Window and Door Questions from Birmingham Homeowners

Straight answers to what people ask before replacing windows or doors in Birmingham. Anything on planning, estate schemes, building regulations, grants or consumer rights is general information, not advice, so check with the council, the estate office or your installer before you commit.

Costs and Grants

How much should I pay for double glazing? The job decides the price more than the installer does. How many windows there are, their size and style, the frame material, the glass, access and any consent work all move the figure. Ask at least three installers to quote for the same specification, then compare line by line. Our price guides give typical UK figures: see our guides to double glazing costs, door costs and conservatory costs.

Is there a grant for double glazing in Birmingham? Not a standalone one. The Warm Homes: Local Grant can fund glazing in principle, but each council chooses its own measures, and Birmingham's version runs only in six priority areas, none of them among the places we cover, with insulation, heating and solar on its list rather than windows and doors. ECO4 runs until 31 December 2026, and the energy companies decide which projects they fund. Double glazing is also standard-rated for VAT. Our guide to double glazing grants covers each scheme.

Is "Help to Buy" windows a government scheme? No. Help to Buy was a government equity loan for buying a new-build home, and it closed to new applications in England on 31 October 2022; no government Help to Buy scheme covers windows or doors. A firm using the name is a private business, so ask who is paying for any "grant" before you sign, and read Help to Buy windows.

Planning and Estate Rules

Is planning permission needed to swap my windows? On a house, windows and doors of similar appearance to the old ones usually count as permitted development. A new bay counts as an extension, and new upper-floor side windows must be obscure-glazed with no opening part below 1.7 m. A flat or maisonette has none of the householder permitted-development rights, so check with the council if the new windows will look different. Listed buildings always need listed building consent. Our planning permission guide has the detail.

Do I need the Calthorpe Estate's or Bournville Village Trust's permission? If your home is within either scheme, yes, as well as any planning permission. The Calthorpe Estate covers a large part of Edgbaston and small areas of Harborne and Quinton; its consent is needed from freeholders and leaseholders alike. It says it has no objection to high-quality uPVC, but wants timber on houses with special or unique design features. Bournville Village Trust approves external alterations even where planning treats them as permitted development. In the Bournville Village Conservation Area, its design guide says uPVC is "not permitted to the front and side elevations"; elsewhere it is considered. Check the Trust's own map, and get the estate's consent before you order, because made-to-measure windows usually can't be cancelled. See estate schemes.

What is an Article 4 direction, and could one cover my street? It removes the usual freedom to replace windows without planning permission. Birmingham City Council says that under one, "even minor residential alterations, for example … replacing windows … will require planning permission". Of the city's 29 conservation areas, the householder directions cover certain places, including the Moor Pool Estate in Harborne, Bournville Village, named streets in Moseley, part of Edgbaston, part of High Street, Sutton Coldfield, and Selly Park. Sandwell, Walsall and Dudley councils each have directions on some properties; Solihull residents should check with Solihull Council. Ask your council whether your street is covered before ordering. See conservation areas.

Certificates and Your Rights

How do I get a FENSA certificate, and what if I've lost mine? When an installer registered with a government-authorised scheme replaces a whole window or door, the scheme sends a certificate to the occupier and notifies the council within 30 days. FENSA certificates usually arrive within about 15 days. A lost one can be replaced for £30, though FENSA can't register work more than two years old. Replacing only the glass in an existing frame is not building-regulations work. If no scheme was used, the job needed building control approval.

Can I cancel a made-to-measure window order? Often not. Made-to-measure windows are usually exempt from the 14-day right to cancel, even when you sign at home. Standard products and the fitting itself may still be cancellable, and some installers offer a voluntary cooling-off period, so ask before you sign and decide before you sign.

How much deposit should I pay? Citizens Advice suggests no more than 25%, asking whether the deposit is insured and paying in stages on a larger job. Don't assume a certification scheme protects your deposit; ask your installer how it is held.

Am I protected if I pay by credit card? If a single item costs more than £100 and up to £30,000 and you pay by credit card or through finance arranged by the installer, section 75 can make the lender jointly responsible if things go wrong. Debit card payments don't carry that right, though your bank may be able to help through chargeback.

Getting a Quote

How do I get a quote? Ring 0121 368 1894 or fill in the quote form with the job, your postcode and whether the house is listed, a flat or on an estate scheme. We'll arrange a free survey with a local installer at a time you agree, and you'll get a written quote. You're under no obligation to accept it, and how to choose an installer lists the checks worth making first.

Are you connected to other window companies with a similar name? Windows and Doors Birmingham has no connection with any window or door installer trading under a similar name.

How soon will I hear back? Send an enquiry any time — if it arrives outside working hours, expect a call back the next working day.

What don't you cover? We are not a glass merchant or emergency glazier, so we can't arrange glass cut to size or boarding up. We can't help with supply-only or DIY jobs, internal doors, vehicle glass, garden rooms or extensions, and this isn't a jobs board.