If you’re a budding home designer living anywhere in or around the South of London and are finding it hard to choose what replacement window style will best suit both your stylistic and practical requirements – don’t fear, Albion Windows are here to help!
Whether you’re looking to replace your dated uPVC casements with something a little more charming and efficient, or a simply like the idea of swapping out your existing windows for something which can better contain the heat generated in your home, take heart in knowing that there are plenty of distinct window styles to choose from. With so many available, obtaining the ideal windows for your home has never been easier with this handy guide.
A selection of comprehensive Window styles
Casement: Undoubtedly the simplest yet most popular window style in the UK, casement windows offer homeowners very slim sightlines for uninterrupted views of the outside. Perfect for every style of property whether it’s contemporary or period, casement windows act as a cost-effective complete solution.
Sash: A traditional window style that has remained popular for hundreds of years, modern sliding sash windows operate smoothly which allows any home to enjoy specific levels of ventilation, all within an inherently traditional aesthetic. With run-through sash horns for added authenticity, sash windows help to add a touch of elegance instantly.
Tilt & Turn: Providing exceptional visuals that easily suit the modern home, tilt & turn windows boast a dual functionality which means the window can be both tilted and turned for ease of cleaning and added safety. Ideal for use as a fire-escape and ventilation, tilt & turn windows excel at providing panoramic outside views.
Flush sash: A window that’s sash sits ‘flush’ against the frame, flush sash windows are a traditional casement window style that gives the profile a flat appearance to replicate an appearance similar to traditional wooden windows. Wrapped in a contemporary material, flush sash windows are energy efficient and well insulating.
Bay & Bow: Great for adding not only increased light but some much appreciated extra space in the home, both bay & bow windows are made up of a series of casement windows that elegantly protrude from the home. These windows join together to form either an arc in either a bay or bow, making for a sophisticated centrepiece for any home.
Bifold: Bifold windows make it so that every home can benefit from modern, open plan living with an efficient and secure design. Bifold windows neatly fold concertina-style to one side, allowing you to make the most of space and open outside views whilst never taking up too much space in the home.
Bespoke: If a particular window set doesn’t meet your home’s specific needs and requirements, it’s always possible to precisely manufacture a window of almost any shape or size.
Window features to consider when buying
Security
It’s always important to feel safe and secure within the comfort of your own home and understandably the windows incorporated in your property have a large impact on this, so it’s important to get your choice of window right. Thankfully the majority of window styles factor in some degree of security yet additional methods of glazing can help boost your sense of safety even more.
Tilt and turn windows are easily the most secure choice homeowners can opt for, even being safe internally as well as from the outside. If you reside in a high-rise apartment or have young children, tilt & turn windows are always a popular choice due to their ability to restrict how much they open. Infants will never be in danger of falling through and likewise, intruders will have a hard time entering.
Independent security tests such as ‘Secured by Design’, an official police initiative, regularly place both windows and doors through rigorous testing to ensure that a product is hard to penetrate. For those wanting added peace of mind from their replacement windows, logos and accreditations such as this are always worth seeking out but almost every window style will boast some degree of shootbolt or multi-point locking.
Cost
An appealing factor to consider when opting for what type of window to choose is understandably price. Depending on the kind of home improvement budget you’re working with, the more extravagant or detailed the window is, the more costly it will likely be. Expectantly uPVC windows benefit from a significantly reduced cost when compared to timber or aluminium, meaning homeowners have the opportunity to invest their saved money elsewhere if desired.
Albion Windows can provide any of our window styles at an extremely competitive price to anywhere in the UK whilst still ensuring that every customer receives highly reliable and welcoming family-run customer service every modern homeowner has come to expect.
Aesthetics
The type of home you currently reside in will most certainly impact your desired choice of replacement windows, with certain styles and options leaning more towards new build properties, such as bifold and tilt and turn, whilst older more traditional homes can easily enhance their aesthetic through the use of bow, bay, flush sash and sliding sash windows. Windows have a large contribution to your home’s overall sense of identity and aesthetic, so it’s important to get them right!
Those living in a traditional-style home possibly inspired by either the Victorian or Edwardian era should consider replacing their original timber box sash windows for modern alternatives, they will enhance comfort as well as maintain the established period charm. Sliding sash windows, flush sash, bay and bow windows all take inspiration from the past, capable of replicating a range of woodgrain style from natural Oak to vintage Rosewood.
If you’re a homeowner based in either an apartment or something a little more contemporary, almost any window style represents a great choice especially when engineered in aluminium. Aluminium windows are naturally strong and can therefore hold more glass. You’ll be able to enjoy increased views with slim frames when opting for an innovative bifold or tilt & turn window or even a simple casement.
Functionality
The last thing you should have to deal with when operating your replacement windows is hassle. Whilst the majority of windows still open outwards in the traditional manner, some operate uniquely for greater ease of use. Sash windows for example, effortlessly slide upwards in the way original timber box windows typically would.
Bifold windows offer a great deal of functionality and creativity for those that reside in a modern home. Their various folding ‘leaves’ fold behind each other when not in use, meaning that when closed and open they offer the maximum amount of light, whilst never taking up too much space. Tilt and turn windows also operate innovatively yet easily, offering homeowners adjustable light and ventilation levels.
Energy efficiency
Since October 2010, government legislation has stated that all replacement windows must achieve a U-value of 1.8W/m2k or lower. The U-value is the amount of heat transfer through a building material such as a door or window. It measures exactly how energy efficient your new window will be and can even help with heat retention and comfort.
Almost every window style can be manufactured to far exceed the required standards, with additional double, triple and secondary glazing techniques that all help to reduce your home’s energy usage. The Window Energy Rating (WER) tells you how energy-efficient your windows are, based on a scale of G to A+, with A+ windows being the most energy-efficient. Consider additional glazing techniques for your windows to achieve a higher rating.
Modern windows styles engineered from uPVC and aluminium already achieve some degree of energy efficiency thanks to their multi-chambered frames. Timber windows on the other hand are made up of a solid wooden core and as such are naturally insulating.
Albion-specific advantages
When opting for a new set of replacement windows from Albion Windows specifically, there are many advantages to ensure that your home improvement project is everything you could want and ask for.
With regards to windows specifically, we offer a bespoke window service in the hope of precisely manufacturing a window style that delivers in each of the areas important to you. Should you find yourself undecided between the vintage aesthetics of a sliding sash but like the idea of tilt and turn windows’ ease of use, we’ll try our best to appease.
We also offer our customers absolute peace of mind through FENSA company accreditation. As well as this, we are proud to provide a 10-year guarantee on all of our windows products in either uPVC, timber or aluminium.
