Social Housing

Members of the Wood Window Alliance (WWA) have to meet exacting standards in the design and manufacture of timber windows and doors. With a factory finished timber window and door, there is no longer the need to worry about costly upkeep and this is why a number of housing associations and social landlords are specifying WWA timber windows and doors.

Research has shown that a typical casement timber window made to WWA standards has an estimated life span of 60 years, which is double that of a PVC-u equivalent. In addition, WWA windows perform to such high standards that they can assist tenants to reduce their overall energy consumption.

The replacement of existing windows and doors

With over four million households living in social housing, there is a wealth of existing property stock that needs to be maintained. Our members are working with social housing providers to ensure that any replacement windows and doors provide long-term cost benefits. Using defect-free engineered wood and micro-porous coatings applied in factory-controlled conditions mean that timber windows and doors from a WWA member require minimal maintenance and typically come with an 8 to 10 year paint coating guarantee. Then there’s the standard 30 year guarantee for window and door frames and 10 years for double and triple-glazing units.

Windows and doors for new builds

In August 2018 the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government published the social housing green paper: A New Deal for Social Housing. The design and quality of homes and their surrounding area is at the heart of this green paper. As an organisation that advocates the use of timber windows and doors in construction and champions industry standards, our members are actively working to provide cost-effective and sustainable solutions for future housing stock.