earlier in the season i made two raised beds 3ft x 6ft in our back garden, to help with our old bones and a couple of days ago a friend said did i have a use for an old double glazed window, yes you guessed it 6ft x 3ft so i snapped his hands off and for FREE so this afternoon i have sowed some lettuce, radishes, spring onions, french marigolds all cosy under our new double glazed raised beds .
all the best
Russ
Respect to all, be kind to all and you shall reap what you sow.
old tree man,
aka..... Russ
Well done Russ,
I have half a dozen polycarbonate sheets taken of a conservatory I replaced for glass for someone a couple of months back. Guess where those sheets are destined.
Your mentioning windows has reminded me of all the eco damage I have contributed to over the years.
I used to fit uPVC windows, and lots of it. looking back on it now I hate myself for being part of that industry. We ripped out perfectly good timber windows (stained glass leaded ones too) just so that the customer could have a draught free double glazed house with horrid uPVC frames. I will only work with wood now, even if I lose a job to someone else because the wood frames cost more than plastic. At the moment anyway!!!!
Inevitably the house did not have adequate ventilation after the installation and then sweated condensation so that damp patches formed on the walls. The uPVC frames will only last about 15 years before the hinges fail, the rubber draught stripping
will go brittle and come away and the windows generally look scruffy. And you can’t bring em back to life with a paint job.
Thanks for that info Dudley. I must admit I've been considering UPVC. I didn't realise that that was the case. I thought they would be better than wood
The condensation aspect is not relevant now as all replacement widows today have to conform to part L of building regulations anyway. This relates to providing adequate ventilation.
The other aspect is, and I am only going from memory here, but it takes something like 4 tonnes of oil to produce 1 tonne of uPVC.
With care timber windows will last indefinitely.
And I do think that any house that was built with timber windows and have had them replaced for plastic will be less desirable at resale in the future as more people become aware of the environmental impact that uPVC has.
Take the example of the two up two down Victorian. Everyone is now looking for the ones with original features. And they are as rare as rocking horse S—t, as they have all been ripped out.
Wood windows may cost more now and require some maintenance but you would feel better for it.
dudley wrote: The uPVC frames will only last about 15 years before the hinges fail, the rubber draught stripping
will go brittle and come away and the windows generally look scruffy. And you can’t bring em back to life with a paint job.
However Tcut works wonders and you end up with frames looking like new again (still less maintenance than paiting timber). However you can't get upvc frames here, and double glazing is as rare as hens teeth
and a couple of days ago a friend said did i have a use for an old double glazed window, yes you guessed it 6ft x 3ft so i snapped his hands off and for FREE so this afternoon i have sowed some lettuce, radishes, spring onions, french marigolds all cosy under our new double glazed raised beds 
