We spent £40,000 on windows to renovate our dream Cornish B&B, and it was worth it

Independent

4 days ago

When Pablo Tricanico and his partner Grove Aitkenhead decided to buy a Grade II-listed Cornish bed and breakfast, they knew they would have their work cut out for them.
The gorgeous Georgian former vicarage they chose had a decent roof and four walls, but like many homes of the time, it was draughty and had 'very bad windows,' which offered an unusual sensation, said Pablo. 'You could feel the cold moving if you stood upstairs. There wasn't wind; it was like a ghost.'
The pair met in Sydney in 2013, and after living in the city for a while, they decided they could sell up and buy somewhere big in the countryside.
After briefly considering rural France, they settled upon Cornwall after honeymooning there.
A computer engineer by trade, Pablo was determined to banish the draughts by engineering the problem away. He was able to cut much of the heat loss from the doors himself, but the sash windows were another matter.
The couple were determined to preserve the building's historic charm – the house has hosted notable guests, including spy novelist John le Carré, who stayed there with the previous owner, artist John Miller. But comfort mattered too, especially for their paying guests. So they decided to restore the top floor windows while maintaining their original look.
When they began researching double glazing, Pablo was warned off by others with similar homes. 'It was insanely expensive, and a lot of people told us not to do it because it never works properly with these windows,' he said.
Instead, they opted for secondary glazing – a solution where a second pane is added inside the existing window frame, without a vacuum seal.
Though it isn't true double glazing, secondary glazing can still significantly reduce heat loss and noise if installed correctly.
The couple chose a magnetic secondary glazing system from a company called cozyglazing, which is removable and therefore compliant with heritage property regulations.
The £40,000 job, including VAT, covered restoration of 12 window frames, draught-proofing, and the installation of the glazing system.
The work took a few days, but by the end, said Grove: 'It's incredibly good to know that all of those windows upstairs are restored to their absolute peak.'
Pablo added: 'It's beautiful, solid wood that you know is going to last hundreds of years,' added Pablo. 'It's that type of work.'
Grove said that while they'd owned listed properties before, this one has felt particularly special. 'We really love being custodians of these kinds of properties and making sure that we leave them in a better position – extending their lives as much as possible.'
In addition to updating the windows upstairs, the couple overhauled some of the site's thermal solar panels, which provide hot water, and installed electric solar panels on the roofs of the cottages they also own, helping to reduce their electricity bill. They also added individual thermostats to the bedrooms' radiators.
These gadgets, which can cost about £50, men that you can control the temperature in each room, lowering it for rooms that are empty.
They have decided against adding a heat pump at this stage, as it was 'just not worth it' because of the cost. But adding a battery to their 36-panel solar farm could be on the horizon, which would help them make more use of the power it produces.
According to their contractors, Mitchell & Dickinson, the draught-proofing and secondary glazing should reduce heat loss by around 36 per cent, with an estimated payback period of six years.
The results are already noticeable. In the past, switching off the heating in winter would cause a sharp drop in room temperature as warm air was quickly lost. Now, the cooling is more gradual, thanks to the airtight windows.
That airtightness, however, does come with a caveat. 'These old houses breathe moisture through the walls, which is normal,' Pablo explained. 'Trying to block that is the worst thing you can do.'
To maintain air quality and prevent damp, the couple installed a mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery. This ensures a constant supply of fresh air without losing warmth. Tom Coles of Mitchell & Dickinson, who led the project, warns that ignoring ventilation when sealing up a period property can quickly lead to problems with damp.
The couple now plan to renovate the ground floor windows and tackle a cellar refurbishment next.
They haven't had much in the way of holiday themselves, but Pablo insists the move to running a B&B has been a good one: 'It's a lot of fun. It's a lot of new things. You get to meet a lot of really cool people.'