Large Office Building Window Replacement, Lewes, East Sussex

This project involved the replacement of 160 single glazed sash windows to a large office building.

The existing windows were life-expired and thermally inefficient. The building sat within a central conservation area and complicated further by the need to remain in use by over 200 staff for the duration of the works.

The brief was to replace the windows with high quality timber double glazed units of similar appearance and operation to the existing frames and to achieve this within a tight budget.

Due to financial constraints, it was not possible to source hardwood timber framed units within the available budget. Softwood framed units would fit within the financial constraints but would not offer sufficiently long redecoration cycles.

To overcome these challenges, the units specified made use an acetalized softwood with sprayed microporous paint coating. This combination delivered high quality softwood units which met the client’s brief within the restricted budget.

The project was delivered to the satisfaction of the client and with minimal disruption to the office staff. During removal of the windows, structural concerns became apparent to a number of lintels that necessitated their replacement. Replacing the lintels resulted in an overspend on the original budget; however, it was possible to keep the overspend amount to less than 10% of the contract sum.

Davis carried out this project when directly employed as a surveyor by a local authority.