Hi guys, sorry for the tardy response, Ive had quite a lot to contend with to say the least (boilers, heat pumps, sparkies, plumbers, builders etc.) Ive decided to take the chimney breast down completely and have a freestanding woodburner between the 2 windows. Heres a bit of video to give you an idea (I can upload a better video if you like). https://www.dropbox.com/s/9wwtaa4o8m5d0nx/MAH01333.mp4?dl=0 The reason I want to take out the chimney breast is becuase it does actually create a dark patch - maybe you can see in the video. I like the idea of increasing the depth of the window tom come down to window seat height. I want to sit down in that room and be able to look out (at the moment you can only see out if you stand in front of the window, and even then - becuase of its height - you can really only see sky). Once thought would be to just have each window as being a large plane of glass with no bars - but maybe that would look a bit too modern? I dont want to obscure any of the view/light with horizontal/vertical bars - but having said that - I want to keep that 'cottagey' feel. What do you think?

I've just had timber double glazed sashes put in. They don't open as fully as original victorian ones, which open from the top, the bottom or both. I had to choose either top opening or bottom opening. I chose bottom, which is apparently unusual but my windows are huge, over 6' high, and i wanted to be able to access the opening. they came with brass stops fitted which unless you unscrew them prevent the window opening more than a couple of inches. I get this for security but it's a bit of a faff if you just want to fling open windows to air a room. The other thing I had to choose was the split of top to bottom, on terms of the size of the panes. to do this I looked for original windows on my street to copy. because I couldn't find any I accepted 60/40 split. Then once it was too late found some originals, which were 50/50. it doesn't really matter because 99% of houses on my street have upvc anyway and they're all different but I wish I'd gone with my instinct to have 50/50. my only other advice is to go with a local timber window specialist with a good website and no hard sell tactics. And once they've sent you their written quote, challenge it. There's always room for negotiation. I just emailed back and asked 'is that the very best you can do?' . The quote was immediately reduced from 12k to 9.5k. Blackthorn Timber Windows BTW, if you are in the North East or thereabouts.

Excellent. Thanks for the visual. Always helps as builders are only at the foundation stage at the moment! 28m3 of concrete pumped on the site last week as our house built on higher ground so extension has to match ground level and we're adding a first level extension too. A long way to go but take each day at a time. No more projects for you then?!

Good morning, if you're still investigating the right way to move forward with your windows then let our surveyors help. They will give you expert advice and guidance to help you choose the right repair/replacement option. Call us on 0800 378 278 or email info@ventrolla.co.uk and our South East office will be delighted to help or visit www.ventrolla.co.uk At Ventrolla, we have over 35 years' experience repairing, replacing and draught-proofing timber sash windows and our customers love us. https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.ventrolla.co.uk?utm_medium=trustbox&utm_source=Slider