Secondary Glazing
Quiet. Warm. Original.
The answer for listed homes and conservation areas where the original windows must stay — but the cold air and the street noise should not.
What secondary glazing does.
A second pane sits inside the existing window, set back from the original by 100–200mm and held in a slim frame. The air gap between the panes is what does the work: it kills the draught, cuts the street noise by a noticeable margin, and slows the heat moving outward. The original window stays exactly as it is — same glass, same furniture, same paint. From outside, you can't see secondary glazing at all. From inside, it reads as a clean inner frame.
Where it works.
Listed buildings, where the original windows are protected and a replacement application would not be granted. Properties inside a conservation area where the conservation officer has indicated that the original sashes need to stay. Homeowners on a main road who want the sound of the lorries to stop being part of the living room. Anyone who wants the thermal performance of a modern window without losing the original glass — which on a Victorian or Edwardian house is part of the character, even when it's distorted by age.
Where it doesn't.
If your original windows are beyond overhaul — rotten frames, broken cords no-one fixed for forty years, paint sealed shut — secondary glazing dresses up a problem you haven't solved. In that case full replacement with timber-effect uPVC sashes to the original profile is the better answer. We'll say so on the home visit.
Book a home visit.
Book a home visit and we'll talk through your project at your house — no call centre, no hard sell. You'll get an itemised written quote, and every completed installation is backed by our ten-year written guarantee.