1920's Heritage Home Timber Retrofit

The new owner of this cute 1920’s railway cottage found her gorgeous home was proving to be too cold, damp, and draughty for the long hours spent in the home office.  It was time to look at Timber Retrofit Double Glazing so Rosie contacted our Wellington RetroGlaze Partners, Wellington Glass and Mirror, to transform her home.

Being one of a number of heritage homes on its street, keeping the beautiful timber character was a must.

As with most traditional homes in New Zealand, Rosie’s cottage had thin single glazing installed, resulting in a cold home with chilling draughts and condensation during those colder months.

External noise was also a problem. Single glazing, and air gaps in the timber frames, did little to prevent noise from entering the home.

With a strong emphasis on preserving the home’s natural character, the project aimed to provide a modern solution by upgrading to double glazing whilst retaining the existing timber frames to maintain the cottage’s heritage appeal.

The Project

The project involved retrofitting and refurbishing all timber windows and doors in the home (19 units).

• All single glass removed and recycled.
• All rooms upgraded to SuperTherm Warm™ Low-E double glazing to provide a more regulated temperature all year around.
• Replacement of all weights, ropes, fitch catches and latches on all double hung windows.
• Colonial bars recreated like for like.
• French doors re-hung with new stainless steel hinges.
• Met the customer in the Wellington Glass and Mirror office to talk through supplying their own hardware for the doors and resolving any technical questions.
• Install customer supplied hardware for all French doors.
• Opening windows in the bathroom were changed from hinges to high performing friction stays.
• Custom draught seal for all opening windows.
• New hardware supplied and installed for all opening windows in Satin Chrome.
• All putty replaced with high quality timber beads.
• Topcoat applied to all sashes and colonial bars as requested by customer as they struggled to find a suitable local painter to carry out the job within their time scale.
• Microchipped Cat Door supplied and installed into the back French door.

"Chris was a great project manager who ensured the quality was delivered and was responsive to feedback and Lei was really friendly and good at coaching his team." Rosie McCarthy - Ngaio, Wellington.

The Double Glazing

The entire cottage was double-glazed with SuperTherm Warm™ Low-E glass with Argon Gas fill, reducing cold and damp throughout the home.

SuperTherm™ Low-E offers high clarity, minimal haze, and doesn’t have the purple hue found in similar Low-E products.

SuperTherm Warm™ Low-E double glazing maximises solar energy in the form of daylight and warmth. It also prevents heat energy produced inside the cottage from escaping.

"Overall, really happy, it looks perfectly keeping in character, and they came back to ensure the final work was up to standard." Rosie McCarthy - Ngaio, Wellington.

Challenges

One of the key challenges encountered during the project was preserving the cottage’s heritage aesthetic. This was in part achieved by recreating the colonial bars to retain the home’s character and street appeal.

Additionally, the client’s requirement for a reliable and timely completion meant Wellington Glass & Mirror worked around Rosie's work-from-home schedule and video work requirements when on-site.

Final Reflections

“We used Wellington Glass & Mirror to double glaze our 1920s cottage including sash windows and 3 French doors.”

“Chris was a great project manager who ensured the quality was delivered and was responsive to feedback, and Lei was really friendly and good at coaching his team.”

“Overall, really happy, it looks perfectly keeping in character, and they came back to ensure the final work was up to standard.”

By successfully retrofitting Rosie’s 1920s Heritage Timber Cottage with double glazing, RetroGlaze Partner Wellington Glass & Mirror demonstrated their expertise in balancing modern solutions with the preservation of historical aesthetics.

Full case study can be found by clicking here...