uPVC window frames
Where they are the better choice, and where they are not
uPVC frames insulate well, never need painting and cost less than timber. For a post-war house, for a rear elevation or for a dormer that is often exactly the right trade-off, and we advise them without hesitating.
Where they do not fit is just as clear. The profile is wider than the timber profile it replaces, particularly on a window with a transom bar and a fanlight above it. On a pre-war street elevation that shows, and in a protected village area it is usually also the reason a permit is refused.
Have your situation assessed
Calling, sending a photo or filling in the form come to the same thing. With a photo of the current situation it is clear in advance whether this is a repair or a replacement.
Good place: rear elevation
On the garden side design review rarely applies and what counts is insulation and maintenance. A uPVC rear door set with HR++ is often the most economical answer there.
Good place: post-war house
Houses from 1950 to 1980 have wider profiles and a simpler layout. uPVC does not look out of place there.
Poor place: street elevation in a protected area
In the estate zone along the Herenweg and in the centre of Heemstede, uPVC on the street side almost always leads to a refusal.
Quality differences sit in the number of chambers in the profile, in the reinforcement and in the colour layer. A three-chamber profile is the baseline; five or six chambers give a U-value of about 1.1 to 1.3 W/m²K for the profile itself. Steel reinforcement in the stile is not an extra on large windows but a condition, otherwise the profile starts to move over time.
Colour is where uPVC differs most from timber. A coloured foil on a white profile does not hold the same shade on a south facade as on a north one, and dark colours run hotter, which makes the profile expand more. White and cream are the safest choices here; anthracite calls for a profile made explicitly for it.
Recycling has improved: PVC frames are taken back in the Netherlands and ground down into new profile. That is not an argument for replacing a sound timber frame, though. The best frame is usually the one that stays.
Questions about upvc window frames
35 to 50 years. The profile itself barely weathers, but the ironmongery, the gaskets and the hinges wear out; those can be replaced separately. What decides the lifespan in the end is usually the glass unit rather than the profile.
At a few metres, increasingly so, with a wood-grain foil and an applied glazing bar. Close up you see the difference at the corner joint: uPVC is welded and shows a seam, timber is mitred. That is precisely the detail a design review committee looks at.
Yes, and it happens often: timber on the street side, uPVC at the back. The condition is that the municipality assesses the elevations separately, which is standard practice in a permit application.
Where we do this
Also possible
- Window frame repair: Keep the existing frame and replace only the part that has failed
- Insulated glazing and HR++: From single glazing to 1.1: what it gives you and what it costs
- Timber window frames: The one material that passes design review almost anywhere here
- Broken glass and glazing: A cracked pane, a failed sealed unit or new glazing throughout
Quotation for upvc window frames
A photo, your postcode, the year the house was built and the number of frames produce a range. The quotation follows only after measuring up in the rebate: a wrong dimension is the most expensive mistake in this trade.