Timber windows are the original UK window frame, and they remain the only option for many period homes and conservation-area properties. Fitted costs run £900 to £2,000 per window in 2026, roughly 60 to 110% more than an equivalent uPVC frame. The payoff is authentic looks, a long service life of 30 to 60 years, and compliance with planning rules that uPVC simply cannot satisfy. Use the timber window calculator to price your own project, or read on for the full picture.
What are timber windows?
Timber windows use a solid or engineered wood frame, most commonly Scots pine, European oak, or accoya (acetylated softwood), combined with a sealed double-glazed unit. The frame is finished with microporous paint or exterior wood stain, both of which allow the timber to breathe and shed moisture rather than trapping it inside the frame.
The two most common styles in older British housing are the casement, which opens on a side or top hinge, and the sash, which slides vertically in a box frame. Sash windows are strongly associated with Georgian and Victorian architecture and are the style most commonly required by conservation officers. If you are weighing a sliding sash specifically, the sash windows guide covers the mechanism, costs and planning considerations in detail.
Modern engineered timber, which bonds layers of kiln-dried wood under pressure, is considerably more stable than old-growth solid timber. It resists warping and shrinkage far better, which matters for keeping draught seals tight over the window's life. When a supplier specifies engineered rather than solid timber, that is generally a positive difference, not a compromise.
Timber window costs in 2026
Style is the biggest variable after material. A fixed picture window has no mechanism, so it is cheapest. A heritage box-sash has a complex counterweight or spring-balance system inside a deep box frame, so it sits at the top of the range. All figures below are supply and fit, including removal of the old window, sealing, and a FENSA or equivalent building-regulations certificate.
| Window style | Timber fitted |
|---|---|
| Casement | £760–£1,900 |
| Sash | £1,330–£2,850 |
| Tilt and turn | £950–£2,280 |
| Bay (per bay) | £2,090–£5,700 |
| Picture (fixed) | £420–£840 |
Source: DGCC 2026 dataset (timber fitted ranges), cross-checked against Checkatrade.
The sash is marked as the classic heritage choice: a timber heritage sash at around £1,950 fitted is beautiful and authentic, with a 60-year service life if maintained, but it is only worth that outlay for period or conservation-area homes where the character of the building genuinely demands it. To compare timber against uPVC and aluminium side by side, the uPVC versus timber comparison sets out cost and performance differences in full.
Timber is not cheap and it is not low effort, and I always tell clients that upfront. But for a Georgian terrace or a house in a conservation area, there is genuinely nothing else that looks right. You put a chunky uPVC frame in a Victorian bay window and everyone on the street can see the problem. Get the right material for the building.
Tom Bradley, FENSA-registered installer
Lifespan and maintenance
A timber window installed and maintained correctly will last 30 to 60 years. That compares well with uPVC at around 20 to 35 years and aluminium at 30 to 45 years, though the comparison only holds if you do the maintenance. The critical task is repainting or re-staining every 8 to 10 years. Once a finish fails and bare timber is exposed to the British climate, moisture ingress can cause rot within a single wet winter.
Between full repaint cycles, a short annual inspection keeps problems small. Check the glazing putty and silicone seals around each pane: any gap, crack or lifting putty should be filled and touched up immediately, before a winter pushes damp behind it. The bottom rail and sill are the areas that collect the most water and tend to show problems first when a finish has failed. Spend five minutes on those each autumn and you will avoid the much larger cost of frame repairs.
Hardware, hinges and sash cords or spring balances benefit from the same annual check. A sash that sticks or binds on its runners is often simply dry: a silicone spray on the tracks takes thirty seconds and prevents years of unnecessary wear on the frame and mechanism. Properly maintained timber frames, particularly in oak or accoya, can outlast the rest of the house.
Conservation areas and listed buildings
This is the single most important practical point in this guide: if your home is in a conservation area or is a listed building, check your planning rules before you order any window. Swapping timber for uPVC without consent in a conservation area is a planning breach. Many homeowners discover this after spending money on frames that have to come back out again.
Conservation area designations protect the visual character of a street or neighbourhood. The planning officer's concern is usually the profile of the frames, the width of the sightlines, and the way the window reads at street level. uPVC, with its thick hollow sections and visible chamfered edges, rarely passes in older streetscapes. Slim-section aluminium sometimes does, but timber is the safest and most commonly approved material. The aluminium versus timber comparison covers planning acceptability for homeowners weighing the two options.
Listed buildings impose stricter rules still. A Grade II listing typically requires like-for-like replacement in the original material and, often, the original profile. Permitted development rights that allow window replacement without a planning application do not apply to listed buildings. Always obtain written confirmation from your local planning authority before work starts. Verbal advice from a council officer is not a substitute for a formal consent, and the cost of removing non-compliant frames falls on the homeowner.
If you are in a conservation area but not in a listed building, you may have more flexibility than you expect, particularly at the rear of the property. Your local planning authority will have a character appraisal document that sets out exactly what is and is not permitted. It is publicly available and worth reading before you pay for a survey.
Timber compared with uPVC and aluminium
For most modern homes, uPVC is the value baseline. It costs £400 to £1,000 fitted per window, needs virtually no maintenance, and delivers strong thermal performance. Aluminium runs roughly 30 to 40% more than uPVC, offering slimmer sightlines and a longer service life in exchange. Timber costs roughly 60 to 110% more than uPVC and demands regular upkeep, but offers something neither plastic nor metal can: natural warmth, period authenticity and planning compliance in areas where other materials are not permitted.
If your home is a 1990s brick semi or a new build, timber is almost certainly the wrong choice. uPVC will do the same job for half the money with a fraction of the maintenance. If your home is a pre-war terrace in a conservation area, timber may be the only permitted material. The uPVC windows guide and the aluminium windows guide both cover those materials in equivalent depth if you want to compare before deciding.
The verdict on timber windows
It depends Timber windows are worth the premium mainly for period homes and conservation-area properties where uPVC is either not permitted or would look wrong against the character of the building. For those homes, timber is the right choice: authentic in character, compliant with planning rules, and capable of a 30 to 60 year service life if you keep to the maintenance schedule. The best-buy pick in timber is the heritage sash at around £1,950 fitted: beautiful, authentic and long-lived, but only justified where the house genuinely calls for it.
For modern homes without planning constraints, uPVC delivers equivalent thermal performance for considerably less money and effort, and aluminium offers a premium alternative with slim frames and minimal upkeep. Before committing either way, run your window count through the timber window calculator to get a fitted cost range. If you are still weighing materials, the uPVC versus timber and aluminium versus timber comparisons lay out the costs and trade-offs side by side. The guides hub covers every other material and style in the same depth.
I have fitted all three materials over twenty years and the honest answer is that each one is right for a different house. Timber on a Victorian terrace, aluminium on a contemporary extension, uPVC on a standard post-war semi. The mistake people make is choosing on price alone without thinking about what the building actually needs. Get that part right and the rest follows.
Tom Bradley, FENSA-registered installer
Frequently asked questions
A fitted timber window costs £900 to £2,000 in 2026, depending on style and size. Sash windows sit at the top of the range at £1,330 to £2,850 fitted, while a fixed picture window can come in as low as £420 to £840. Timber runs roughly 60 to 110% more than the equivalent uPVC window.
A well-maintained timber window will last 30 to 60 years. The key word is maintained: timber needs repainting or re-staining every 8 to 10 years to keep moisture out. Neglect that cycle and the frames can rot well before their time. Keep on top of the maintenance schedule and timber will outlast most other frame materials.
More than uPVC or aluminium, yes. Expect to repaint or re-stain every 8 to 10 years. Between coats, check the glazing putty and silicone seals annually and touch up any bare timber immediately. The work is not extensive but it is regular, and skipping it is how timber frames fail prematurely.
Often not without planning permission, and in many cases permission will be refused. Conservation areas frequently require timber or slim-section aluminium to preserve the character of the street. Listed buildings almost always require like-for-like replacement in timber. Check with your local planning authority before ordering any replacement window.
Modern double-glazed timber windows can match or come close to uPVC for thermal performance. Both materials can meet the Part L U-value requirement of 1.4 W/m²K or lower. The bigger difference is maintenance: a poorly maintained timber frame with failed seals will perform much worse than a well-maintained uPVC equivalent.
A fixed picture window in timber is cheapest at £420 to £840 fitted, because there is no opening mechanism. A casement is the next most affordable at £760 to £1,900. Sash windows are the most expensive style in timber at £1,330 to £2,850, reflecting the more complex box-sash or spring-balanced mechanism.