By working closely with conservation officers and architects, we have developed a range of products that accurately match the features of the original windows including a wide range of profiles, single glazing options (there are also narrow double glazed options), narrow frame and sash profiles and traditional glazing methods. There products maintain most of the performance features of our high performance traditional range including double draught seals for exceptional weather performance.

Our historic range has been designed specifically to meet the stringent planning requirements common for listed buildings and conservation areas. With a focus on achieving high performance, many of the compromises have been overcome, whilst accurately matching the original design details.

Due to the variation in window styles, listed building requirements and planning authority interpretation, we have created a very wide range of options to ensure that we can meet the optimal requirements for any project.

Historic Glazing Options

Due to the narrow sashes and sightlines commonly found on historic windows, the specification of a double glazed unit becomes more complicated and requires special gases to provide thermal insulation and advanced edge seals to space and seal the glass. We have chosen to offer the following glazing systems, based on our suppliers providing proven test data and being established glazing suppliers, to ensure that they meet our performance requirements and will achieve our guarantees (we advise you to be very cautious in considering glazing systems from unproven companies).

Single Glazing:

Available in a range of thicknesses, with toughening, security and acoustic laminates and solar control options available.

Historic Double Glazing:

Our standard narrow double glazed unit, using warm edge spacer bar and Krypton gas to provide good thermal insulation. Toughening, security and acoustic laminates and solar control options are also available on this product.

Pilkington Spacia (Vacuum Glass):

By creating a vacuum between the two panes of glass, this glass is the best performing and also the narrowest. The use of this glass allows most products to meet the thermal performance criteria outlined in the Building Regulations. In order to achieve a vacuum the glass uses micro spacers within the unit and has a plug in the corner (the point where the air is extracted). This has an aesthetic impact, but there are not visible from more than a few meters.

Histoglass:

This is a very well regarded narrow glazing solution that has been accepted by many planning departments and will often be accepted without the need to submit a sample, making the process quicker and simpler. The glass is similar to our Historic Double Glazing option, but uses an aluminium spacer with a wide range of colour options available. This glass is also available with different glass manufacturing processes including Hand Drawn, Machine Drawn and Cylinder glass allowing it to very accurately replicate the optics created from older glass.

Contact us for more information on our glazing systems.

The biggest misconception about wooden windows and doors is that they require continuous and expensive maintenance. This mainly relates to the paint coating. However, if timber doesn’t get wet it will never rot, therefore a timber window with its paint coating intact will last indefinitely.

A tree draws its moisture from the roots to the leaves, meaning moisture penetrates from the ends rather than the face. This moisture movement is through the outer rings known as sapwood. The inner rings, known as heartwood, provide the tree with its strength.

Traditionally windows were made from redwood heartwood with hardwood cills and painted with lead based paint. Particular attention was paid to the joints which were liberally coated with lead based primer prior to assembly. The paint had a tendency to crack, flake and peal which led to regular proper maintenance.

Our standard specification for windows is Redwood WoodHeart® with hardwood cills which gives a very good substrate for our paint coatings system.

Why will George Barnsdale wooden windows last for so long with such low maintenance?

We design all of our products to get the best performance from the coatings including the use of internal beading, bevels and rounded edges. We use the correct timber, usually Redwood WoodHeart® but we do have a choice of other very high performance timbers.

We control the humidity throughout the production process to stop the timber getting too dry and we seal all the concealed end grains during assembly using resorcinol formaldehyde.

We deluge apply a preservative and a pre-treatment and then a primer coat. This deluging process penetrates the timber allowing us to give a 30 year guarantee against decay and provide protection against moisture penetration and UV radiation. Before the spray coats are applied we seal all the exposed joints and end grains with special flexible sealers.

We then apply a spray mid-coat and a spray top-coat with a high film build. This is carried out by the country’s first fully robotic spray painting machine and gives a very accurate and consistent film build.

Due to the formulation of the paint and the attention we pay to its application it will not crack, flake or peal.

How long will the coating last before it requires attention?

There is no simple answer to this as it is dependent on many factors. However, from our experience, our windows will last for considerably more than ten years when painted with a light opaque coating with virtually no maintenance.

Factors that will affect this include:

• Where the window is situated in the building. If it is set back (as the Victorians did), if there is a big overhang above and if there are no extended cills (stone cilles as the Victorians did) it will last much longer.
• If the building is very exposed, e.g. by the sea, it will not last as long.
• If a dark colour has been used on the windows it will not last as long due to there being a much bigger variation in temperature.

What maintenance is required?

The coatings are designed not to crack, flake or peal but they will in time erode, particularly on the exposed surfaces such as extended cills. On opaque coatings, we apply a different colour mid coat to the top coat so that if this shows it will highlight the need for re-coating.

Re-coating is a very simple operation which requires no sanding or under-coating. Just simply wash the windows down and brush apply a single new coat of paint.

How can I extend the time between re-coating?

Our windows and doors come complete with a simple maintenance kit which consists of Mildew Stop Cleaner, a care set for windows or doors and a small tin of touch-up paint.

The following operations are simple to carry out and can be completed by a competent window cleaner:

• An annual thorough clean applying the liquid balm with a cloth (both supplied on delivery) to exposed areas will add extra protection and considerably extend the re-coating time.
• Check damp areas, particularly North facing elevations for mould growth and then use the Mildew Stop Cleaner spray to destroy any. All our coatings contain fungicides but mould can still occur in damp areas.
• Check that there has been no movement in the timber every year to identify any problems before they cause long term damage. This movement, which is very rare, would normally manifest itself on a joint, which is why we are so careful to seal the end grains in each joint and seal the external sections of the joints.

Our windows and doors last for years because we build them that way. We choose stable timber, use advanced coatings and develop designs that maximise the potential of these materials. The result is a highly engineered product that requires minimal maintenance to continue looking good, year after year.

Click paint system for more information on our unique 4 coat paint system.

These schemes ensure that the sources of the timber are well managed and sustainable. For timber to be certified it must originate from a forest that has been assessed against a number of social, economical and environmental criteria before being certified as meeting the requirements. It then has to demonstrate a Chain of Custody throughout the supply chain.

The FSC is an international, non-governmental organisation dedicated to promoting responsible management of the world’s forests. The FSC “tick-tree” logo is used on product labels to indicate whether products are certified under the FSC system.

The FSC runs a global forest certification system with two key components; Forest Management and Chain of Custody certification. This system allows consumers to identify, purchase and use timber and forest products produced from well-managed forests.

10 Reasons to Choose FSC Certified Products:

1. You can buy wood products, from all types of forest, with a clear conscience when you see the FSC logo. FSC certified forests are managed with consideration for people, wildlife and the environment.

2. The FSC label guarantees that the trees that are harvested are replaced or allowed to regenerate naturally.

3. Parts of the forest are protected entirely in order to protect rare animals and plants.

4. FSC protects the rights of indigenous people to use the forest. If they have sacred sites in the forest these are exempt from felling.

5. The forest owner must use local workers to run the forest, and provide training, safety equipment and a decent salary. The forest owner is often obliged to support the community in other ways, such as through the development of schools.

6. FSC is a market-based initiative which also ensures better conditions for the forest and the people whose livelihoods depend on it.

7. FSC gives an assurance that future generations will be able to enjoy the benefits of the forest.

8. All the wood is tracked from the forest to the store. Every link between the forest and the consumer is certified to make it clearly identifiable which wood is FSC certified and which is not.

9. FSC is the only wood certification scheme endorsed by the major environmental charities including WWF, Greenpeace and The Woodland Trust.

10. The FSC label is not only available on wood for furniture. It can also be found on floors, decking, paper, printed matter, charcoal, kitchen utensils, even venison.

The timber used in the manufacture of our windows and doors and all of the paper used to print our company and product brochures is FSC approved.

Click timber for more information on the timber types we use to manufacture our windows and doors.

Click certified timber to find out more about the PEFC and FSC certification schemes and to view our certificates.

Grand Designs Award Nominee - Chestnut, Barnes, West London

The architect designed the house as two separate two storey blocks linked by a glazed stair core and arranged around two sides of a sunken garden. Entering the house via the glazed stairwell commands the changes in level to the sunken garden with the upper levels wrapped in horizontal timber cladding. The sunken garden provides light to the lower levels at the rear.

Environmental credentials include high thermal insulation, rain water buffering and long service life, as well as providing a habitat for flora and fauna, earning the design a place in the finals of the Grand Designs Awards.

George Barnsdale manufactured the wooden windows and doors, include inward opening tilt and turn windows, flush casement windows, outward opening entrance doors and large sliding patio doors for the project.

The large openings required high performance products that gave excellent thermal insulation and weather resistance, matching the low carbon credentials of the building. For the exceptionally large door openings, George Barnsdale also supplied three lead sliding doors, each on their own tracks that could open back to leave the spacious openings visually free.

The windows and door frames were manufactured from Redwood WoodHeart® and the doors were manufactured from Red Grandis and all were finished in RAL 7003.

We manufacture our windows and doors from a range of timber including Red Grandis, a plantation grown, FSC approved, knot free, uniform hardwood timber.

We have used Red Grandis on a number of projects due to the aesthetics of the wood and its performance, stability and natural durability.

Red Grandis has been grown since 1969 in the 27,000 hectare Cofusa and Urufor plantation in north-east Uruguay. The company is FSC certified and has been since 2001, ensuring its proper use of forestry resources and the implementation of specific regulations, including the consideration of people, wildlife and the environment.

A programme of forestry improvements is carried out to cover proper soil preparation, fertilisation and weed control. Tree harvesting is completed all year round due to a 20 year growing cycle, the local soil condition, the climate and investment in road improvement. This ensures a good yield of large diameter logs with no natural defects.

As standard all of our door leaves are manufactured from Red Grandis. It can also be used to manufacture other products where a stable and durable hardwood is required. It is supplied as a three ply laminated material for extra stability and is available in long, clear lengths making it highly suitable for stain finishes where no finger joints are preferred.

In particular, we used Red Grandis for the manufacture of the doors that went into The Lancasters, one of the most exclusive residential developments in Central London. We decided to use Red Grandis as it is FSC certified and has received third party testing by TRADA Technology Ltd, where it achieved great results for natural durability and resistance to fungi, which is very positive for long term performance.

From an aesthetics point of view, we needed something that would look sympathetic to The Lancasters’ heritage. Red Grandis is a high quality, flawless, uniform timber that lends itself well to a variety of styles and shades and its consistent colour means wood stain can be applied to achieve the desired effect.

Red Grandis is easy to machine and shape and allows for a much sharper cut, all of which saves valuable production time and provides a much better finish overall – great for us and great for the customer.

Click timber for more information on the materials we use to manufacture our windows and doors.

Click FSC for information on our certified timber.

*Red Grandis plantation image supplied by Timbmet.

By choosing timber as the base material for your windows and doors, you minimise the impact of your property due to the natural insulation of timber and its carbon storage capacity. By choosing timber from sustainable, certified sources, you also remove the risk of the negative aspects seen in the timber industry over recent decades.

The production and disposal of PVC-u windows leads to the release of highly poisonous chemicals which threaten the environment and human health. PVC-u production involves no less than six of the fifteen most hazardous chemicals listed by European governments for priority elimination.

However, Timber is a sustainable resource. As long as the timber is sourced from properly managed forests and care is taken in the choice of preservatives, paints and stains timber windows are by far the best environmental choice.

At George Barnsdale all of our timber is sourced through the FSC and PEFC timber certification schemes. These schemes ensure that the sources of the timber are well managed and sustainable. We are fully certified with both schemes, allowing us to provide certification if required.

Developments in timber window design and finishing products mean that modern, high performance timber windows need minimal maintenance and potentially have a significantly longer life than PVC-u.

PVC-u windows do degrade, they are not maintenance-free as many believe and worst of all they cannot be repaired when necessary, unlike timber windows which can be repaired.

High performance, double-glazed, timber windows need not cost more than their PVC-u equivalents. The National Housing Federation and some local authorities have found PVC-u window frames to be more expensive in terms of initial capital cost and more expensive or equal to timber over the lifetime of the windows.

How long a window frame will last depends on many factors, so it is difficult to provide accurate figures but the National Housing Federation’s “Standards and Quality in Development” gives PVC-u window frames a life expectancy of 20-25 years and timber window frames 25-35 years. According to the Green Building Digest, “well designed and well maintained timber windows can and do last the lifetime of the building in which they are installed.”

At George Barnsdale we have optimised our designs over many years to maximise the natural potential of timber and starting with the UK’s first A-rated timber window, we now have the widest range of energy rated timber products in the country.

We have designed all of our products to last with little maintenance. The small amount of material and energy input required in the maintenance process and the fact that the windows can, with correct care, last for generations mean that the production inputs are recovered many times over.

Download our Long Term Care of Factory Finished Windows and Doorsets Guide.

The Lancasters, Hyde Park, London

It’s the work of specialist timber door and window maker George Barnsdale & Sons, whose products are still wholly designed and manufactured in the UK, and who were specified for the project for their ability to match the stringent requirements of planners, and the need for acoustic performance at this iconic Grade II listed building.

With a show apartment that’s styled by royalty, The Lancasters faces Hyde Park and is one of the longest and tallest of the stucco-fronted Victorian terraces in London and the sumptuous interiors that now lie behind are one of the most highly prized for big budget home buyers in the capital.

Behind the listed façade, the price list starts around £1m, rising to in excess of £30m for a four storey apartment with swimming pool and gym. Sales have remained strong since the launch, despite the financial difficulties that have afflicted international markets, boosted by a show apartment that was designed by Lord Linley. Just 19 of the 77 apartments remain for sale at the prestigious W1 address, which faces south over Hyde Park.

It’s a place where superlatives trip over each other. The French Renaissance style Terrace is 130m long with a 30m high façade and is believed to be the longest in Europe. Originally 15 very large, separate houses, it was converted to a hotel in the 1970s, when much of its interior period detail was lost. It has now been fully restored by developers Northacre and Minerva in a three-year £120m project.

George Barnsdale & Sons have been involved from the start, and were chosen for their mix of heritage and technology, which enabled them to meet planning requirements to recreate the sliding sash timber windows and balcony doors, without any compromise on technical performance.

Paul Howat of Northacre explained: “In the past we have tried sourcing windows from Eastern Europe but they simply didn’t match up to our quality standards. For The Lancasters, the team at Nilsson Architects started out afresh to find and specify a company that could satisfy the performance and aesthetic criteria, as well as handling the sheer volume involved.

“Barnsdales were able to offer us the design service we needed, and an excellent, prefinished product. There have been many problems in retaining the façade, but none have been due to the windows. The only snags have been where windows have been damaged by others on site.”

The total project for George Barnsdale has involved 800 windows, many of which are sliding sashes, 250 are balcony door sets which stand 3.2m high, and there are nearly 30 sets of huge sliding doors, at ground level. All were pre-finished before delivery to site in their in-house robotic paint plant, completed early this year and the first of its type in the UK, employing technology and techniques previously only seen in the automotive manufacturing sector.

All of the timber in the windows and doors is FSC-certified, with frames constructed from a Redwood WoodHeart® timber, which is X-ray selected as part of the quality assurance process. Door sashes are made from engineered Red Grandis, which has high durability and resistance to fungi.

Door and window hardware has been supplied by Roto. The balcony doors are hung with a system that includes concealed hinges and all-round locking from mushroom-headed compression adjustable security cams. The patio style doors use a Roto slide mechanism which uses gaskets to avoid any need for lifting before sliding, and incorporating a fully secure night vent.

Barnsdale managing director Stephen Wright said: “It’s been a fascinating and challenging project, although we were confident that we were well geared to match up to both the planning requirements and performance with our designs and systems, using high quality ironmongery that looks the part, whilst still delivering great performance.

“The property market may still be in the doldrums generally, but we are working with other major developers on other major prestige developments in the capital, which reinforces our reputation in this field.”

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To view Architecture, Design, Innovation blog coverage click here.

Everything we do has an impact on the environment. The activities we undertake and the products we use and consume all contribute to this.

By choosing timber as the base material for your windows and doors, you have already made a very positive decision in minimising the impact of your property due to the natural insulation of timber and its carbon storage capacity. By choosing timber from sustainable, certified sources, you also remove the risk of the negative aspects seen in the timber industry over recent decades.

At George Barnsdale we have all the benefits of using sustainably sourced engineered timber, but we have taken a holistic approach to sustainable window design and as a result provide a product that goes the extra step.

Sustaining Forests

Forests play a vital role in managing the levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. While the destruction of tropical rainforests upsets that delicate balance, the use of timber from sustainable sources helps restore it.

Trees absorb CO² from the atmosphere most efficiently while they are growing at a rate of 1 tonne per cubic metre of growth. For the same amount of growth, 0.7 tonnes of oxygen are released.

(Source: Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Management)

After they reach maturity, typically 80 to 100 years for a softwood tree, their CO² uptake slows and the trees become less efficient in carbon uptake. The debris on the forest floor also decays, releasing methane (one of the most powerful greenhouse gases) into the atmosphere. In a managed forest, mature trees are therefore harvested to make way for vigorous new trees. When trees are harvested, most of the stored carbon is transferred to wood products such as windows and doors. Planting new trees absorbs more CO² due to more vigorous growth of the new tree.

(Source: UK Forestry Commission / Wood for Good)

At George Barnsdale all of our timber is sourced through the FSC or PEFC timber certification schemes. These schemes ensure that the sources of the timber are well managed and sustainable. We are fully certified with both schemes, allowing us to provide certification if required.

Saving Energy through Good Design

Timber is a natural insulator and when coupled with high performance glass offers excellent insulation against heat loss from your home.

At George Barnsdale we have been optimising our designs over recent decades to maximise this natural potential and starting with the UK’s first A rated timber window, we now have the widest range of energy rated timber products in the country.

As well as excellent thermal performance, we have designed all of our products to last with little maintenance. The small amount of material and energy input required in the maintenance process and the fact that the windows can, with correct care, last for generations mean that the production inputs are recovered many times over.

Reducing Waste in Manufacture

Whilst lower than many other materials, the energy inputs into the manufacturing process are still significant and as such we have made factory efficiency a fundamental goal of our business. We recycle our waste products and closely monitor our energy consumption to reduce waste.

Currently on part of our site we use waste products to heat water providing hot air for our paint drying process and around the factory and this will soon be extended across the whole facility.

These brochures provide extensive information on the product features, design options, glazing options, timber & paint options and technical specifications as well as featured case studies.

Our full brochure range now includes:

Company Brochure

Pivot Windows Brochure – New

Patio Doorsets Brochure – New

Casement Windows Brochure

Sliding Sash Windows Brochure

Tilt & Turn Windows Brochure

Entrance Doors Brochure

If you would like to download or request a brochure click here.

It is a popular style with a wide range of colours ensuring that it will suit most properties. As the fittings are available across our product range it allows all products to tie in irrespective of the window type.

The new hardware will be specified as standard on all of our windows and doors from Monday 13^th June. It is available in black, gold, polished chrome, satin chrome and flint, with traditional ergonomic designs.