uPVC & Replacement Windows in Nottingham

uPVC Window Styles

• Casement. Panes hinged at the side or top, the familiar style on most houses.
• Flush casement. The opening pane sits level with the frame, closer to a traditional timber window.
• Tilt-and-turn. Tips inwards for air, or swings fully open so the outside can be cleaned from indoors.
• Bay and bow. Replacing an existing bay is a window job. A new bay counts as an extension for planning.

On a house, new windows that look similar to the old ones usually need no planning permission. A new upper-floor side window must be obscure-glazed, with any opening part more than 1.7 m above the floor. Different rules cover flats and maisonettes and listed buildings.

Energy Ratings and U-Values

A replacement window must meet a thermal minimum: a U-value of 1.4 W/m²K, or a Window Energy Rating of band B. The U-value measures heat lost through the whole window, frame and glass together, so lower is better.

An A-rated window is a possible upgrade, not a legal requirement. Ask for a quote that states the U-value or band of the exact window on offer.

Triple glazing isn't needed to meet the standard, and the third pane adds weight the hinges and frame must carry. Compare the U-values of both options, not the pane count.

Certificates and Building Regs

Replacing a whole window, frame included, has been building-regulations work since 1 April 2002: the window is a controlled fitting. Six government-authorised schemes let installers who belong to them certify their own work: Assure, Blue Flame, CERTASS, Certsure, FENSA and NAPIT.

The installer must give you a certificate and notify the council within 30 days of finishing, so ask before you sign which scheme will certify it. Without a scheme, the work goes through council building control; unapproved windows can get a regularisation certificate afterwards.

GOV.UK warns that without approval "you will not have the certificates of compliance you may need when you want to sell your home". Keep yours with the house papers.

This is general information, not advice. Confirm your own job with the installer or building control.

Window Repairs

Plenty of tired windows don't need replacing:

• Misted units. Moisture between the panes means the unit's seal has failed.
• Perished seals. Draughts and rattles from worn gaskets.
• Dropped hinges. A pane that scrapes the frame as it closes.
• Handles and locks. Stiff handles, or locking gear that no longer engages.

Replacing only the sealed unit in its existing frame is not a controlled fitting, so no certificate is involved. A whole new window always is, so check which your quote covers.

Repair first where it makes sense. Warped or split frames, locks that can't be matched, and windows far below today's energy standard usually point to replacement. Our cost guide asks the question directly: is it worth replacing your old double glazing?

Fire Escape Windows

Habitable rooms other than kitchens need a way out in a fire. Downstairs that can be a door onto a hall leading to an exit. On upper floors up to 4.5 m above ground, in a house with one stair and no protected stairway, it usually means an escape window, which needs:

• an unobstructed openable area of at least 0.33 m²
• an opening at least 450 mm high and 450 mm wide
• the bottom of the opening no more than 1,100 mm above the floor
• the ability to stay open without being held

A replacement must give at least the same potential for escape as the window it replaces. A different split between fixed and opening panes can shrink the clear opening, so ask for each upstairs bedroom's opening size in writing.

Landlords should raise escape windows at quote stage; tenants should report a faulty window to their landlord. For a converted loft room, ask building control how the rules apply first.

Trickle Vents

Trickle vents are small slots in the frame that let air in while the window is shut. Under Approved Document F, if your old windows had them, the new ones need vents no smaller, and controllable. If they had none, ventilation must be no worse than before: trickle vents are the usual way to show that, not the only one.

What Changes the Price of uPVC Replacement Windows

Number and size. More windows spread the survey and set-up.

Style. Flush casements, tilt-and-turn and bays cost more than a plain casement.

Finish. Coloured and timber-effect foils cost more than white.

Glass. Triple, obscure and safety glass each change the unit.

Access. Upper floors, bays, and making good around old frames.

Our guide to double glazing costs sets out typical UK figures.

How It Works

1. Tell us how many windows need work and your postcode. 2. Nottingham Double Glazing passes your enquiry to an independent local installer, and may be paid for the introduction. 3. The installer surveys and quotes you direct, with no obligation.

We don't fit windows, and we don't inspect, approve or check the installer. Here's how to choose an installer yourself. Enquiries outside working hours get a call back the next working day.

Our scope. We pass on replacement windows and window repairs. We don't take glazier jobs such as glass cut to size, boarding up, vehicle glass, supply only or DIY fitting.

Replacing Nottingham's First-Generation uPVC

Across Nottingham's estates and suburbs, many houses still have their first uPVC windows, now at the age when seals give up and hinges wear. Older streets need more care. Nottingham City has 33 conservation areas, and the council's 2025 window guidance asks for like-for-like replacement of original windows. It lists timber-effect uPVC alongside hardwood and softwood timber, so where planning control applies, a plastic window has to look like timber. For listed buildings, the council accepts only timber in place of existing timber. See conservation areas.

Related Services

In a period house, compare sash windows with secondary glazing. Changing the front door too? See composite doors. For slimmer frames, look at aluminium windows.

Areas We Cover

Clifton, Bulwell, Arnold, Carlton, Beeston, Hucknall and the rest of Nottingham and the towns around it. see all service areas