Rutland is a county of big views and small villages, and the two things pull in opposite directions when it comes to windows.
The views want glass. Most houses out here have a rear elevation looking at fields, or water, or a churchyard, and people want to see it. But the villages want restraint, because almost all of them sit in a conservation area and the building stock is old, stone and low.
We fit aluminium windows across Rutland, in Oakham, Uppingham, Ketton, Empingham, Edith Weston, Cottesmore, Whissendine, Langham, Greetham, Exton, Market Overton, Lyddington, Wing, Manton, Braunston, Barrowden and the Luffenhams. We’re based in Stamford, ten minutes from the county boundary. Ben has been fitting windows in this area for over 20 years.
Two situations, mainly.
Barn and outbuilding conversions: Rutland has a lot of them and they all have the same problem, which is a huge opening that was never designed to hold glass. Aluminium is the sensible answer because the frame does the structural work. You can span a cart entrance with one or two panes and a slim mullion instead of the grid of frames uPVC would need. The frames can also be made in non standard shapes, so arched heads and raking gables are possible without a special build cost that doubles the price.
Rear extensions on stone cottages: The front of the house stays as it is, often timber or a sympathetic uPVC, and the back gets a modern extension with proper glazing. Aluminium in a dark colour reads as a deliberate contemporary addition rather than a compromise. Conservation officers are generally more comfortable with a clear distinction between old and new than with a modern material pretending to be old.
Where aluminium makes less sense is a straight swap on a small cottage casement. The openings are small, the frame benefit is minimal and you’re paying a premium for it. On those we’d usually point you at uPVC windows in Rutland or at hardwood, and we’d tell you that at survey rather than after.
Rutland Water is the largest reservoir by surface area in England and it sits in the middle of the county. Open water means nothing slows the wind down. Properties in Edith Weston, Empingham, Whitwell, Hambleton, Normanton and Manton get weather off it that a house in a sheltered street simply doesn’t.
Windows are tested and classified for this. There’s a weathertightness standard that gives every window system a water tightness class and a wind resistance class, and the classes are not all the same. A system that performs fine in a town centre can let water track into the frame drainage on an exposed west facing elevation with driving rain behind it.
What this means in practice:
– On exposed elevations, ask what the system is rated to. Don’t accept “they’re all fine”, they aren’t.
– Bigger panes need more attention, not less. A large fixed light takes a lot of wind load and transfers it into the frame and the fixings.
– Drainage slots and gaskets matter more than the brochure photo. Water gets into every window frame, the difference is whether it gets back out.
– Fixings into ironstone need care. A lot of southern and eastern Rutland is built from ironstone, which is softer and more porous than the limestone around Stamford. Overtightened fixings will crumble the stone rather than grip it, and that shows up as movement two years later.
Aluminium handles exposure well because the frame doesn’t flex much. That’s the real argument for it out here, and it’s a better argument than the one about looks.
Rutland County Council is a unitary authority, so planning and conservation are handled in one place, which is simpler than in most counties. That’s the good news.
The less convenient part is how much of Rutland is protected. Most of the villages have their own conservation area, and the proportion of listed buildings is high for a county this size. Uppingham, Lyddington and the villages along the Welland valley are particularly tightly covered.
The rules work like this. A listed building needs listed building consent for window changes, inside and out, front and back. Aluminium is a difficult case on the front elevation of a listed cottage and a much easier one on a later extension or an outbuilding. In a conservation area on an unlisted house, replacement is often permitted development unless an Article 4 direction applies, in which case you need permission for changes that alter the appearance.
We check this before quoting. It takes one phone call and it stops the conversation going a long way down a road it can’t go down.
Flush casements, where the opener sits level with the frame. This is what we fit most in the villages because it’s the closest to a traditional casement.
Fixed lights and picture windows, which is where the slim frame really shows. A 2.5 metre pane with a 50mm frame around it looks very different to the same opening split into three.
Arched and shaped heads, for barn conversions and older openings.
Bay and corner windows, including structural corner posts where two panes meet with no visible frame on the corner.
Sliding and bifold doors in the same system and colour. Worth doing at the same time if it’s on the list, see aluminium doors.
Technical detail on the systems themselves is on the main aluminium windows page.
Powder coating is a dry polyester paint that’s baked onto the frame. It doesn’t peel like a wet paint finish and it doesn’t need repainting. Most systems carry a guarantee on the coating itself, usually around 25 years inland, and Rutland is about as inland as you can get; and Rultand water is a fresh water reservior so salt corrosion isn’t a factor here.
One thing worth knowing during the install. Limestone dust and fresh mortar are alkaline, and if they sit on a powder coated frame in the wet they can mark it. It’s avoidable, it just means the frames get protected and cleaned down properly rather than left until the end of the week. We mention it because it’s the most common finish complaint we see on aluminium jobs around here and it has nothing to do with the window itself.
Call 01780 669668 or get in touch. We’ll come out, measure properly, look at access, bring colour samples to hold against your walls, and give you a fixed price. If we think a different material suits your house better we’ll tell you. Every installation carries a 10 year guarantee.
Book a free consultation to discuss your needs. We’ll guide you through the range of windows and doors available to find the perfect fit for your property.Start by booking a callback with our expert team in the form below. We’ll call you back at a time that suits you to discuss your needs and answer your questions.
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