Replacement Windows

• Most customers originally plan to replace their existing windows like-for-like, not realising that when replacing they can choose almost any new configuration, colour or style. They can add or reduce the number of openings and change the position of the openers.  The stipulation for most homeowners is that liveable rooms must have fire escape hinges fitted to at least one opening. There may be an option which suits your property better than your original windows.  It’s 5 Star’s job to help you choose it.
• Once you’ve selected your window style, you can complement the look by choosing a bespoke colour, decorative glass, Georgian bars and your own choice of window handle and door furniture.
• Windows look most symmetrical when matched in pairs or rows, so do consider your sightlines when choosing, if balance is important to you.
• Windows in a conservatory are just as personal, so take all the above into consideration when choosing these too.

You don’t choose new windows every day, so be safe and get our designers to help you – their support is FREE and unlike conventional double glazing salespeople, they don’t hassle you. 

Our designers will just give you all the options available so you can make an informed decision as to which products best suit your home.  IT’S UP TO YOU WHAT AND WHEN TO BUY.

To start, forget what you already have, we can fit any style in any colour, with as many or as few openers as you need. We have a massive choice of window styles to suit your home, in almost any colour, aluminium or uPVC, double or triple glazed.  There are even a variety of glass choice options…in fact there’s so much for us to help you with.  Why not start your journey with a visit to one of our Worcestershire SHOWROOMS?  Can we offer you a FREE QUOTATION?

We promise not to get too technical, but to help you make the right decisions for a window system you will love which achieves the right combination for you. It’s our job to help you understand everything you need to know about windows but not confuse or complicate your buying journey.

• Easy maintenance and cleaning even from inside, outside!
• Increase the value of your home
• Let the light flood in
• Made-to-measure, to fit perfectly into your home’s existing apertures or into new apertures for extra windows (and even extended apertures making existing openings wider)
• Consider means of escape in the event of a fire
• Must look fantastic and suit your home
• Benefit your Home Insurance and your security, with multi-point locks and secure mechanisms
• Have double glazed units that can’t be removed from outside of the home
• Offer the highest energy rating (A++21 is currently our highest performing) to lower your energy bills
• Help keep out draughts
• Not chatter or rattle when the wind or gales blow
• Lifetime guarantees that cover all areas of the window including the glazing

Well worth a read -  Check out what our customers say about 5 Star

• 21st Century window materials & new technologies. New windows aren’t like the double glazing of 10, 20 and 30 years ago!
• UPVC windows were introduced in the 1980s as a more energy efficient type of window and remain the most popular window material to this day.
• UPVC windows have been in development for over 40 years. Lots has changed due to masses of research, which has culminated in creating almost perfect windows, with improved security, strength and energy efficiency (which will easily last for over 20 years.)
• UPVC profile is considered the best material for windows.  Itis an amazing all-round product that makes beautiful stylish frames which will never rot, flake or rust. uPVC windows are among the most energy efficient available.     

Aluminium Windows

• Slimmer frames let more light in. The stylish designs suits all properties.
• Due to its strength, aluminium windows are used in structural glazing and commercial projects. In private homes, the strength of aluminium allows for a much thinner window frame and a larger glass surface area, letting in more light.
• Aluminium is a natural heat conductor, letting heat and cold pass through. Our aluminium windows boast a thermal barrier which reduces heat loss. In the last 10 years, thermal barrier technology has improved massively and aluminium windows can achieve almost the same high energy ratings as uPVC windows.
• Aluminium windows are weatherproof and low maintenance. Unlike other metals, aluminium does not corrode, so window frames will not rot, flake or rust. A powdered coated finish allows almost any colours to be chosen including flat and metallic options.

Why not visit one of our inspirational showrooms.

Double glazing – 5 Star’s minimum standard for new windows and by far 5 Star’s most popular choice.

Double glazing is an effective way to improve the warmth and the look of your home, creating a safer and more comfortable living environment.

Our double glazed units (5 Star’s glazing system) is made up of two sheets of glass, which create a sealed unit with a warm edged spacer bar. The gap between the glass sheets in a 5 Star unit is usually filled with Argon gas, slowing heat to escape. Our glass is also coated, known as Planitherm, but there are many options we can offer you – even a version to reduce the outside noise or one to reduce solar heat.

• Safer, quieter, heavier and warmer windows.
• Our triple glazing has a third pane of glass, creating a dual cavity which traps warm air and reduces heat loss through the sealed unit. Triple glazed windows retain more heat whilst also being cooler in the Summer.
• Improved thermal performance is due to many reasons: the third pane, the type of glass and coatings used, the gas filled sealed unit and the distance between the panes.
• Is triple glazing better than double glazing? Triple glazing can offer improve heat and sound insulation. It is up to 35% more effective than double glazing for thermal efficiency and reduces outside noise by up to 35 decibels. It’s about a third heavier. Even so it’s a reasonably less common choice.
• Triple glazing is recommended for houses next to busy roads, especially those in and out of Kidderminster and Worcester, by train lines, especially the Seven Valley around Kidderminster, Bewdley and Bridgnorth, the mainlines into Worcester, Birmingham and Kidderminster and under flight paths in and around Birmingham Airport.  It is also recommended in typically colder northern areas, less common in the West Midlands.

• Glass has developed through advanced technologies to make it stronger, more noise resistant, warmer and cooler. There’s shatterproof, easy clean, self-clean and even quieter types. Please talk to our designer about what you want to achieve and they will help find the perfect glass.

Low E glass

• Has an almost invisible coating
• Low emissivity (The emissivity of the surface of a material is its effectiveness in emitting energy) glass has a thin coating applied to its surface that reflects heat. It is on the inner pane of glass to help keep heat in and maintain temperature.

Low iron glass

• Allows more light – clearer.
• Windows with low iron glass are noticeably clearer. They allow more light to pass through compared to other glass types, which sometimes have a slight tint.

Security glass

• Laminated or toughened glass will increase your security and safety.
• Security glass is available in many thicknesses depending on your safety or security needs. Laminated glass normally starts from 6.4mm thick (compared to 4mm in most conventional glazing) and has a thin plastic interlayer sandwiched in between 2 layers of glass which hold the sheet intact even when broken (a similar product to that fitted in car windscreens).
• Toughened glass is up to five times as strong as ordinary glass of the same thickness, and when it is broken it forms into very small, safe particles that can be cleaned up safely.
• When used as an outer pane in a double glazed unit, it provides an extra level of security. FENSA regulations state toughened glass (or laminated) must be fitted in doors, fixed lights and side panels to doors, as well as in windows where any part is under 800mm high.

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Sound reduction glass

• Reduces sounds and noise travelling through the units.
• This can be achieved by using different glass thicknesses on the inner and outer panes, normally 6.4mm laminated with 4mm toughened.
• There are also specialist coatings to reduce noise further – an example is; STADIP SILENCE acoustic laminated glass which contains a film interlayer that has a special dampening viscoplastic core helping to reduce the transmission of sound. STADIP SILENCE suppresses the intrusion of sound waves around the critical frequency of the glass.

Coloured glass

• Changes the character of your windows and home.
• Traditionally decorative glass is fitted in top hung fanlights, the top sashes of windows, as well as decorative windows in halls and stairwells. Coloured glass is similar to leaded glass windows, but it doesn’t require leading.

Leaded/stained glass

Evidence of stained-glass windows in churches and monasteries in Britain can be found as early as the 7th century. The earliest known reference dates from 675 AD when Benedict Biscop imported workmen from France to glaze the windows of the monastery of St Peter which he was building at Monkwearmouth. Coloured glass in leaded windows is for visual benefit to make the windows decorative and personal. House numbers, family crests, birds and sporting elegancies are all available. Almost anything is possible - add coloured shapes, patterns and bevelled designs into the glass units. Designs suit both modern and older houses, including square and diamond designs.

Obscure glass/ privacy glass

• For privacy and modesty.
• Obscure glass creates a non-transparent effect, increasing privacy. Also known as privacy glass, there’s a large choice available, including leaves, flowers and random patterns. Obscure glass is most commonly used in bathrooms, toilets and areas where increased modesty is required.
• You can tell a lot by what customers say about 5 Star

Sound insulating windows

• Choosing acoustic glass will improve your home’s sound insulation. The effect is similar to moving 95 metres from a road that’s just 5m away!  Noises from flight paths, detached noisy neighbours, trains etc can all be drastically reduced. Units with different glass thicknesses on the inner and outer pane can alone can make a dramatic difference, as can triple glazing combined with acoustic glass.  The effect is dramatic.

• Choose the handle colour and style that compliments your window choice – our designers are happy to help and advise you especially on less common items like monkey tail, teer drop handles and peg stays.
• Most of our handles come with locks and keys as required by most insurers when lower premiums are sought.
• Our most important choice is that superior locks, handles and hinges are installed to keep your window secure and operational for a lifetime.
• Our windows are British Standards Institute (BSI) accredited for excellence and have been tested to PAS 24:2012 greater security levels.

• Choosing 5 Star’s high security windows for your home is vital as our robust frames and keyed locks help protect you against intruders, reducing the danger of break-ins. Security is also important with restrictive window openings to create a safe environment, opening wide enough to ventilate a room without the risk of falling out.   However, at least one fire escape hinge must be fitted to habitable rooms. Egress hinges are the style fitted to create fire escapes -these allow a window vent to open fully outwards in order to provide an emergency exit.
• Our windows achieve the British Standards certification PAS 24:2012 – the minimum security standards required for residential properties. As of October 2015, all new build homes must be fitted with double glazing that achieves PAS 24:2012 in order to be Document Q compliant.

You don’t need an appointment to visit one of our inspirational showrooms

• Our preferred 5 Star window has been tested to meet the requirements of  ‘Secured by Design’, an initiative to lower crime through secure glazing, backed by the UK Police.
• Every 5 Star window is internally beaded - this means the glass units cannot be removed externally. This is such an important consideration as early double glazed systems were vulnerable to break-ins by removing the glass units – if you have an older system, upgrading to internally beaded units is urgent.
• GrabLock is a trademark of Everest – 5 Star’s Vault Bolt windows offer a similar or in our opinion, even better security design.  5 Star’s windows have been designed and developed with more locking surface area than a standard, multi-point or shoot-bolt window lock.  This is our most secure window – ever.
• Most window handles are key lockable, making it impossible for intruders to wriggle your windows open. It also adds an extra safety feature for upstairs rooms where children are vulnerable. It is recommended that you leave your key inside the lock, so it is accessible in an emergency. Child window locks are available to restrict how far the windows open. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents reports that 4,000 children under the age of 15 are injured falling from windows every year. Something that could easily be prevented by using child window locks/restrictors.
• Hinge-side security brackets.  Our uPVC window frames incorporate interlocking brackets that secure the window sash when shut. This means that if anyone tries to jemmy the window on the hinge side, the brackets will prevent them from being able to force the window open.
• Lockable (or closable) ventilation & night vents. Windows have the option of leaving a small gap when closing and locking or semi-securely fastening in a ‘nearly locked’ position. This alleviates the need for trickle vents under Building Regulations (though not FENSA). This is commonly known as the night vent position – used for ventilation. ‘Trickle vents’ can provide background ventilation without compromising the security of your home, though they are less controllable when it comes to heat and noise, making them less popular.
• Energy Efficient? - It’s your new windows’ job to keep the heat in (well, you’ve paid for it). Our 5 Star window has improved energy saving technologies which arguably are the most significant development in the last 10 years for the environment, home comfort and saving money.
• Up to a 1/3 of warmth in your home is lost through single glazed windows. Our 5 Star energy efficient windows will save you around 20% in energy use. Double glazed, thermally efficient windows with low emissivity glass and an inert and non-toxic insulating gasbetween the panes ( 5 Star use Argon ), combined with energy efficient frames will achieve up to an A+12 Window Energy Rating (WER), and triple glazing can achieve up to A+32. Upgrading your windows could save you up to £££s off your heating bills - every year.

• U value is the way to measure heat loss through a window. U values are calculated by the equation W/m2k, which measures heat loss in watts (W) per square metre of material when the temperature (k) outside is a minimum of one degree lower.
• Simply, the lower the U value, the better the window.  Single glazed windows have a typical U value of 4.8-5.6W/m²K, meaning that around 5 watts of heat are lost every hour per square metre. Our modern double glazing can achieve a U value as low as 1.4W/m²K, and triple glazing is even more energy efficient, reaching 0.6W/m²K. Lower than the U value of an external wall!

Please read reviews from 5 Star’s customers

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• Using the sun’s rays to boost a window’s energy rating, by not only keeping the cold out but capturing natural warmth from the sun’s rays. Simply using this natural form of heating to reduce your dependence on carbon energy in the Winter months will save you money.
• Increasing your solar influence can be achieved by the number of panes you choose, the gas between them and the coatings added to your glass, as they dictate whether the glass absorbs or reflects the heat. It is measured by the G value, on a scale between 0 and 1, with a high number indicating high solar gain (A G-value of 1.0 represents full transmittance of all solar radiation while 0.0 represents a window with no solar energy transmittance. In practice though, most G-values will range between 0.2 and 0.7, with solar control glazing having a G-value of less than 0.5). Talk to one of our designers, their help is free.
• Solar gain windows don’t always lead to overheating, Kidderminster, Worcester and the surrounding areas have a relatively cool climate with less sunshine, so overheating is rarely a problem. For some South facing garden rooms where sun beats in during the afternoon, you might consider upgrading to triple glazing. The level of solar gain is actually less than double glazing due to the extra pane of glass and cavity.