Just got all my rotten wooden windows replaced with some lovely maintenance-free uPVC ones, and very tasteful they are too. Next thing I know some nosey git from up the street is creating a fuss about my 'plastic windows', mouthing off about how this is a Conservation Area and it's not allowed. Keeps going on about fenestration issues - I'll de-fenestrate him.
We'll see how he likes it when I stone-clad the front and put a satellite dish up. Then I'm going to add a third storey.
I was under the impression that ALL replacement windows were now subject to planning rules. Is that not right ?
Andy
I think you have a case against your solicitor who failed to inform you that you lived in a conservation area and what it entailed. Try uk.legal.
Christian.
Not sure its so much planning as regulations about their insulation efficiency.
Planning would not be a bad thing though; I have seen whole streets ruined by replacement windows. No doubt the aluminium ones that were all the rage in the 70s were once thought of as smart; now they drastically reduce the value of the house. I would imagine that inappropriate windows in a conservation area would do much the same. People who buy a house in a conservation area are usually enthusiastic about keeping beautiful buildings as original as possible. If that requires the removal of inappropriate windows, stone cladding and satellite dishes then that will be reflected in the price they offer.
If intending to do work on a building in a conservation area it is generally best to consult the council. They are likely to insist on higher quality, and thus more expensive work, but it pays off in the long run.
Davy
pmsl.
Go on put a scrap car up the garden.
Oh, and I've got some perfectly sound sash windows that I've reclaimed from a skip. Yours for only a grand, if you want them. I suspect they will fit perfectly.
Christian.
Being in conflict with the council would be a big big problem if you tried to sell the house.
john2
I doubt it. A plastic windowed house in a conservation area is likely to sell to someone who doesn't mind doing up a house. They won't be concerned with historic issues with the council, especially as the likely result is just being told to replace the manky windows that they would like to replace anyway.
Christian.
I rather think that you've all missed the point - I may well be wrong but I suspect that this posting by "Window" may be a tongue-in-cheek reply to the posting made yesterday by some nosy busybody called Martin Pentreath with the subject line "Replacement Windows in breach of conservation area rules"
John.
Yes, that much was obvious! Perhaps I'm just a little too subtle for your taste!
Christian.
A few months ago I popped back down south to see my brother and drove around the council estate where I used to live. I had painstakingly restored my Crittalls windows, taking all the old paint off, replacing the wooden window frames on two windows. It took weeks to go round the whole house. All because I don't like seeing modern plastic windows in an old house. As I drove past "my" old house I saw that all my work was for nothing. The new owner had ripped out the metal windows and installed horrid white plastic ones, totally not in keeping with the house style.
Okay, so I may have had somewhat higher heating bills in winter, and there was a problem with condensation in cold weather, but I didn't care. Those metal windows would have lasted a further 100 years, and indeed, I believe there are now double-glazed glass inserts for them.
MM
messagenews:45534ef4$0$581$ snipped-for-privacy@read.news.uk.uu.net...
No! You don't say! Well, I'm shocked! Who would do a thing like that?
MBQ
Bastards!
Indeed. The availability of double glazed Crittalls is a life saver for the millions of at-risk 1930s windows out there. That 1930s look relies so much on those slender metal frames. To replace them with horrid plastic just shows how some people have no appreciation for architecture whatsoever beyond just being a cheap shelter from the elements.
Christian.
And a couple of Dobermans.
Get the kids to park on the street outside other peoples houses.
MBQ
LOL
Nice one. 10/10
It also went Whoosh over most heads in here so........ an extra 10/10. :))
Er. No it didn't.
Christian.
The message from Window contains these words:
This is /uk/.d-i-y - you want /Prague/.d-i-y
The message from Andy Cap contains these words:
Only if they catch you at it.
That's not good enough, they have to park across other people's drives, especially if there's a car in the drive.
Mary
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