uPVC or wooden window frames: which should you choose in a renovation?

What is the difference between uPVC and wooden window frames?

The biggest difference is in maintenance, not in price. You clean a uPVC frame, you paint a wooden one. On the other hand, wood can be repaired and painted over, even in a different colour.

Prices and lifespans are indications from public price overviews for Belgium in 2026; these are not consistent about VAT. For renovation work on a home over 10 years old, 6% VAT usually applies, otherwise 21%. You will hear your exact price after a visit or in your quote, following the free consultation.

Wood, uPVC and aluminium have not been shown to last longer or shorter than one another. The quality of the frame matters more than the material. So in either case, choose a frame, or a sliding door, with a low U-value, preferably 1.3 or lower.

The U-value tells you how much heat escapes through the whole window, glass and frame together. The lower the figure, the better it insulates. The glass makes a bigger difference there than the choice between wood and uPVC.

What does maintaining wooden frames cost?

On the outside, painted frames need a new coat of paint every 8 years on average. Over 30 years, that is three or four paint jobs. We always price exterior painting on request, because the condition of the wood differs from home to home.

On the inside there is no fixed interval. The lacquer mainly wears through use: window sills, moving parts and the edges you grip to open the window. For interiors we have fixed prices per item:

Prices from our 2026/2027 price list, valid from 1 September 2026. Prices exclude VAT; for homes over 10 years old, usually 6% VAT.

A terraced house with eight wooden window frames costs from 8 × €99.99 = €799.92 per interior paint job. With uPVC that item falls away, because we do not paint those frames. Painting uPVC or aluminium is also discouraged: cleaning is enough.

If you want the frames a colour other than white on the inside, that is only possible with wood. Our own painters do that work when you have your window frames and doors painted.

Which frames suit your home?

Choose wood if your home has a characterful façade, with slender windows and fanlights, like many pre-war homes. A uPVC profile is often wider. With eight windows in a façade you will see that difference, and the look of the house changes with it.

Choose uPVC if you want as little maintenance as possible, for example in a home with many windows on the upper floor. There, painting the outside sometimes needs scaffolding. That cost then returns every eight years in your upkeep.

If you live in a listed building or in a protected townscape or village, you will usually need a permit or consent, unless colour and material stay the same. If you currently have wooden frames, wood is therefore the simplest route. We set out when other changes need a permit under renovating and planning permission.

If frames are coming out of an older home, first have it checked for asbestos. If there is an uninsulated cavity behind, watch out for bats. They can enter the cavity through the gaps beside the frame, and nature legislation protects that spot.

Isn’t uPVC always the cheapest choice?

On purchase it saves €100 per m² on average. With 15 m² of frames, that is €1,500. But the price ranges overlap: a cheap wooden frame can cost less than an expensive uPVC frame with triple glazing.

So compare quotes with the same glass, the same sizes and the same opening directions. A tilt-and-turn window costs more than fixed glass, and triple glazing more than HR++.

What is missing from almost every comparison is the inside. When an old frame is removed, the reveals and the wall around it get damaged, whatever the new frame is. We finish those with plasterwork at €22.99 per m² and a corner bead on the external corner at €16.00 per linear metre, excluding VAT.

So have the frames replaced before the walls are finished. If you do it the other way round, you damage freshly finished walls and pay for the finishing around the windows twice. In a renovation we include the reveals when we plaster the walls after the rough work.

How do you approach new frames and the finishing with us?

Request a quote or call us on working days between 9:00 and 17:00. Tell us the number of frames, the approximate sizes and when your home was built. In the free consultation we discuss material, glass and what else is happening to the home. You then receive a plan and a quote.

The order is fixed: first the new frames, then the reveals and the walls, and last the interior painting. If you agree, we measure up and check the walls. The final price and schedule are then fixed, and we start on the day we agree together.

Our four in-house contractor teams of four people each do the structural work. Our 97 in-house tradespeople do the finishing: 40 wallpaper hangers, 32 plasterers and 25 painters. We work throughout Belgium and, as contractor, also take on the complete renovation of your home.