Shiphay Manor
Shiphay Manor began as a grange of Torre Abbey and passed to the Kitsons in 1740. It now belongs to Torquay Boys' Grammar School.
Learn more about Shiphay Manor on Google MapsTimber Windows & Doors In Shiphay
Thinking of putting timber back into the bay of your 1930s Shiphay semi?
Timber bays, casements and front doors for the interwar semis on Shiphay Lane and the family houses towards the hospital
Shiphay is not a conservation area, and most of its houses are not listed, so the planning side of new windows is usually simple here. The rules that matter are Building Regulations: replacement windows have to reach the thermal standard in Approved Document L, and some bedroom windows need to be big enough to escape through. Within those rules, you can have whatever suits the house. For the 1930s semis on Shiphay Lane, Shiphay Park Road and Cadewell Lane, that often means putting a timber bay back where a plastic one went in decades ago. We make timber casements, bay windows and front doors for Shiphay homes, all built and painted at our Barton workshop nearby.
Ask For A Window Price In Shiphay
Tell us roughly what you have in mind and we will arrange a time to come and measure. A photo of the space on your phone is usually enough to start with.
The Joiner Behind It
Timber bays for interwar semis
Shiphay's interwar semis have timber bays and casements, and the rules that matter for replacing them are Building Regulations rather than planning.
Luke has been a joiner since childhood, in a family where it's the trade. Making a bay that meets today's standards and still looks right on a 1930s house takes experience. He and the team build each bay to its opening.
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- 200+ Kitchens & Fitted Furniture
- Measured Design Visit
- Free Measured Design Visit
Shiphay
Interwar bays and postwar casements
The first big wave of houses in Shiphay arrived in the 1930s: semis with bays, hipped roofs and here and there a mock-Tudor gable. A front bay was the showpiece of a house like that. Many have since been replaced in uPVC with frames much heavier than the originals, which changes the look of the whole front. A timber bay made to slimmer sections, painted in a colour that suits the brick or render, puts some of that 1930s character back.
The later houses towards Torbay Hospital tend to have plainer casements and a straightforward front door. They are good candidates for timber too, especially if you want something that can be repainted rather than replaced when it ages. Inside, bedroom storage is often the other job on the list, and our page on fitted wardrobes in Shiphay deals with that.
The Case For It
What timber windows do for a Shiphay house
Slimmer bay frames
Timber mullions and casements can be made far slimmer than a uPVC bay, so the window looks lighter and lets in more light.
Meets current regulations
Double-glazed units chosen to reach the 1.4 W/m²K figure in Approved Document L for replacement windows.
Escape openings sized correctly
First-floor bedroom casements can be sized and hinged to meet the escape guidance in Approved Document B.
Front doors with character
Panelled or glazed timber front doors in a 1930s style, with the side lights and frames made to suit.
Repainted, not replaced
When the finish wears, a timber window is rubbed down and recoated. A tired plastic frame usually ends up in a skip.
Sheltered enough for softwood
Inland Shiphay is spared the sea spray that coastal districts get, so well-finished engineered softwood suits most elevations.
Before You Choose
Before choosing new windows for a Shiphay home
Ask how the work will be signed off under Building Regulations. Replacement windows need to be certified, either through a competent person scheme or by notifying the council's building control. Get that answered in writing before you agree a price.
Ask about the bedroom windows on the first floor. If a room relies on a window for escape in a fire, the opening casement has to be large enough and low enough. A good maker will check this rather than copying the old opening sizes without thinking.
For a bay, ask to see the proposed section sizes against what you have. A timber bay should be lighter than a plastic one; if it is not, the design needs another look.
Compared
Timber or plastic for a Shiphay bay window
This is how the main options compare for the front bay of a 1930s Shiphay semi, where the choice is entirely yours.
| Engineered softwood | Accoya | Hardwood | uPVC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frame thickness | Slim | Slim | Slim | Bulky |
| Suits 1930s style | Yes | Yes | Yes | Less so |
| Upkeep | Repaint every few years | Repaint less often | Repaint or oil | Clean only |
| Repair when damaged | Yes | Yes | Yes | Often replace |
| Thermal performance | Meets Part L | Meets Part L | Meets Part L | Meets Part L |
| Relative cost | Middle | Upper | Upper | Lowest |
Our Process
Timber windows for Shiphay, step by step
With no conservation area to work around, Shiphay window jobs move quickly through these seven steps.
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Survey
We measure every opening, check the bay structure and note which bedroom windows need to work as escape routes.
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Design
Elevations show the new casements, bays and doors with section sizes, glazing layout and opening lights.
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Regulations checked
Glass is specified to meet Approved Document L, and escape windows are sized to Approved Document B.
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Timber chosen
Engineered softwood for most elevations, accoya or hardwood if you want lower maintenance or a stained door.
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Made in the workshop
Frames, casements and doors are made from conditioned timber, jointed and glazed at Barton.
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Painted before fitting
Every face primed and finished off site, in a colour you choose against the brick or render.
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Fitted and checked
Openings are swapped one at a time and sealed the same day. After a winter we come back to adjust hinges and check the seals.
Reassurance
What We Stand Behind
- Timber moved before it was cut
- Boards come into the workshop and sit there before anything is machined. Cutting a wide oak panel on the day it arrives is how you end up with a door that has cupped by Easter. In a bay where spring humidity runs high, that waiting period is not optional.
- Scribed to your walls, not shimmed to them
- Older Torquay walls are rarely square and almost never plumb. Every fitted piece is scribed to the actual surface on site. If you can see daylight behind a filler strip, the job was measured once and hoped over.
- Ironmongery rated for the job it is doing
- A drawer in a holiday flat gets pulled open forty times a week in August. We fit runners and hinges specified for that, and we tell you which ones we used, so in eight years you can buy the same part rather than replacing a whole unit.
- If it moves, we come back
- Solid timber is a material that responds to the room it lives in, and occasionally something needs easing in its first year. That visit is part of the job, not a callout. Say so and we will book it.
Budget
Window and door prices in Shiphay
£1,400 – £9,000
per opening, made and fitted
Casements in engineered softwood sit towards the lower end of our per-opening range. A full timber bay with several casements costs more, and a front door with side lights more again. With no conservation drawings needed and easy access, Shiphay jobs carry fewer extras than many districts. See our timber windows and doors page for detail.
Guide range only, VAT included. Your figure comes from the measured visit and the drawing you sign off.
What moves the priceBay windows on Shiphay Lane
The 1930s bays on Shiphay Lane and Shiphay Park Road have several casements and a small roof above, so they take longer to make and fit than a flat window.
Glass choices
Standard double units meet the regulations. Acoustic or decorative glass, such as for a front door, adds to the price.
Access
Most houses have a drive and ground-floor bays need no scaffold, which keeps fitting costs down.
Questions
Shiphay window and door questions
- Do I need planning permission for new windows in Shiphay?
- Usually not for a house. Shiphay is not one of Torbay Council's named conservation areas, and most homes are not listed, so like-for-like replacement windows are normally permitted development. Flats are an exception. Replacement windows must still meet Building Regulations. Torbay Council's page on checking whether you need planning permission covers the details.
- Can I replace a uPVC bay with timber on my Shiphay semi?
- Yes. We survey the bay, check the structure above it and make a new timber bay with slimmer frames and casements.
- Do timber windows meet modern energy rules?
- Yes. With the right double-glazed units, timber windows meet the 1.4 W/m²K figure Approved Document L sets for replacement windows.
- What timber suits Shiphay's weather?
- Shiphay is inland and fairly sheltered, so engineered softwood, well painted, suits most elevations. Accoya is worth it if you want longer gaps between repainting.
- Can you make a 1930s-style front door?
- Yes. We make panelled or part-glazed timber doors in the style of the period, with matching frames and side lights.
- How long does it take to replace the windows?
- Making takes a few weeks after the design is agreed. Fitting usually takes a day or two for a typical semi.
Feedback
What Customers Say
Rated 5 out of 5
“Our bedroom is in one of the old Warberries villas and the back wall bows by about an inch and a half across four metres. Two national firms measured it, quoted, then went quiet. These came, measured, and said it needed scribing rather than filling. The wardrobes go right into the corner and there is no gap anywhere. My husband keeps running his hand down the join.”
Rated 5 out of 5
“We run a bar on the harbourside and needed the counter and back fittings replaced without losing a summer weekend. They built the lot off site, came in on a Sunday night and had us trading by Tuesday lunchtime. Knowing the whole thing was made before they ever shut our doors is what sold it.”
Rated 5 out of 5
“Sash windows on the front elevation, and we are in a conservation area so it had to be timber and it had to match. They took a profile off the original, made new boxes in accoya, and the planning side went through without a query. From the pavement you genuinely cannot tell which is which.”
Rated 5 out of 5
“Two alcoves either side of the chimney, and they turned out to be 40mm different in width, which explains why the flat-pack ones we tried first never sat right. Made as a pair but to two different sets of measurements. Small thing, but it is the difference between looking fitted and looking bought.”
Rated 5 out of 5
“We let our place out over the season so everything gets hammered. I asked them to over-specify the drawer runners and they did, and told me exactly which ones so I can order spares. Three summers in, nothing has sagged. The last kitchen we had did not last two.”
Local
What To Do In Shiphay
Shiphay's open spaces are close to home. Here are three of them.
Torre Valley North
Running down the valley towards Torre, the playing fields at Torre Valley North are a good spot for a run or a kickabout.
Learn more about Torre Valley North on Google Maps
Windmill Hill recreation ground
From the higher side of Windmill Hill recreation ground you look west over the rooftops towards the hills.
Learn more about Windmill Hill recreation ground on Google MapsShiphay On The Map
Coverage
Areas We Cover
We fit windows and doors in Shiphay and all the districts and towns below.
Across Torquay
- Wellswood
- The Warberries
- The Lincombes
- Chelston
- Babbacombe
- St Marychurch
- Cockington
- Shiphay
- Torre
- Ellacombe
- Livermead
- Maidencombe
And across South Devon
Or go straight to a service
Put timber back in your bay
Send a photo of the front of your house. We will survey the windows, check the regulations and send a price for each opening.