Aluminium windows in Steyning, for the houses built after the war
Most of Steyning's homes are not in the old town. They are the twentieth-century houses and bungalows that spread out along the roads towards Bramber, Washington and the Downs.
The council's appraisal names Coxham Lane, Shooting Field and Bramber Road among the later growth around the old centre. Across the river and in Bramber's Maudlyn area, the bulk of the housing is detached houses and bungalows from the last quarter of the twentieth century. These houses have no period pattern to copy. What they usually have is tired white uPVC or stained softwood from the 1970s and 1980s, with wide frames that eat into the glass.
Why aluminium here
Slim frames, so more glass in the same opening. On a house facing the Downs that is the point.
A painted finish that does not yellow, in anthracite, grey, black or a soft green, with a different colour inside if you want white.
Strong enough for wide openings and French or sliding doors to the garden.
When not to use it
We would not put modern aluminium casements on a flint cottage in the conservation area, or on a listed house. For those, see flush casements and timber. Aluminium flush casements, which close level with the frame, can work on some cottages, but ask the surveyor to show you a sample first.
Is planning needed?
For a house outside the conservation area and not listed, replacing windows is normally permitted development as long as the appearance is broadly similar. Changing colour, or turning a window into a door, can be different, so describe what you want in your enquiry. If you are in a flat, check first: flats do not have the same permitted development rights as houses.
Illustrative example of a typical job of this kind
Eight aluminium casements and French doors on a 1970s detached house
A 1970s detached house on the outer edge of Steyning, of the kind built along roads such as Coxham Lane and Bramber Road as the town grew. Brick and tile-hung, with tired original frames.
Eight slimline aluminium casements across both floors
One pair of aluminium French doors, about 1500 by 2100 mm, to the garden
Anthracite outside, white inside
Typically £14,350 to £26,450, supplied and fitted, including VAT.
The whole-house job is where aluminium makes most sense: every frame matches and the slim sightlines open the house to the garden and the Downs.
