So don't buy a Victorian house, then. Simple job solved. Will everyone who hates wooden windows please piss out of the conservation areas or just lump it?
There really aren't that many conservation areas, you aren't forced to live there. However, those that do live there reserve the right to tell your stone cladding and uPVC to f*ck right off back to the chavvy council estates where they belong.
Christian.
Why? They might like the rest of the place, or it might be will situated for their needs but they don't want to be living in the past. Wooden windows belong in the past.
So they are filled with snobs? I wouldn't want to live amongst such snobs. You might also find out that depite his lov for PVC windows he's richer than you? Perhaps it's envy that drives people to behave like this. They see someone who can afford to install modern windows when they can't so they make something up.
I was thinking along those lines ...
Mary
If the house is in a conservation area it's the business of everyone who lives there.
Mary
It does directly affect you, but nowhere near as much.
It goes as far as society deems to be acceptable. There are no hard lines drawn here. Society has decreed that it goes far enough for some particularly good looking period areas to be designated conservation areas and be protected. However, society has clearly decided not to ban the use of Fiats. And if you'd met my partner, you'll realise that she wouldn't be banned from anywhere for bad looks!
No, I just don't like uPVC windows on period properties for which they are inappropriate.
Hardly. Decent sliding wooden sashes are more expensive than plastic windows. I am more likely to be in a position of having plastic windows and not being able to afford the wooden ones. In fact, that is exactly my position.
If I lived on an estate where my non-plastic windows were incongruous, I would think that they had a point. I think that my previous house (1986) would have looked ridiculous with sliding wooden sashes, just like a Victorian terrace looks ridiculous with plastic, or an Art Deco mansion flat looks ridiculous in anything other than Crittalls (which are now available in modern double glazed replacement form).
This does vary according to the quality of wood, paint and preparation. The remaining windows in my house are just coming up for their 100th birthday. They are a good two decades overdue for a painting (which I hope to do next year), but still totally sound in themselves. They do need re-cording and replacement fittings, though. An ancient brass fitch plate entirely snapped in two this week, so I've been nosing around
Christian.
That is your choice. If you don't like the rules then move elsewhere.
See above.
Peter Crosland
Did you ever work for British Rail?
I have to say I agree with other posters in that if this is the most important thing you have to worry about, perhaps you should just crack open a bottle of something cold and bubbly and celebrate the fact that you clearly have a far less stressful life than 99.99% of the population, rather than spend any time and effort on this.
Anyway, if, after pondering that for a while, you still think it's worth getting involved, and if the council don't seem to be making much progress, here's what you should do.
Write a letter to the owner of the nasty plastic windows on your council's headed notepaper. Should be dead easy to forge if you have a letter from them and a scanner. In the letter, explain that the nasty plastic windows break the rules for the conservation area, and that the letter is accompanying the initial enforcement procedure. If the windows are not replaced with proper ones within 30 days, further enforcement procedures will follow.
Then wrap the letter round a brick and throw it through the offending windows.
Not only will this teach the owner of the windows a lesson, but I expect he'll give someone at the council a pretty hard time as well. Maybe he'll annoy the council so much that they will enforce the rules rigorously just to spite him.
Just make sure no-one catches you!
Adam
Agreed.
:-) But is it really society, or a small but vocal section of it? I'm asking the question and don't pretend to know the answer. Tastes vary as well. If a group of me and my insane mates decided that some
60s monstrosities were worth saving and kicked up a fuss, would that be deemed as a demand by society?Fair enough. However, there are many things that I considder inappropriate: fat girls with bare midriffs for one, but there's nothing I can (or should be able) to do about it.
Ok. I though it was the other way round, but accpet I was wrong.
But the owner may not think it is as ridiculous as you. For the record, I agree with you that in many cases plastic does look awful, but appriciate that (a) it should be up to the owner and (b) each material has its pros and cons.
We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember "Aaron Borbora" saying something like:
Too right. Ugly cars abound these days and should be subject to strict controls. Same goes for ugly women - but theres never been any shortage of them, so we've learned to live with them - just like PVC windows.
Okay to put up a few windmills then....
I think so. There are many 60s monstrosities that are probably worth saving. However, I can only speak for myself, really. When I suggest what "society has decreed", I mean via the processes of legislation, local government and (formal and informal) enforcement, which, although imperfect, do somewhat represent society.
I believe that you should have the power of choice as to whether or not it is up to the owner, so that we can both live in a manner that accords with our beliefs in this regard. I would suggest that we set aside a few small areas where the owner's choice is limited for people like me who appreciate this. I think a good name for such areas would be "conservation areas". I think it would be best to involve some local democracy, so that people living in an area can democratically choose whether their area is so designated. I think the local council would be an ideal vehicle for achieving this. Whoops. That's exactly the current situation.
Christian.
And small feet?
I like the cut of your jib!
Adam wrote:
I did notice that those accusing me of having too much time on their hands seemed to be rather prolific usenet posters! Of course, I didn't want to say anything ...
Cheers,
Martin
This whole thread is quite an interesting insight into 21st century society. On the one hand this, on the other hand that. And so we muddle along
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
That would be a great improvement over the 72 we have in this Borough alone and more in line with the original intention
Are you still here?
Which one do we live in now? Because it sure as hell isn't the former.
I don't know about your borough. In ours, there aren't nearly enough. Strangely enough, my particular house isn't actually in a conservation area, although it probably should be, given its current barely spoilt nature.
Christian.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.