Heritage windows

Flush casement windows in Dorking for cottages and interwar houses

A flush casement closes level with its frame, the way a joiner-made timber casement does. In Dorking it suits three very different kinds of house: old cottages in Westcott and the villages, interwar semis and detached houses, and the post-war estates.

Why flush rather than standard casement

A standard uPVC casement has opening sashes that sit proud of the frame, with a chunky stepped profile. On a cottage or an interwar front that bulk is what gives a replacement away. The flush version is flat-faced, with slimmer joints, and can carry stuck-on or through glazing bars to match the original top lights.

Cottages

Westcott has many buildings older than 1800 on the lanes off the A25, and Mickleham, Leigh and Newdigate have their own. Small flush casements in cream or a soft green, with one horizontal bar, suit them well. If the cottage is listed, timber is the likely answer instead.

Interwar houses

Deepdene Vale, Deepdene Park and the Ashcombe Road area were built in the 1920s and 30s with casements, often with small top lights over the main opening. Copy the top-light line and the house looks as it did. Owners of houses that had metal windows should also look at steel-look aluminium.

Post-war houses

On Chart Downs, Goodwyns and Fraser Gardens the originals were plain casements. A white or grey flush casement without bars is the tidy answer.

Colours and timber

uPVC flush casements come in white, cream, greys, greens and woodgrains. Timber flush casements cost about twice as much, and their paint needs renewing about three years after fitting and regularly afterwards; they make sense on listed buildings. For a whole-house example with a bay, see the Deepdene example in the cost guide, and for an interwar semi see the Ashcombe Road example.