Timber box sash windows are timeless and stylish. The have been a prominent feature of our architectural history for approximately three hundred years. Sash windows have subtle proportions and shout elegance. They were at one time one of the most important visual elements in buildings during the eighteenth and nineteenth century. They were especially popular during the Victorian period.
Why go bespoke for your wooden sash windows? Three reasons, the combination of traditional aesthetics and high technology, in the first and second instance… Aesthetics loosely translated is the formal study of art, especially in relation to the idea of beauty. The aesthetic movement began in a small way in the 1860’s in the studios and houses of a radical group of artists and designers. Over the next twenty years aestheticism grew, drawing in architects, craftworks, poets, critics and philosophers, to create a dedicated movement to pure beauty. Enjoying the warmth and security of modern windows, (high performance) yet retaining the elegance, style and traditional values from another age is a wonderful on going experience.
Windows add hugely to the face of the home, to its charm and character. And according to a survey by English Heritage, 82% of Estate Agents believe that original features such as sash windows tend to add financial value to properties and 78% believe they help to sell a property more quickly, http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/ If that isn’t enough to temp you into replacing your old windows with bespoke wooden windows, then think about the technology that goes into making your windows. For example, using CNC technology creates precision, truly bespoke windows requires precision. Using a computer that converts the design produced by computer aided design software, or (CAD), into numbers, which then control the coordinates of a graph, which controls the movement of the cutter, etcetera…Precision is what matters when you are looking for something that isn’t off the shelf.
The third reason why you would go for bespoke wooden sash windows is the wood itself. We have already spoken about the aesthetics of the product and to some degree the high performance. Wood is the only naturally renewable mainstream building material, and now thanks to strictly enforced laws, Europe’s forests are growing at a rate of around 661,000ha a year, which is the equivalent of three football pitches every hour of the day and night. http://www.ribaproductselector.com/.
It is also important to remember that forests are only second to oceans as the world’s most important carbon sinks, and that forests maximise the carbon sink effect. Carbon moves between the forest, atmosphere and oceans in a complex natural rhythm of daily seasonal/annual and multi-annual cycles. The overall amount in all three carbon stores together rarely increased in nature. This is called “active carbon”. When we use fossil fuels, (fossil carbon pool), this type of carbon does not go back into the active carbon pool, therefore disrupting a delicate balance. Three good reasons why to replace your old windows with bespoke wooden sash windows.
