What does a full house of windows actually cost?

Walk the house and count openings properly

Count openings, not rooms. A front bay is one opening even though it has three or four frames. A landing window is an opening even though it is small. Note which ones you actually open, because that single note is the biggest saving available to you.

Then mark the bedrooms. At least one window per bedroom normally needs to be an escape sized opener, and that requirement is not negotiable regardless of what you would prefer.

The four decisions that move the total

First, the bay. Including or excluding it can swing the total more than any other single decision, because it is a structural operation with propping, sill and roof detailing rather than a window swap.

Second, opener count across the whole house. Third, colour, because a foil or powder coat applies to every unit rather than one. Fourth, glass upgrades, which should be targeted at specific rooms rather than applied across the board.

Phasing, and when it makes sense

Doing everything at once is cheaper per window because the access, the setup and the making good are shared. But phasing is perfectly reasonable if the alternative is not doing it.

If you phase, do it by elevation rather than by room, so the house never looks half finished from any one viewpoint. Front elevation first is the usual order, and we record the exact specification so the second phase matches years later.

• Front elevation first, since it sets the appearance and often the worst draughts
• Keep the colour and profile reference on file for matching later
• Do the bay with the front elevation, not separately, because of the access
• Leave fixed lights and the landing until last, they are the cheapest per opening