How to choose timber windows for your Swansea home

What are the advantages of timber windows?

Whether you have a period Swansea home or a character conversion, timber windows offer an unmistakable, timeless appeal which is hard to beat.

Traditionally this classic beauty means old-fashioned maintenance,  rattles, draughts and swelling.

However, advances in design and technology mean that, chosen carefully, today’s timber windows and doors combine classic looks with minimal maintenance and modern energy efficiency.

To make the right choice, it’s important to understand the design features. This makes the difference between a sound investment and a high-maintenance liability.

What is the best material?

It all starts with the materials – in this case the timber.  Timber windows and doors come from best quality, FSC-sourced, sustainable, engineered timber. This prevents any warping or swelling

Engineered timber uses only the best pieces of wood.  It is scanned to ensure they are fault free, with all defects and knots removed. These prime layers of wood use glue, compression and lamination together to form engineered timber.

This process makes the frames strong. Engineered timber has a glue line that is stronger than the timber itself.  This in turn makes it 60 per cent stronger than its solid wood counterpart.

As the layers of wood are glued in alternating vertical grains, this reduces the usual expansion, contraction, and warping that is characteristic of solid timber.

If you don’t like painting, choose weather-treated timber windows. This meandsnd there will be no need to re-paint for at least eight years.

When it comes to glass, thermally insulating, argon-filed, double-glazing offers 80 per cent better energy efficiency than single glazed units.  This offers a 45 per cent improvement on normal double-glazing.

Best of all, this kind of glazing will maximise the natural light into your home.  Essential for period cottages and conversions.

To further improve energy efficiency,  choose  windows that offer low conductivity spacer bars. This has the added benefit of reducing condensation levels on the inner pane.

Finally, whether your home is old or new? Security on your Swansea home is vitally important. Make sure you look for internal beading to show that the glass is fitted from the inside.