Window and door renewals

Before we can begin works to the windows at your home, we need to ensure that our contractors are working in a safe environment and that you and your belongings are protected.

Please ensure that:

• Corridors and hallways are free of personal belongings that may cause obstruction
• The areas in front of your windows are clear from personal belongings
• Curtains are removed from rails or poles during the works. Poles and rails do not need to be removed
• Any pets are kept away from work areas, to protect your animals from any hazards or materials in those areas.

If you are unable to move items safely, please contact us and we can discuss ways in which we/our contractors can support you.

What we expect our contractors to do?

Protect floors from the main entrance point to the home, through to the loft area

• Control dust as best as possible
• Clear rubbish as soon as possible
• Communicate with you throughout the process
• No radios
• They are not permitted to use the toilet at your home unless you explicitly give them permission.

If you have any queries relating to preparing for a window/door replacement, please contact us using this form. 

Before we can begin works to the external doors at your home, we need to ensure that our contractors are working in a safe environment and that you and your belongings are protected.

Please ensure that:

• Smart doorbells or cameras are removed from the door prior to commencement
• Any signs or decals are removed if you wish to retain them
• Access to the door is not blocked by any belongings, both inside and outside the door
• Any pets are kept away from work areas, to protect your animals from any hazards or materials in those areas and to ensure that they are unable to leave your home if you don’t wish them to do so.

If you are unable to move items safely, please contact us and we can discuss ways in which we and our contractors can support you.

What we expect our contractors to do?

• Control dust as best as possible.
• Clear rubbish as soon as possible
• Communicate with you throughout the process
• No radios
• They are not permitted to use the toilet at your home unless you explicitly give them permission
• Provide you with a set of keys upon completion.

If you have any queries relating to preparing for a window/door replacement, please contact us using this form. 

• The contractor measured my windows/door weeks ago and I haven’t heard from them yet?

If you have received a letter from us regarding a planned improvement at your home, typically this means your home is on our programme for the current financial year, which runs from April to the following March. Our contractors are required to complete the entire programme within this time period.

If you have had a survey completed, this is great news as it means the windows/doors will likely be on order with the manufacturers.

Manufacturing timescales can be between 6-10 weeks before the contractor can receive the windows.

Manufacturing timescales can be between 4-6 weeks before the contractor can receive the doors.

Our contractor cannot book an appointment with you until they have had delivery of the windows or doors. Once they have had delivery they will then contact you to schedule an appropriate date to complete the works

If you haven’t heard from our contractor yet, do not worry. It is likely that your home is planned later in the year. Typically, our contractors will commence communication with you a few months before works would be planned, sometimes sooner.

• Will there be restrictors on the windows, I am worried younger members of the household could fall out?

Yes - All appropriate opening windows are fitted with restrictors as is required by British standards. If you require additional measures, we can discuss these with you and can potentially explore some options.

• I have a cat flap in my current door. Can I keep it?

If you have a cat flap on your rear door, we will seek to re-install this. If you have a cat flat on a front door, we will need to look at whether we can move it to your rear door. If this is not possible, we may need to alter the door styles you have chosen as not all door types allow for a satisfactory finish.

If you have a cat flap in your flat entrance door fire door, we wouldn’t be able to accommodate for a new cat flat without damaging the performance of the fire door.

We will of course discuss this with you at the time to see if there are other options available.

• I have wooden windows and want plastic/UPVC ones, why can’t you install them instead?

Decisions on what type of windows we can install at the point of replacement will be dependent on whether your home is located within the following:

·       Conservation area

·       Area of outstanding natural beauty

·       Listed building

·       Local authority specific planning constraint.

Information on this can be found on the website of your local authority.

If we can change from timber to uPVC or aluminium windows we will, as we understand the benefits this has to you and your energy bills.

If we are unable to replace the timber, we will always seek guidance from the local authority on whether we can upgrade the glazing to a minimum of double glazing.

• Do I have to agree to improvement work being completed?

The following planned works are considered mandatory as they impact on the building and present increased risks if not completed:

·       External decorations and repairs

·       Roofing replacement works

·       Window replacements

·       Fire Door replacements.

The following works can be refused but only if the condition of the item planned for replacement is satisfactory or if there isn’t a legal/safety compliance requirement:

·       External Doors

·       Kitchen Replacement

·       Bathroom/wet room replacement

·       Heating replacements.

• Will I get the same improvements as my neighbour?

We will try and complete the following works areas on a scheme-wide basis:

·       External decorations

·       Pitched roof replacements

·       Window replacements.

This means we will aim to complete one or more of the above on all Westward homes on that street.

Improvements such as kitchens, bathrooms, heating, external doors and other smaller replacement items are replaced based on the specific age or condition of the improvement and done so on a property by property basis.

This means we may not do the above improvements to all homes on a street as a number of the improvements may be varying cycles or in varying condition.

• What if my home is not included in planned works programmes but I think work needs doing?

If your home is not on our programme and feel that it should be, please contact us.

We aim to undertake improvements to our homes as per our Westward Standard. If your home isn’t due for replacement due to age, we may still need to complete the improvement due to condition.

If you believe any part of your home requires replacement due to condition you need to report this as a repair. Our repairs team will then review this requirement to understand whether a reasonable repair can take place. If this isn’t a feasible option, it will be referred for early replacement due to condition.

• Will I be charged for any improvement works?

Whether an improvement is chargeable to you, is dependent on your legal agreement with Westward and dependent on the circumstances that the improvement is required.

Charge guide

Home owners/shared owners	Typically responsible for the management of works in their homes and for paying for these works.
Leaseholders	Typically responsible for paying a contribution towards the costs of works. This depends on the details set within their specific lease agreement.
Tenants	Westward are responsible for the management and costs relating to improvements. The exception to this is where works are paid for from service charge provisions which are a separate arrangement.

• Who will be doing the work on my home?

The contractors undertaking works will be dependent on the location you are in and the works being undertaken.

Contractor guide

Area	Contractor
North Devon and Bude	Westward Property Services (WPS)
South Devon	Westward Property Services (WPS) or Westcountry Maintenance Services (WMS)
Cornwall	Westcountry Maintenance Services (WMS)

• Will the work be disruptive?

Our contractors will work to minimise disruption as best as possible but planned works can be noisy and messy at times. Our contractors are expected to keep their work area as tidy as possible, but there may be periods where mess is inevitable.

If you are concerned about this, please let us know or discuss with our contractors at their initial survey of your home.

• Do I have to be present during the works?

All works that involve entry within your home will require you to be present to allow access.

External works do not need your attendance at all times. If you have a side gate to allow rear access, we urge you to leave this unlocked during any external works. This will allow our contractors to complete their work without delay.

• Will my property be protected from damage i.e. carpets/flooring?

Yes – It is expected that our contractor will lay protective coverings to hallways or rooms that run from the entry point of your home to the bathroom area.

• I have had a letter from Westward but not heard from a contractor yet?

If you have received a letter from Westward regarding a planned improvement at your home, typically this means your home is on our programme for the current financial year which runs from April to the following March. Our contractors are required to complete the entire programme within this time period.

If you haven’t heard from our contractor yet, do not worry. It is likely that your home is planned later in the year. Typically, our contractors will commence communication with you a few months before works would be planned, sometimes sooner.

If you have a specific time of the year that you are unable to have the works completed, please contact us and we may be able to discuss this with our contractor to ensure that this period of the year is avoided.

Similarly, if you believe that your improvement is more urgent, please let us know and we can assess it for prompter action on the programme.

We believe that it is important to ensure that you have a choice in how your home looks and feels.

If you are due a new external door replacement, our contractor will visit you in your home to discuss your preferred options from our range of style and colour choices.

Prior to this home visit, you may want to start thinking about what you would like to have now.

Our external door choice guide details all the options available, so please take a look.

Unfortunately, due to the nature of windows and the regulation requirements we are unable to provide choices at present.

If you do have any preferences in this regard, please highlight them to the contractor or to Westward as we will make every effort to include these preferences where possible.