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Recently moved into a 2 bed Victorian terrace.
There are old timber sash windows the in living room and front bedroom bays. I.e. 3 separate sash windows in each bay.
5 out of the 6 are painted shut.
Every morning we wake up and they are covered with lots of condensation and literally stream water onto the sills and down the wall.
While the timber is in decent condition, the sealant is pretty battered and mouldy.
Obviously they're single glazed. Question is, is there any way of preventing this condensation? We are kinda resigned to the expensive option of replacing them all with modern upvc sash equivalents (and professional restoration of timber ones costs a fortune).
But if say replacing sealant all around the glass would make a marked difference, then we'll consider more conservative measures!
Any advice much appreciated.
Better ventilation will help. And get them refurbed so that you can open them.
Would be a shame to replace with upvc.
Install a wee vent in one pane of each window?
Ventilation in the room by whatever means will reduce the condensation - in the right circumstances I get condensation on double glazed units if the window is closed and door shut and 2 heavy breathers in bed.
Please dont replace with upvc of any type. Refurb with dg conservation units or replacement with new wood sash is not cheap but is manageable if spread over time. We did this in our victorian terrace, doing one window each year to replace the upvc the place came with. The windows are stunningly beautiful and regularly attract positive comment from the neighbours, many of whom have followed suit and done likewise. It's no surprise that those properties with this type of window are now at a premium.
Lovely wooden windows are a joy in an older property and you will be glad you spent the money long into the future.
I have the same type of windows and same issue. Ventilation in the room is indeed your friend but I also fit that window film that you shrink with a hairdryer. It is really effective at eliminating all the condensation.
I’ve built up a bit of a technique for it now and the results look pretty good.
Rachel
A dehumidifier would help.
It's a tricky one but also a 'feature' of an older building along with heat loss through the solid walls!
Solutions:
1) Stop breathing (could be tricky long term)
2) Run a dehumidifier
3) Get DG units fitted (may not be possible or worthwhile)
4) Improve the ventilation
5) Refurb the existing windows so that they open (see 4)
6) Fit new WOODEN sash windows with proper DG
Don't fit UPVC sash windows, they look shocking in a period property.
OP. In a word, no.
Single glazed, leaky, drafty, painted shut, sash windows will condense up once you add a tiny amount of warm moist air inside. I grew up in a house that had exactly that.
Modern upvc windows have trickle vents that almost eliminate condensation without adding a howling draft into the room.
As said above, new sash windows with double glazed units in them are the preferred way to go, but they are hideously expensive. Like all house modernisations and improvements you will only get back a small percent of the outlay if or when you come the sell. It will make it more attractive but not necessarily increase the value.
Thanks all.
When I say replace with upvc, I mean sash rather than casement. Can't these still look pretty good and in keeping with the traditional style?
Spent a few nights in a lovely harbour front rental in Anstruther over new year, with sash windows.
Made me realise just how bloody awesome our soundproofed, yet STW frowned upon, UPVC DG units are!
Bugger that, life's too short for not getting a good sleep. 😊
Like all house modernisations and improvements you will only get back a small percent of the outlay if or when you come the sell.
A sweeping statement that is quite incorrect in many instances.
Simply replace the original glass with slimline dg units
Upvc is horrible and devalues your house
I have double glazed sash windows and no condensation or drafts
Upvc is horrible and devalues your house
Really? I mean really? What utter pish TJ. A sweeping statement basing others views on yours
We refurbished our sash windows rather than replaced them with Upvc (which definitely would have spoiled our house and we didn’t want to spend the £20k on dg timber sash) - using a dehumidifier does help but we still get some condensation and just use a karcher vacuum to clean up when it happens.
+1 for karcher window vac as short term fix
What Rachel said in the short term, the shrinking film is excellent over winter.
There are some very good looking non-wood versions too, if I did it again I would probably go that route now.
There are some decent upvc dg sliding sash windows which have slim frames and look similar to timber. There are also aluminium ones which have an even slimmer profile.
Nobler. If you have a Victorian house and fit Upvc it is worth less
I had exactly the same problem and fitted one of these Dri-Eco-Heat-HC Nuaire in loft problem sorted no condensation since fitting.Got mine from Mouldstop TR10 9EP
When I say replace with upvc, I mean sash rather than casement. Can’t these still look pretty good and in keeping with the traditional style?
Yep, that's what I did 20 years ago and they've been superb. Look identical to wooden ones unless you're right up close and need zero maintenance. Very happy with them. They were cutting edge stuff when we installed them, but double glazed sash are pretty standard now, so I suspect the prices have come down a lot. I actually prefer them to wooden replacement sash, they fit better have no rattle, whereas all the wood ones I've seen are much more flimsy.
Our previous house had the slimline dg units in new wooden sash windows. They still had condensation on in the mornings. Until the landlords fitted one of those Nuaire positive pressure things.
Worked great. Still a bit on the really cold mornings. But helped a lot.
The windows were still a PITA though. Glad i didnt have to maintain them as it was rented. Would much rather plastic windows.
The landlords did say they had thought about replacing them with aluminium but those are also quite pricy!
Upvc is horrible and devalues your house
If i was buying the opposite would be true.
Nobler. If you have a Victorian house and fit Upvc it is worth less
I live in a Victorian terrace in south west London, the window type makes no difference to value around here. Never even considered sash when we replaced our windows and have upvc
+1 for the window film. £12 I think from Amazon. Worked a treat with our old single pane windows.
We also had the wood effect upvc sash windows fitted. They are bloody brilliant. You wouldn't notice unless you looked really close up. The whole lot pops out so you can clean inside and out easily.
Thanks all.
Quite torn really.
Its either get 7 modern uvpc replacements for around £5000 all in. They'll be more efficient, quieter, less maintenance, no condensation. But arguably won't have the same character.
Or have them refurbished/draft proofed etc but left single glazed. Only a telephone quote, but expected to be circa £2,100 for that. Retains the character, cheaper option but obviously still noise, condensation, less secure.
Or refurbishment and double glaze them for circa £7,100!
Given it's only a 2 bed terrace, and we aren't sure how many years we'll stay (let alone all the other problems we are discovering, like a re-roofing being required), it's hard to weigh up the best option.
I know what people mean though, it does seem sad ripping out that 140 year old, beautiful timber.