Has modern double glazing destroyed the craftsmanship and architecture of Britain? Whilst this website and any other is here to support and encourage home improvements, modern aluminium double glazed windows or from other materials, it is time to spare a thought for the effect modern materials can have in eroding physical examples of fantastic craftsmanship and materials of old?
What are we losing with modern double glazing?
Thankfully pvc windows will never see the light of day or ruin a property such as this. Conservation and listed buildings ensure these are replaced with nothing but the originals.
There are many windows and doors not subject to planning or conservation area rulings and in ripping out old windows and replacing with new, window companies will rarely give consideration to these old windows and doors that usually end up in the skip. The home improvement sector is worth several billion pounds a year, it employs thousands of people in construction, manufacturing, design, production and other sectors of the supply chain. For the replacement window sector, it is simply a case of replacing the old windows with new.
Charles Brooking is the creator of The Brooking Collection, a unique resource that catalogues products, architecture, construction and manufacturing methods of old and seeks to preserve this information for all time. It is a fantastic resource for those that actually care about the history of architecture and manufacturing in Britain, finding artefacts and methods of construction that are historically important.
The Brooking Collection in relation to windows and doors has brought to life some fantastic examples of how windows were constructed, designed, glazed and secured in previous centuries and gives a fascinating insight into replacement windows of old. There are some fantastic examples of leaded fanlights, sash balances used to control classic timber sash windows, fitch catches, peg stays and explanations of how windows were mitred, constructed, glazed and weathered.
Modern interpretations of original windows are simply imitations and nothing more.
Despite the attempts of aluminium crittall replacement windows, Residence 9 flush sash casements, Masterframe or Roseview pvcu sash windows and others to replicate the original features of the windows they are replacing, these are nothing but imitation products. Nothing more.
Nothing can beat the detailing and craftsmanship of an original window and the reality is that as “authentic looking” as these modern windows claim to be, they contain none of the techniques used to manufacture the original products.
Charles Brooking has spent a lifetime rummaging through the skips of window companies and buildings, examining the features of the old windows that have been taken out and has created an immense resource detailing huge amounts of facts and information. The sad fact is, that when many of these older windows and doors are removed, much of their history, design and craftsmanship is lost forever.
This handsome period home, now with chunky plastic windows, made worse with the use of door outer frames and dummy sashes that did not form part of the original windows.
Despite the window industry promoting 10 year guarantees and the apparent long life of pvcu and aluminium products, the fact remains that no aluminium or plastic window has given or will ever give the long life of hundreds of years of original timber sash windows and original steel windows. And they never will. The window industry already consists of specialist craftsmen talented in restoring or remaking original windows, but there is a larger sector consisting of people selling and installing modern windows that have no concept of what these window replacements are costing us.
People who buy properties in conservation area should put history before cost.
If you are genuinely interested in windows, please visit The Brooking Collection website for an insight into windows of old that outside of conservation areas and listed buildings we are losing. Conservation Officers that are refusing to allow anything but original windows are absolutely right in their decisions and homeowners who buy listed buildings or properties in conservation areas should respect the property that they are not only buying but looking after for future generations.
The post Modern Double Glazing is costing us dearly appeared first on Aluminium Trade Supply.
Related Posts
