an indicative market range, a unit for a typical sash opening costs about £450 to £1,200 including VAT. Consent may still be needed, so ask the council first.

Metal and leaded windows

Some village houses, including several in Leigh, have metal-framed windows with leaded lights or metal glazing bars. On an unlisted house a steel-look aluminium window can come close to that look. On a listed one, repair or like-for-like replacement is the starting point.

A typical timber job

Illustrative example of a typical job

Four timber box sashes for a listed building in the old town

A listed brick-fronted house in the historic core near East Street and Church Street, where the windows have to stay in timber and listed building consent comes first.

• Four timber box sashes, about 900 by 1800 mm, with weights and pulleys
• Glazing bar pattern copied from the surviving originals
• Made only once the council has granted listed building consent

Timber box sash from £2,650 installed per window, so from £10,600 installed for four