Sash Window Restoration Cost: UK Prices per Window

Sash window restoration prices per window

Checkatrade’s sash window restoration cost guide prices each job per window, from a sill splice to a full refurbishment.

Sash window job, per window	Low	High	Average
Sill splice	£120	£240	£180
Stiles or front cheeks repair	£120	£240	£180
Sill replacement	£160	£320	£240
Replacement sash	£270	£400	£335
Draught proofing	£248	£388	£318
Full refurbishment	£620	£920	£770

Sash window repair cost

The common problems are sticking, from paint build-up or warped wood, rot, draughts from worn seals and broken cords. Repairs start from around £120 per window, Checkatrade says, and minor repairs often take an hour or two, while more extensive repairs take several hours.

Checkatrade sorts the work into three levels. Minor repairs cover broken cords, loose putty, a sticking window and cracked glass, and intermediate repairs cover a rotten sill, a sill splice, damaged timber and filling rot. A full refurbishment is the third level, and can take in replacement sashes where needed.

Sash cord replacement cost

A new sash cord costs around £70 for an inner cord and around £80 for an outer cord, on Checkatrade’s figures, and replacing all four cords in one window costs around £150.

Sash window draught proofing cost

Draught proofing costs £248 to £388 per window, around £318, on Checkatrade’s figures. Brush seals go in the sash channels and around the meeting rail, and the job is often done with a refurbishment to save labour.

Sash window refurbishment cost

A full refurbishment costs £620 to £920 per window, around £770, Checkatrade says, and a single sash window is usually refurbished within one working day. The work may include repairing damaged timber, replacing the sash cords, repairing or replacing glazing, sanding and preparing the timber, draught proofing, decorating and repainting.

Double glazing and repainting sash windows

Double glazing fitted into existing sash frames typically costs £650 to £1,300 per window, on Checkatrade’s figures.

Repainting a sash window and its frame typically costs £200 to £500 per window, Checkatrade says, and most timber sash windows benefit from repainting every five to ten years.

Restoring or replacing a sash window

A new timber sash window costs from £1,450 installed, and more for bespoke or heritage units, while a new 500 x 1000mm uPVC sash window costs around £600 to £720 installed, on Checkatrade’s figures.

Replacement may be more practical where a window has extensive rot or structural damage, or the frame has structurally failed, Checkatrade says, though even significant rot can usually be cut out and repaired with fillers or splice sections.

Restoration is usually cheaper than replacement, according to Checkatrade, and it keeps the original timber, glazing bars and character, cuts draughts, improves energy efficiency with draught proofing or glazing, and creates less waste.

What changes the cost of restoring a sash window

The number of windows, their condition, the scope of the work and access all change the price, Checkatrade says, and upper-floor windows may need scaffolding. Prices are highest in London and the South East. A quote can only cover the faults the firm knows about, so describe each window and the work you want.

In a listed building or a conservation area there may be restrictions on materials and methods, and traditional repairs and specialist glazing can cost more, Checkatrade says.

Rules for replacing sash windows in Nottingham

Replacing windows and doors is among the jobs that need building regulations approval, GOV.UK says. Nottingham City Council says the regulations will probably apply to fittings such as replacement windows, and that the work must not make other fabric, services and fittings less compliant or dangerous than before. Its example is that replacement double glazing must not make compliance worse for means of escape.

Replacement windows do not need approval provided the work is carried out by a competent person, for example a FENSA window company, the council says.

In Nottingham, Article 4 Directions restrict changes to windows and doors on specific properties, mostly within conservation areas, in six areas: Devonshire Promenade, Foxhall Road, Sneinton, Strelley Village, Waterloo Promenade and Wellington Terrace. They remove the right to carry out certain permitted development, so planning permission is needed instead, and the council advises using its Minor Works Enquiry Service before doing work in those areas.

You need to apply for listed building consent for most building work, internal and external, to a listed building, Nottingham City Council says, and its My Property tool shows whether a property is listed or in a conservation area. For a listed building, find out what consent the window work needs before it starts.

Before you ask for sash window quotes

Checkatrade’s advice is to work out what each window needs before you get quotes, then compare the quotes and check what each includes.

Many specialists reduce the price per window when they work on several windows in one visit, Checkatrade says, so ask for a price per window and for the whole job when you compare quotes from carpenters and joiners.

Sash window makers in Nottingham

Checkatrade lists window frames among the pieces a joiner makes in a workshop with specialised equipment.

Among the Nottingham carpenters and joiners we compare, Boam Joinery in Langley Mill makes sliding sash, Georgian, cottage-style, Yorkshire sliding sash and storm proof timber windows, and has experience working in conservation areas. Bespoke Joinery Nottingham in Colwick makes bespoke wooden windows, including sash windows, in its Nottingham workshop.