Soldato
No, i'll stick to my listed house thanks, oak frames yo.
wooden windows for the win! unless you hause was built in the last 30-40 years please please don't put PVC anywhere near it especially if it's pre war I'm sick of seeing beautifull victorian houses etc with cheap plastic windows.
One thing thats not been mentioned in this thread which surprises me is the quality of the plastic used, cheap windows use cheap plastic whcih you will know nothing about for the first few years but they will then start to retain the dirt much more noticeably than quality windows and in some cases start to turn grey/yellow. The other downside to cheap windows is the locking mechanisms, the victorian sash windows in my house still work exactly as they did when they were installed some 100 years ago with the origional locks, cheap plastic windows have cheap locs that break and fall off and also cheap hinge mechanisms that will work fine for a few years and then start to flex in ways they shouldn't. With all things in life pretty much you get what you pay for and cheap windows are no different.
Fitting of windows is also a key component cheap window fitters will generally do a less professional job as they need to be in and out fast, it will probably look fine as they will hide the nasty nasty work under plastic flashings but there is a good chance the window will be held in with poorly placed an secured screws and an abundance of expanding foam. Windows fitted in this way have been responsible for deaths in the obvious way is they fall out but also in the less obvious way that during a house fire the foam burns off exceptionally quickly creating a hole around the window an allowing more air in to feed the fire. Don't think for a minute that fencer registration guarentees quality it is exactly the same as the Corgi scheme you still get good and bad fitters and plenty of cowboys.