How much do replacement wood sash windows cost?

Okay, full disclosure here, if you’ve just landed on this page straight from a search engine after googling “How much do replacement timber sash windows cost?”, you’ve landed on the blog of a company who makes and installs wood sash windows! It’s in our interests to sell you our sash windows, to extol the virtues of traditional wooden windows, of maintaining the period features of your beautiful Victorian home, of all the wonderful benefits of wooden windows etc. etc.

And while we firmly believe you should indeed be buying timber box sash windows, and definitely from Woodland of Kingston (that’s us by the way!), we know there are more companies than ever in the timber sash window market, and it can be really difficult for a potential customer to cut through all the rubbish and find a company that is going to provide what they want at a good quality and a sensible price.

So, on that basis we will try and be as impartial as possible and answer the question; “how much should you be paying for new wooden sash windows?”, and hopefully you can believe that what is written is meant in good faith, to help educate, and to help you make a better buying decision.

Enough rambling. More windowing!

So how much should you pay for a new timber sash window? The answer of course is never going to be that straight forward (sorry!). There are so many variables to consider that if we were to write them all here there would be enough info to fill a book, let alone a blog, and there’s a fair chance you wouldn’t be awake by the end of it!

So, how much should you be paying for your new timber sash windows? The short answer is anywhere from around £900 to £5,000+. But, that doesn’t really give you any meaningful information and is just a broad spectrum of cost.

It really depends on which company you choose, what materials they use, the scope of service they offer, and what you ask them to quote for. All we can say is; do your research! Ask questions, dig around. Of course, that’s what you are already doing, so there’s a good start. After all, why else would you be reading this?!

With that in mind, here are a few things you could bear in mind when obtaining your quotes;

How long has the company been trading?
A long-standing company is more likely to be reliable than a company that has only recently started.
Have you seen examples the company has installed?
Are there any recent examples?
Are there any older examples?
How have they aged?
Go see the factory where they are made;
Is there a factory? Is there just a showroom, or worse, a warehouse where goods are being off-loaded from a lorry?

Where are the timber windows being made?

If they are being made locally, great; you get piece of mind that if anything goes wrong you will have more chance of getting it put right than if the windows are being shipped in from abroad. You also get the benefit of supporting a local business 😉

What materials are being used?

Wood is good! Treated softwood is okay for low-cost, do-for-now windows (which really isn’t the kind of purchase you want to be making, let’s be honest), hardwood is better, but can have movement issues, and it’s good to check its sustainability, Accoya is best; it’s extremely durable, very low maintenance and not prone to movement, but it is expensive.

We’ve written another posts about “How to choose the right timber for your timber windows and doors?”

What are you getting for your money?

Are the windows paint finished?
Does the cost include installation?
What hardware is included?
Do you have to pay for extras such as architrave, scaffolding, parking?
How is the company structured?
Do they use commission-based sales-people?
Are you therefore paying more so a salesman gets a commission bonus?
If you are having the windows installed, are the installers employees, self-employed or sub-contract labour?
If they aren’t employed directly by the company, how can they guarantee the installer will have the quality of your installation as his or her priority?
Is the company a member of a trade scheme such as FENSA, the British Woodworking Federation, Checkatrade, Which? Trusted Traders etc.

What are you actually getting for your money?

Check what is written on the quote. Are you getting what you were expecting? Some companies prefer to replace the window in its entirety, others will like to quote to fit new timber sashes into the existing frames. When comparing quotes, make sure you are comparing on a like for like basis.

We could go on and on, but you get the idea. There is potentially a huge variation in quality of material, service, product etc. and this will undoubtedly reflect in the price. As a rule of thumb, the quotes you receive will usually be of a similar value within a factor of 10% to 20% max. If a quote is significantly outside the range of the other quotes you get (and we are assuming you are a diligent consumer who is seeking at least three quotes), the chances are the surveyor misunderstood your needs or has quoted for something other than what everyone else has quoted.

If one quote is significantly lower than the rest, be double sure to have good answers to all the points above. Timber, labour, rent etc. all costs much of a muchness. Some companies will cut corners and use inferior materials, and as a result their sash windows will cost less. Other companies use cheap labour by buying from abroad, so their windows may cost a little less too, although this is not always the case. Others will spend extra time ensuring their quality is as good as can be, and will not want to skimp on quality of materials. These quotes will obviously end up being higher than those at the cheaper end (no need to point out which end of this spectrum Woodland like to aim for!)

So, after all this is taken into account, how much are your new wooden sash windows going to cost?

You can search online now and order a standard window on spiral balances from an online wooden window company for £750-£1000, maybe even less. You could pay for the same sized window to be supplied by a specialist in traditional sash windows for £1000 – £1,500. If you wanted to include installation, with new architraves, window board, cement pointing outside etc., you could be paying anywhere from £1,500 – £2,000+.

Hopefully this is all helpful information, if a little long-winded, and it’s a shame there isn’t a straight forward answer. If you want to find out more about Woodland of Kingston’s range of timber windows, or would like to take a look around our sash window workshop, we will always be happy to help, just pick up the phone and give us a call on 020 8547 2171, or email us.