Window Specification Questions Checklist

Write down, opening by opening, why that window is being changed, whether that is draught, rot, condensation, noise, appearance or the way it operates.

Different reasons lead to different answers, and a supplier told only that the windows are old has nothing specific to respond to.

Note which rooms feel cold, stuffy, loud or bright, at what part of the day and in what weather, and which window each complaint sits next to.

Comfort complaints are the real substance of a window brief and are far more useful than a general wish for better windows.

Decide which matters more to you where appearance and performance pull against each other, and write that down rather than leaving it to be inferred.

Slimmer frames, better performance and lower upkeep pull in different directions, and somebody has to choose between them.

Record anything about the existing windows you would not want changed, such as the way they open, the arrangement of panes or how they sit in the wall.

Owners are usually clearer about what they would hate than about what they want, and that is a perfectly legitimate way to write a brief.

Separate the openings you intend to change from those you are keeping, and note whether the two will end up side by side on the same elevation.

How new and retained windows sit together is worth raising with a qualified professional before any part of the work is settled.

Record what the existing frames appear to be made of, how they have been finished and how they have fared at the most exposed elevation.

How the current frames have aged in this exact position is better evidence than any general statement about a material.

Ask what attention each material would need once installed, who would carry it out and what happens if that attention is left undone.

The upkeep a frame needs is a running commitment for the household, and it is rarely discussed while the choice is being made.

Ask how the depth and width of a frame differ between the options, and what that would do to the amount of glass left in the opening.

Frames vary in how much of an opening they take up, and the difference is very visible once the window is in the wall.

Ask how each option changes in appearance with age and weather, and whether a finish can be renewed later or simply has to be lived with.

Claims about how a material behaves over time vary considerably; ask the supplier to put in writing what they will stand behind.

Note whether a section, a part or a single unit could be replaced later, and ask what would happen if one window were damaged after the rest are in.

Anything that cannot be repaired has to be replaced, and that question is far easier to ask before an order than after a breakage.

Raise whether different treatments inside and outside are available, and what that would mean for appearance, upkeep and how the frame reads.

Owners often want one thing from the street and another from the room, and it is worth asking whether that is possible here.

Photograph each elevation straight on from as far back as you can get, so the windows can be seen in relation to one another rather than singly.

Windows read as a set, and a straight-on photograph is the only way anybody can judge what changing one of them would do.

Note where the existing frames divide the glass, whether that division repeats along the street and whether you want it kept.

The pattern of divisions is what people actually recognise about a window, and losing it alters an elevation more than any other choice.

Note which part of each existing window opens and where it sits within the frame, since that is often what makes a window look right or wrong.

Moving the opening part of a window changes the appearance from outside even when the overall shape is left unchanged.

Record roughly how far each frame sits back from the outside face of the wall, and whether that differs between the front and the rear.

How deeply a window sits in its reveal governs the shadow around it, and that is one of the first things lost in a replacement.

Decide whether the front and rear elevations are to be treated in the same way, and note the reasoning so it is not revisited endlessly.

Front and rear are often given different attention, which is reasonable when it is a deliberate choice and unfortunate when it happens by drift.

Confirm locally whether the appearance of the windows is subject to any controls at your property, before settling on anything you have seen elsewhere.

Whether window appearance may be changed is a matter to confirm with the relevant local authority, never something to assume.

Note what stands in front of each window inside, such as a worktop, a bath, a radiator, a sofa or a stair, and how far somebody has to lean.

Reach is the most common reason a window ends up never being opened, and it is entirely predictable before anything is ordered.

Record who actually uses each window, including anyone who finds a stiff handle difficult or who cannot comfortably reach a high opening.

Where ease of use matters for a particular person, discuss it with a qualified professional rather than assuming a usual arrangement suits.

Note any window that would open outwards over a path, a drive, a shared passage or a boundary, and how much room there actually is out there.

An outward opening light over a walked route is an obvious problem afterwards and an easy one to design around beforehand.

Ask how each window would be cleaned, particularly at upper levels, and whether that can be done from inside or needs somebody outside.

Cleaning is the part of window ownership nobody asks about, and it is settled permanently by the way the window opens.

Raise anything about restricting how far a window opens as a question, particularly where there are children or a drop below the opening.

Restricting devices and escape openings involve local requirements; ask a qualified professional what applies at each of your openings.

Record which windows are opened daily, which are opened rarely and which have not been opened in living memory.

A window that is never opened can be treated quite differently from one used constantly, but only if somebody knows which is which.

Note which elevation takes the wind and rain, and how you know, whether from wet sills, streaked glass or the state of the paint.

The exposed face of a building asks more of a window than any other, and it is the one that should lead the discussion.

Record where water sits on a sill or in a frame corner after rain, and photograph any soft timber, blown paint or open joint you can see.

The condition of a sill or the wall beneath it must be assessed by a qualified professional rather than judged from the surface.

Note anywhere the wind is noticeably stronger, such as a gap between buildings, an exposed corner or an open aspect with nothing in front of it.

Local wind conditions are obvious to whoever lives there and invisible to a visitor, so they are worth writing down deliberately.

Record where you feel draughts and whether they seem to come from the opening part, the frame edge, the sill or the wall around the opening.

A draught at the edge of a frame and a draught through the window itself lead to different work, and owners can often tell them apart.

Note where a window is sheltered by an overhang, a porch, a tree or a neighbouring building, since sheltered openings behave quite differently.

Shelter changes both what a window has to endure and how quickly it dries, which is relevant to the whole discussion.

Record how air currently gets in and out of each room, including opening habits, vents in the existing frames, extract fans and anything permanently open.

Existing ventilation is often accidental, and once the accidental routes are removed the change indoors can be considerable.

Note which windows stream, which get patches in a corner and which stay clear, and in what weather and at what part of the day it happens.

The pattern of condensation across a house is a genuinely useful record and it takes only a little attention to gather.

Ask what ventilation provision would be expected at these openings and who confirms it, rather than assuming existing arrangements can be repeated.

Ventilation provision is governed by local requirements; ask a qualified professional what applies at your property before ordering.

Decide whether a visible vent in or above the frame would trouble you, since it affects appearance and is difficult to change afterwards.

Owners are frequently surprised by a visible vent on delivery day, and by then it is part of the manufactured unit.

Note which rooms produce a lot of moisture, such as a kitchen, a bathroom, a utility area or a room where washing is dried indoors.

Where moisture is produced matters as much as where it appears, and the two are very often different rooms.

Raise what happens to any extract fan, cooker hood outlet or vent that passes through a window or through the wall immediately around it.

Anything serving an appliance or an extract route should be dealt with by a suitably qualified professional for that work.

Ask what handles, hinges, stays and fastenings are included as part of the offer and what would be treated as an addition to it.

Ironmongery is a common place for two offers to differ invisibly, and the difference only becomes apparent once the windows arrive.

Note whether the handles need to sit comfortably with door furniture or other windows in the same room, and photograph what is there now.

Mismatched furniture is a small thing that owners notice every day, and matching it is easy to raise before an order goes in.

Ask how any locking arrangement would be keyed, whether one key would work throughout and where the spares are meant to live.

Security arrangements should be discussed with a qualified professional and, where relevant, with your insurer before anything is fixed.

Record any window that has to be worked while holding something, such as over a sink or beside a cot, and mention each one specifically.

How a window is operated in practice never appears in a specification unless the owner is the one who puts it there.

Ask what happens if a handle, a hinge or a stay fails after installation, who supplies the replacement part and who fits it.

Moving parts fail long before frames do, and the arrangement for replacing them is worth settling while everybody is still talking.

Ask that each written offer states the frame material and finish, the way each window opens, the glass, the ironmongery and what is excluded.

Two offers that look different often describe different work, and the only way to see that is to ask both to state the same points.

Ask who takes the measurements, at what point that happens and what would occur if an opening turns out different once the old frame is out.

Responsibility for measurement should be established in writing with the supplier before anything is manufactured.

Confirm what falls outside the offer, such as making good, disposal of the old frames, blinds, curtain fixings or anything to the wall around the opening.

The excluded items are where the surprises live, and they are far easier to discuss before an order than to argue about afterwards.

Ask what can no longer be altered once manufacture begins, so you know which decisions are genuinely final and at what point they become so.

Windows are made to order, and owners regularly discover the point of no return only some while after passing it.

Record what paperwork you should receive on completion, what any warranty covers and who actually stands behind it.

A warranty on a made to order window may sit with the maker rather than the fitter; ask each of them what they are answerable for.

Keep your opening list, photographs and decisions together in one place and update them as things change, since this runs over many conversations.

Window projects generate a great many small decisions, and the ones that get lost are usually the ones that cause trouble later.