uPVC Spray Painting in York

When homes in York were built, and what that means for the frames

Across the City of York Council area, the Valuation Office Agency counts 93,430 properties: 17% built before 1919, 16% between the wars, 26% from 1945 to 1972, 24% from 1973 to 1999 and 17% since 2000. The standout figure is the 24% (about 22,050 properties) built from 1973 to 1999, above the 19% average. uPVC became the normal window for new houses during the 1980s and 1990s, so many of those 22,050 homes still have their first frames. For those 22,050 properties, the frames are now roughly 25 to 50 years old, the age when white uPVC chalks, yellows or greys in the sun while the windows themselves still work. By contrast, only 17% were built before 1919, against a 21% average, so fewer homes here are old buildings carrying replacement uPVC on stone or early brick.

In total 41% of properties here, about 38,030, were built from 1973 onwards when uPVC was the usual window, above the 36% average for the towns we cover, while 33% predate 1939. Many of those 38,030 homes have frames that have only ever been white, and a respray changes that for far less than replacement windows.

Types of home in York, and a worked price

Of the 85,462 households counted across the City of York Council area in the 2021 Census, 22% live in detached houses, 36% in semi-detached, 24% in terraced houses and 18% in flats. The largest group is semi-detached houses, about 30,600 households or 36% (average 37%), and at our published rates a semi-detached house with seven windows and two doors would come to roughly £960 to £1,750 before fascias, soffits or a conservatory, with the exact price set after we check frame sizes, condition and access.

18% of households, about 14,960, live in flats (above the 15% average), and in most blocks the windows and outside walls are the freeholder's or management company's responsibility under the lease, so changing the colour of one flat's frames needs their written consent first, and upper-floor frames may need a tower or powered access, which we price into the quote rather than adding later.

About 70,160 households here (82%) live in houses rather than flats, and many houses with uPVC windows also have a uPVC roofline of fascias, soffits and bargeboards that weathers alongside them; spraying the roofline in the same visit as the frames ties the colour together and is usually more economical than two separate jobs.

Owners, landlords and timing

65% of households own their home and 20% rent privately (averages 63% and 19%), so owners weighing a respray against replacement and landlords who care most about speed are both well represented among the 85,462 households; a typical job takes 1 to 2 days either way.