Well, obviously I need windows, but do I need proper window frames ?
Wickes got recommended for joinery on another thread.
Screwfix looks cheaper, although they’re not argon filled, if that makes much difference.
One of my walls is very low though, so I could do with windows with a lower height then either of those list, about 800mm.

Custom made joinery is pretty expensive, so I wondered if I really need purpose built window frames at all.
Sheds have the glass set directly in to the timber wall.
Is there any reason why I shouldn’t just buy some profiled timber for the sills and some bare double glazed glass, then putty it in, like a shed ?
I’m building the walls in timber, so it’s little more than a posh shed anyway.

Do you mean is there any point having opening casements as opposed to a fixed light/sash ?

Not really if you don’t want to open the window.

I wouldn’t use putty though – get timber stops.

If you dont need the glazing to open then you’ll find buying the glazing cartridge at a custom size is quite inexpensive. Then buy profile wood and bead or make your own “profile” by joining two bits of wood together to make a recess deep enough to take the double glazing (say 24mm) and some bead (another 10-12mm). Your glazing fabricator can probably supply with glazing tape pre-applied to make it faster.

pic

Oh yeah, I should have mentioned that the windows I have got now, along with the rest of the bungalow, are way past there best and I haven’t been even tried to open them for years. In warm weather like this, I just leave the doors open.

I searched for Timber Stops and without knowing what I’m looking for, couldn’t work out what you mean.
Are they another name for the quadrant that you see on old style windows and doors ?

Edit;
Cross posted with Stoner.
I take it the bead on that drawing is the Timber Stop ?

Edit again;
I think I’ve seen those plastic packers in Screwfix’s catalogue and wondered what they were.
I’d worked out there would have to be some sort of flexible mounting for the glass to allow for any possible movement of the timber wall. I guess that’s it.

Just to note that depending were your windows are and how many you plan to replace, might be issues with planning and fire regs. They are a primary means of escape especially in a bungalow

packers:
http://www.screwfix.com/p/glazing-packers-24mm-225pcs/96089

I guess what I call beading is what ernie probably more correctly calls a timber stop.

You can get a nice bevel/easing on the edge of the bead too which makes it more durable to weather* and easier on the eye. I was just being lazy in powerpoint 🙂

*right angle edges of exposed wood are more susceptible to rot and degradation, even when treated as the treatment will often set thinner on the edge than on the plane.

I searched for Timber Stops and without knowing what I’m looking for, couldn’t work out what you mean.
Are they another name for the quadrant that you see on old style windows and doors ?

Yeah I originally wrote “glazing beads” but then edited to “timber stops” as I thought you might get something too lightweight. Think of something fairly substantial like timber stops which are fixed to a door lining/frame.

I guess what I call beading is what ernie probably more correctly calls a timber stop.

Glazing beads for windows, timber stops for doors. I used the term incorrectly because I was trying to make it easier to understand – which obviously backfired and had the opposite effect !

🙂 my builder’s merchant have always been very accommodating when I go in and ask whether they have any of that “squidgy plasticy stuff” or “funny bent metal thingy with holes in”

I am getting a little better at putting the right name to things now…

BTW – glazing specification. The additional cost of “Argon Filled” is negligeable, so always go for it. Some fabricators can supply “Warm edge bars” too, but they’re not so common. Warm edge bars just minimise energy losses through the frame.

Also toughened glass isnt that much more expensive than normal stuff. But it depends on your budget.

Low e glass (minimised iron content to reduce heat loss) is also to be expected these days. But all of these energy saving features might be immaterial based on where you’re using them? Cant remember whether your cladding perimeter is going to be your insulated perimeter?

Thanks for the explanations, both.
I guess it’s probably easiest to by the window sill ready cut to the right profile, then make everything else myself.

ScottyJohn, I’m going to end up with 3 external doors in a building 8m x 7m.
I appreciate what you’re saying, but at the moment I’ve got 2 external doors and no side hung opening windows, just a couple of top hung windows that would be too small for me to climb through anyway, so I’ll be no worse off.

And a BTW from me. Your bottom bead at least, should have a chamfer on it to stop the rain lying there and causing it to rot.

Like this (don’t ask me why it’s on both sides) :

Oh, and another BTW. If the bottom bead is overhanging like in that pic, it should really have a drip underneath.

Yeah thanks, that’s why I was going to buy ready made sills with the chamfer and drip already there.
I can do basic carpentry, but complex profiles like that are probably better bought mass produced.

Amongst the bitching and flouncing, which can of course be entertaining, stuff like this is what makes STW truly great 🙂

All window manufacturers I’ve visited have a “graveyard” where the mis-measured or cosmetically damaged frames are stacked, and if you talk nicely they can be bought for £10-£30, or I’ve had a couple thrown in with another order. I’ve used them where I put in a new opening or was altering an opening so I just altered brickwork to suit the size. Might be worth a ring around. Always plenty on ebay too.

Bedmaker, that’s why I’m still here.
I’ve flounced off myself a few times, but always come back within a day or so, before anyone’s even noticed I was gone.
I appreciate all the help and advice I’m getting with my bungalow. It’s a shame no one ever asks for advice on the stuff I know about so I can return the favour.

midlifecrashes, there’s a plastic window manufacturer near here I was told about that does that, they sell them for about 1/3 price, with no glass.
I really don’t like the look of plastic windows though. Maybe I could visit a couple of local joiners and see what they’ve got.

It’s a shame no one ever asks for advice on the stuff I know about so I can return the favour.

Where can I buy a decent but not too expensive jack to jack up my Bus ? I need to change the axle.

I made some enquiries locally and the cheapest I could get bare double glazing is £40 a square metre made to any size I want
I found somewhere with a load of complete window seconds, but there’s no matching sets.
I’ve been looking for windows on ebay as well, trouble is, they are all odds and ends. I didn’t want to buy one or two at a time and end up with a higgledy piggledy mixture of heights and widths.

Then today, I found a bunch of identical windows at £50 each.
A trip up to Lichfield and for £420 cash I got this lot.

6 big matching big ones and a medium one, all softwood, plus a small oak framed window and a softwood exterior door frame.

nice one. bargin!

very noice!

Without wanting to piss on your new windows, if installing below 900 then the glass should technically be toughened. Depends really on any inspections you’re having done??

Wrightyson, I’d seen those specifications before.

800mm from the floor and 300mm from a door. I can do that, although it will be tight.
In fact, what I might do, is instead of doubling up the wall plate above the windows by fitting a long noggin over each window below the existing wall plate, I could simply fit another full length wall plate on top and double up the whole thing.

Do you mean is there any point having opening casements as opposed to a fixed light/sash ?

Not really if you don’t want to open the window.

Coincidentally we’re just about to have the kitchen knocked about a bit including a new window.

I asked the builder about simply putting in a plain (non opening) pane of glass, and he sucked his teeth a bit and said it was very much frowned upon by building regs.

Seems daft to me though, given that what is currently there is a wall, so wouldn’t seem to me that a pane of glass would be any worse as a fire escape. Also, this window will be approx 9 inches away from a door to the outside world!

Anyone know the proper rules on this?

s2.3 and s2.8
http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/uploads/br/BR_PDF_ADB1_2006.pdf