Aluminium Window Replacement Recommendations

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#3481690 17-Apr-2026 20:05

eracode:

tweake:

i would seriously look at downsizing the windows and removing opening windows.

most 1970-2026 design houses are way over glazed. size has a huge impact on solar gain (ie hot house in summer) and insulation. going smaller helps with both and its cheaper provided the cladding can be sorted.

who uses windows for ventilation anymore? i would always have a window for fire escape, but otherwise reducing the amount of opening windows cuts costs and improves weather resistance.

Yeah, who needs windows anyway. Go the whole hog - fill ‘em all in, block ‘em all up. Y’all be better off.

Nah eracode - that's a bit extreme... tweake has clearly said that he needs a fire escape !
I hope he doesn't try it in my house, virtually all the windows are 5m above ground...

Let's carry on revising the architectural tradition:
- drop stud height to 1.6m - most of the time inside you're lying down or sitting.
- get rid of hot water system - you only use it a couple of times a day
- internal doors - they only get in your way
- lighting, nah, rise with the sun
- heating - toughen up
- put the dunny out back where it should be
and you can build a new home for the price of a garden shed.

Seriously, you don't fix your solar gain by making the window tiny - you fix it with a correctly-sized & positioned eave and a solar IR film or tint.

And the only people who don't use windows for ventilation live in inner-city apartments with competent AC & air-exchange systems.

timmmay

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#3481692 17-Apr-2026 20:24

pdh:

And the only people who don't use windows for ventilation live in inner-city apartments with competent AC & air-exchange systems.

I live in an old house, ventilation comes from a ventilation system with a three stage filter, working with a ducted heat pump. I'm probably not the norm though... we live near a motorway and I wanted good air filtration.

eracode

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#3481698 17-Apr-2026 20:55

pdh:

eracode:

tweake:

i would seriously look at downsizing the windows and removing opening windows.

most 1970-2026 design houses are way over glazed. size has a huge impact on solar gain (ie hot house in summer) and insulation. going smaller helps with both and its cheaper provided the cladding can be sorted.

who uses windows for ventilation anymore? i would always have a window for fire escape, but otherwise reducing the amount of opening windows cuts costs and improves weather resistance.

Yeah, who needs windows anyway. Go the whole hog - fill ‘em all in, block ‘em all up. Y’all be better off.

Nah eracode - that's a bit extreme... tweake has clearly said that he needs a fire escape !
I hope he doesn't try it in my house, virtually all the windows are 5m above ground...

Let's carry on revising the architectural tradition:
- drop stud height to 1.6m - most of the time inside you're lying down or sitting.
- get rid of hot water system - you only use it a couple of times a day
- internal doors - they only get in your way
- lighting, nah, rise with the sun
- heating - toughen up
- put the dunny out back where it should be
and you can build a new home for the price of a garden shed.

Seriously, you don't fix your solar gain by making the window tiny - you fix it with a correctly-sized & positioned eave and a solar IR film or tint.

And the only people who don't use windows for ventilation live in inner-city apartments with competent AC & air-exchange systems.

Exactly - well put.

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Eva888

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#3481839 18-Apr-2026 11:20

One quote has just come in and rated at extreme wind loading. Waiting for the other quote so can compare prices. Am wondering if we will need extra insurance like when we re roofed.

It will be great not worrying about water coming in if we go away. Should have organised this years ago. That last storm was horrendous, we may as well have had no windows at all the way water was pushing in.

tweake

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#3481898 18-Apr-2026 12:40

pdh:

Seriously, you don't fix your solar gain by making the window tiny - you fix it with a correctly-sized & positioned eave and a solar IR film or tint.

And the only people who don't use windows for ventilation live in inner-city apartments with competent AC & air-exchange systems.

well no.

when you have windows that are 80% of the wall (which is very common), the insulation value of the wall is next to nothing even with double glazing. you can take out a 4m window and replace it with a 2m window, and have a massive increase in R value and still have tons of light etc. it also means you have a wall you can put stuff on/next to.

trouble is nz "correctly sized" is oversized. its as large as you can go without going below minimum r value. houses are not required to factor in solar gain. there is basically no such thing as "correct size" in nz. thermal films don't do stuff all for the insulation loss.

a lot of homes run ventilation systems. not sure on todays stats but 10 years ago it was around 10% of homes. they just work better than windows. but nothing wrong with opening windows as a back up.

Handle9

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#3481946 18-Apr-2026 15:09

There is no such thing as “correctly sized” windows. There is design intent and compromises. Some people want to live in dark caves some want to have lots of natural light.

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mattwnz

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#3481947 18-Apr-2026 15:18

There is usually a minimum size of window required per room as well as a minimum opening size for natural ventilation which the council checks when a building consent gets issued. However I do wonder how that works with these new ‘granny flats’ which don’t need council consent or council inspections

tweake

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#3481952 18-Apr-2026 15:59

mattwnz:

There is usually a minimum size of window required per room as well as a minimum opening size for natural ventilation which the council checks when a building consent gets issued. However I do wonder how that works with these new ‘granny flats’ which don’t need council consent or council inspections

by mem i think a minimum window aera thats 5% of the floor size, its really small and i doubt anyone does that. even i would not have something that small. even the small windows above the bed are more than enough for natural lighting and would be well above minimum window size.

its also hard to get to small for ventilation, but if you have mechanical ventilation you are not required to have opening windows. i would always want opening windows as back up ventilation, fire escape and its just nice sitting by a window having a nice cup of coffee.

Handle9

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#3481965 18-Apr-2026 17:06

tweake:

the small windows above the bed are more than enough to make a room a dark depressing hole.

FTFY

tweake

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#3481974 18-Apr-2026 17:39

Handle9:

tweake:

the small windows above the bed are more than enough to make a room a dark depressing hole.

FTFY

you need your eyes checked lol.

eracode

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#3482002 18-Apr-2026 19:49

tweake:

… i would always want opening windows as back up ventilation, fire escape and its just nice sitting by a window having a nice cup of coffee.

Hang on - aren’t you the guy who said “who uses windows for ventilation anymore?”

You also said “i would seriously look at …. removing opening windows.”

Now you want ventilation and to sit by an opening window.

Make up your mind - you’re all over the place.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

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tweake

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#3482020 18-Apr-2026 21:23

eracode:

tweake:

… i would always want opening windows as back up ventilation, fire escape and its just nice sitting by a window having a nice cup of coffee.

Hang on - aren’t you the guy who said “who uses windows for ventilation anymore?”

You also said “i would seriously look at …. removing opening windows.”

Now you want ventilation and to sit by an opening window.

Make up your mind - you’re all over the place.

😆 i did also say you need one for fire escape, so theres still one opening window per room. which also does ventilation if the ventilation system goes down or you just like the outside breeze.

you don't need 4 opening windows in a bedroom or half the wall opening up. not every lounge window needs to open or every kitchen window. you can save $$$ and make it more waterproof by having less.

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#3482298 19-Apr-2026 21:01

Sounds like eracode got hit by the window tax . . .

eracode:

tweake:

i would seriously look at downsizing the windows and removing opening windows. ...

Yeah, who needs windows anyway. Go the whole hog - fill ‘em all in, block ‘em all up. Y’all be better off.

Please keep this GZ community vibrant by contributing in a constructive & respectful manner.

pdh

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#3482304 19-Apr-2026 21:30

tweake:

pdh:

Seriously, you don't fix your solar gain by making the window tiny - you fix it with a correctly-sized & positioned eave and a solar IR film or tint.

And the only people who don't use windows for ventilation live in inner-city apartments with competent AC & air-exchange systems.

well no.

when you have windows that are 80% of the wall (which is very common), the insulation value of the wall is next to nothing even with double glazing. you can take out a 4m window and replace it with a 2m window, and have a massive increase in R value and still have tons of light etc. it also means you have a wall you can put stuff on/next to.

trouble is nz "correctly sized" is oversized. its as large as you can go without going below minimum r value. houses are not required to factor in solar gain. there is basically no such thing as "correct size" in nz. thermal films don't do stuff all for the insulation loss.

a lot of homes run ventilation systems. not sure on todays stats but 10 years ago it was around 10% of homes. they just work better than windows. but nothing wrong with opening windows as a back up.

Well yes.

I've been in NZ for 44 years - been in a lot of homes - and the only one with a fan-driven ducted air supply both in & out - is mine. So I question your 10%.
I found one firm (Fantech) that does it professionally and they wanted 26 K$ (10 years ago) - so I engineered a simpler system myself, for a tenth the cost.

I agree that NZ designers went overboard when they started using ali windows - 60 (?) years ago - and pushed the floor-to-ceiling window thing hard.
It didn't matter in the beginning, as no-one tried to heat NZ houses anyway ;-)

I don't like it for the reason you mentioned - it looks shit to have furniture in front of a floor-to-ceiling window (both from outside & inside).
Certainly where it was done when there was no view - nothing worth looking at outside.
I'd support downsizing a window if either of those two factors were true.

But many many of NZ's houses predate that fad - and have relatively tiny windows. Those should grow, if it makes the room more pleasant.
(Thankfully, the fad of those old glass-louvres has also passed. The hours I spent foam-taping them to reduce the breeze.)

I disagree that a 'whole wall of windows' needs to be a thermal disaster.

I grew up in a 1956 house in eastern Canada that saw -40C and many, many nights below -25.
Warm house, centrally-heated (of course) and better-than-code thermally insulated.
The end wall - the long side of the lounge was all window - big panes up top & smaller openers along the the bottom.
All double-glazed, obviously. With heavy drapes at night.

Got full all-day sun in the winter and no sun in the summer (higher sun angle) courtesy of big overhang eaves.
I was six when it was built and my dad was always really pleased he'd taken a punt on a young architect (college room-mate).

Yes - I'm sure it was a small amount less efficient than a solid wall - but it was a lovely room to play in during the winter afternoons.
Finlanders commit suicide because of lack of daylight ;-) It's not a trivial nice-to-have...

Just for fun - a photo from 1956 during late autumn (prob October) showing the deep eave working with a low sun angle to allow light in.

And one from next winter - but early winter, as that's nearly 'no snow'. See the last photo - for 'snow'.

tweake

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#3482312 19-Apr-2026 22:05

pdh:

Well yes.

I've been in NZ for 44 years - been in a lot of homes - and the only one with a fan-driven ducted air supply both in & out - is mine. So I question your 10%.
I found one firm (Fantech) that does it professionally and they wanted 26 K$ (10 years ago) - so I engineered a simpler system myself, for a tenth the cost.

I agree that NZ designers went overboard when they started using ali windows - 60 (?) years ago - and pushed the floor-to-ceiling window thing hard.
It didn't matter in the beginning, as no-one tried to heat NZ houses anyway ;-)

I don't like it for the reason you mentioned - it looks shit to have furniture in front of a floor-to-ceiling window (both from outside & inside).
Certainly where it was done when there was no view - nothing worth looking at outside.
I'd support downsizing a window if either of those two factors were true.

But many many of NZ's houses predate that fad - and have relatively tiny windows. Those should grow, if it makes the room more pleasant.
(Thankfully, the fad of those old glass-louvres has also passed. The hours I spent foam-taping them to reduce the breeze.)

I disagree that a 'whole wall of windows' needs to be a thermal disaster.

I grew up in a 1956 house in eastern Canada that saw -40C and many, many nights below -25.
Warm house, centrally-heated (of course) and better-than-code thermally insulated.
The end wall - the long side of the lounge was all window - big panes up top & smaller openers along the the bottom.
All double-glazed, obviously. With heavy drapes at night.

Got full all-day sun in the winter and no sun in the summer (higher sun angle) courtesy of big overhang eaves.
I was six when it was built and my dad was always really pleased he'd taken a punt on a young architect (college room-mate).

Yes - I'm sure it was a small amount less efficient than a solid wall - but it was a lovely room to play in during the winter afternoons.
Finlanders commit suicide because of lack of daylight ;-) It's not a trivial nice-to-have...

Just for fun - a photo from 1956 during late autumn (prob October) showing the deep eave working with a low sun angle to allow light in.

And one from next winter - but early winter, as that's nearly 'no snow'. See the last photo - for 'snow'.

your time lime line and memory are a little bit out.

that house in Canada now days is miles away from minimum code. its considered really poor. would have been great in its day, but times have changed a lot. (i follow some of the Canadian building science guys)

we know walls of windows is a disaster because nz homes cook in summer and freeze in winter, even in northland. the whole point of the big windows was to heat the home because they lacked insulation in the 60's and 70's. its still heavily pushed on social media as this clean green thing (like the 70's) but they don't mention the big downsides. the simple problem is window to wall ratio is no1 factor in insulation. a measly 10% drop in window aera makes a whopping difference in insulation and i doubt any of you would notice the difference in windows.

i put ventilation in nearly 10 years ago. hrv was doing it 23 years ago. the amount of homes that have ventilation systems today is huge.

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