A lot of the UK’s office and residential stock was built decades before EPC ratings existed, and windows are often where that shows first. Draughts, condensation, or glazing that lets heat pour in during summer and straight back out in winter. Replacing or upgrading glazing can transform a building’s energy performance, but it isn’t always straightforward, particularly on listed buildings where the exterior has to be preserved, high rise office blocks with limited access to external facings, or on live sites where hundreds of people are working inside while the job goes on around them.
Kimpton offers glazing replacement and upgrades as part of our wider construction and refurbishment service, so it’s managed by the same team and the same programme as everything else we’re doing on a building, rather than handed off to a separate contractor with its own schedule. That single point of contact matters most on the complicated jobs: assessing whether existing frames can be retained, managing hazardous materials safely, specifying glazing that solves the actual problem rather than a generic replacement, and sequencing the work so it causes as little disruption as possible.
Our construction team delivered exactly that on a listed 1970s office tower, where the original window frames have held up well but the silicone seals and glazing have failed after decades of coastal weather. Because the building is listed, every change has to preserve its original look, so we’re upgrading the glazing itself rather than replacing the frames. Before that could start, a licensed asbestos removal contractor removed the original putty that was asbestos-based. The new panels fitted are highly UV-rated to cut solar gain, smoothing out the extremes of heat and cold that occupants had been living with, and every window is being fitted outside working hours so the building can stay fully occupied throughout.
If you’re weighing up whether a building’s windows need replacing or just upgrading, especially on a listed or occupied site, we’d like to talk about it. Call the Kimpton team on 0151 343 1963 or email website@kimpton.co.uk.
Client: Home Office Site: Capital Building, Liverpool Value: £1.4m Project: Full office refurbishment Background The Home Office has a number of workspaces within
Client: Anstey Horne Location: Altrincham Project: Warrant House decarbonisation Value: £460k Background The Warrant House in Altrincham town centre is an 11,000
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