Window Installation in Dunedin – New Aluminium, uPVC & Timber Joinery Fitted

The building code asks more of a window here than it does further north, and a lot of quotes still miss it. Dunedin sits in H1 climate zone 5. Zones 5 and 6 need a minimum window R value of R0.50, against R0.46 for the North Island and the top of the South. R0.50 cannot be reached with plain double glazing in a standard aluminium frame. It needs Low E glass in a thermally broken, uPVC or timber frame. That is the floor, not the upgrade.

What R0.50 actually rules out

Under the schedule method in H1, a window in zone 5 has to hit R0.50 as a whole unit, frame included. Standard aluminium with clear double glazing lands nowhere near it. Even Low E glass in a plain aluminium frame only reaches the old transitional figure of R0.37.

So on any consented residential work in Dunedin the frame has to do some of the insulating. In practice that means thermally broken aluminium, uPVC or timber, paired with Low E and usually argon. If a quote you have been given specifies plain aluminium for a consented job, it does not comply, and we will tell you that before you sign it.

The install matters more than the joinery

Almost every leaking window we get called to was installed badly rather than made badly. Water enters at the head because the flashing was cut short or a bead of sealant was run where a hook and hem was needed. Air moves through the reveal because the perimeter gap was packed with offcuts and never sealed.

We set the unit on packers, check it square and plumb both ways, fix it at proper spacings, seal the perimeter air gap and fit the head flashing with the right upstand. Then we make good the linings and take our mess with us.

Consent, and where the line sits

Replacing a window like for like in an existing home is exempt work under Schedule 1 of the Building Act. No consent, no council fees, no waiting on a processing queue. That covers most of what we do.

Consent is needed once the opening gets bigger, structure changes, or the work forms part of a larger consented job. New builds and additions are consented anyway, which is exactly when the R0.50 requirement bites.

Heritage and character joinery

Dunedin has more surviving Victorian and Edwardian housing than anywhere else in the country, and a lot of it sits in areas where the exterior look is protected or simply worth protecting. Dropping aluminium into a villa opening is usually the wrong answer even where it is allowed.

New timber joinery profiled to match, or a retrofit into the sashes that are already there, keeps the street elevation intact. We quote both and explain what each does to the thermal performance.

Our window installation process in Dunedin, step by step

Window and Glass Repair Dunedin runs joinery work to a fixed sequence, and on a Dunedin house two of those steps take longer than they would anywhere else in the country. Here is the whole thing so nothing arrives as a surprise.

1. Free measure, every opening individually

   Window and Glass Repair Dunedin measures each opening on its own rather than working from a plan. In a Dunedin villa or bungalow almost no two openings are the same, because they were made on site by hand a century ago and the house has moved since. Head, jamb and sill get checked for level and plumb and the reveal depth is recorded.

2. Establish what the Building Code requires here

   Dunedin sits in H1 climate zone 5, which carries the highest window performance requirement of anywhere in New Zealand. Window and Glass Repair Dunedin confirms at quote stage whether your job is consented work that has to meet it, or a like for like replacement that does not, because it changes the product and the price substantially.

3. Written fixed quote with the unknowns named

   Frame material, glass specification, hardware and what happens to the internal linings, all in writing. Rot behind the reveal cannot be seen until the old unit is out, so it is carried as a stated allowance with the rate shown rather than as an open ended variation.

4. Manufacture, and the real lead time

   Joinery is made to your measurements. Aluminium typically runs four to six weeks, thermally broken longer, and timber longer again. Window and Glass Repair Dunedin confirms the date in writing and books the fit around it rather than promising a start that depends on somebody else's factory.

5. Removal, and repairing what is behind

   The old unit comes out and the opening is inspected. On older Dunedin housing the bottom of the reveal is where decay concentrates, because that is where a century of condensation has run down the glass and sat. Damaged framing is repaired before anything new is fitted.

6. Fit, flash and air seal

   The unit is packed, levelled, fixed and flashed so water getting past the face drains back out instead of into the frame. The air seal between the joinery and the framing matters more in a cold climate than most people realise, because that gap is a direct path for heat and for draughts.

7. Reinstate, clean and hand over

   Linings, scotia and architraves go back, glass is cleaned and the site is cleared. Window and Glass Repair Dunedin walks the job with you, hands over the keys and explains exactly what the manufacturer warranty covers and what it does not.

Why Dunedin homeowners choose Window and Glass Repair Dunedin for window installation

Dunedin is a harder place to fit windows than most New Zealand cities, for reasons that have nothing to do with the windows themselves.

We specify for climate zone 5, not for a national average

The performance figure required here is the highest in the country. Plain aluminium joinery with a standard unit does not reach it, and a quote that assumes it does is either not consented work or is going to fail an inspection. Window and Glass Repair Dunedin tells you which one you are looking at before you commit.

We work on heritage stock every week

Dunedin holds the largest surviving collection of Victorian and Edwardian buildings in New Zealand. Fitting modern joinery into a house built in 1895 is a different job to fitting it into a 1990s subdivision, and the difference is in the reveals, the linings and the proportions.

We allow for frost and condensation properly

Around fifty ground frost days a year means the inside face of the glass and the frame spend a lot of the winter well below room temperature. That is why frame choice matters here in a way it does not in Auckland, and why we raise thermal breaks rather than waiting to be asked.

We put the third party costs at cost

Consent fees and any engineering are shown as their own lines at what they cost us. Bundling them into a per window rate makes two quotes impossible to compare, which is usually the point of bundling them.

What window installation costs in Dunedin and how long it takes

Joinery is the largest single spend on most window projects, so here are the real numbers and the real timeline rather than a range wide enough to mean nothing.

Per window, fitted

Aluminium runs roughly $550 to $850 per window supplied and fitted on a straightforward like for like replacement. Thermally broken aluminium sits above that. Timber joinery runs about $800 to $1,250 per window, and more where the profile has to be matched to existing heritage joinery rather than ordered from a standard range.

Whole house

A full re joinery on an average Dunedin home typically lands between $10,000 and $24,000. The spread inside that is driven by three things: how many openings there are, whether they are standard sizes or all different, and whether the house is single or double storey, because scaffolding on a two storey villa is a real line rather than a rounding error.

The timeline, honestly

Measure to installed is typically six to ten weeks. Four to six of those are manufacture and nothing can compress them. Site time is usually one to three days for a few openings and a week or more for a full house. Window and Glass Repair Dunedin confirms the manufacturing date in writing before booking the fit.

What sits outside the quote

Repainting the room after linings are disturbed, curtains and blinds being rehung, and consent fees where the work is consented. Window and Glass Repair Dunedin states each of those so they are decisions rather than surprises.

Choosing between the joinery options in Dunedin

In climate zone 5 the frame material decides more about the long term result than the glass does. Here is the honest comparison.

Standard aluminium

The cheapest and the strongest, with the slimmest sightlines. It also conducts heat straight through the frame, which in a city with fifty frost days a year means the frame will be the coldest surface in the room and will sweat even behind good glass. Fine on a sheltered elevation or a garage, poor in a bedroom.

Thermally broken aluminium

An insulating strip separates the inside and outside faces, so the internal frame stays near room temperature. It costs meaningfully more per window and it is the option that actually solves condensation rather than relocating it. On consented work in this climate zone it is effectively the default.

Timber

Warm by nature, and the only option that keeps the proportions and sightlines a Victorian or Edwardian house was designed around. It needs painting on a cycle and it costs more up front. On a character street it is usually worth both, and on a modern house it rarely is.

uPVC

Good thermal performance for less than thermally broken aluminium, with noticeably wider frames and a different look. It suits rental and investment property well, where performance per dollar matters more than sightlines, and it reads wrong on a heritage frontage.

How a window installation runs in Dunedin, start to finish

New joinery is a six to ten week process and most of it happens before anyone turns up at your house. Knowing the order stops the two conversations that otherwise happen at week four.

Measure, then order, then fit

Every opening is measured individually rather than assuming a house is square, because almost none are. Those measurements go to the joinery manufacturer and the lead time starts from there, typically four to six weeks for aluminium and longer for timber.

Nothing is ordered off a plan dimension. A twelve millimetre difference between the drawing and the opening is the difference between a unit that fits and one that is remade.

Removal and making good

The old unit comes out, the opening is checked for rot or corrosion, and any damaged framing is repaired before the new joinery goes in. This is where a fixed price can move, because what is behind the reveal cannot be seen until it is open.

Sealing, flashing and reinstatement

The unit is packed, levelled and fixed, then flashed and sealed so water that gets past the face drains back out rather than into the frame. Internal linings, scotia and architraves are reinstated and the glass is cleaned.

Choosing joinery for a Dunedin home

The frame material decides more about the long term result than the glass does, and the right answer depends on the building as much as the budget.

Aluminium, thermally broken or not

Standard aluminium is strong, cheap and conducts heat straight through the frame, which is where condensation forms. Thermally broken aluminium puts an insulating barrier between the inside and outside faces and is now the default on new work for that reason.

Timber on character properties

On a villa or a bungalow, timber joinery keeps the proportions and the sightlines the house was designed around. It costs more and needs painting, and on a character street it is usually worth both.

uPVC and where it fits

Good thermal performance at a lower cost than thermally broken aluminium, with wider frames and a different look. It suits rental and investment property well and reads wrong on a heritage frontage.

Window Installation at a glance

Frame options

Thermally broken aluminium, uPVC, timber, standard aluminium where exempt

Code minimum here

R0.50 for windows and doors, climate zones 5 and 6

What meets it

Low E glass in a thermally broken, uPVC or timber frame

Safety glazing

NZS 4223 for doors, wet areas and low level glass

Weathering

Head flashing with correct upstand, sealed perimeter air gap

Consent

Like for like replacement is exempt under Schedule 1

Typical timeframe

Four to five weeks from measure to install on made to order joinery