Belle Tout Lighthouse - Accoya Windows

Building designers and owners have an increasing number of factors to take into account when considering their choice of windows within their buildings. These factors include durability and life expectancy, air and weather tightness, stability throughout changing seasons, energy efficiency, future maintenance cycles and both initial and whole life costs. In addition, sustainability and the impact on the environment of materials chosen is increasingly at the forefront of the decision making process.

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These decisions become even more critical in exposed and coastal locations and this was evident to David Shaw when he purchased the Iconic 177 year old Belle Tout Lighthouse in 2008. Perched on the cliffs above the sea at Beachy Head, Eastbourne, Sussex, the property underwent an extensive renovation programme to convert the historic building into an exclusive (and very unique) Guest House.

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With the exception of the metal windows around the top of the tower (enclosing the area where the light was once housed) the remaining, existing windows were of timber construction. In a mixture of styles and timber species, these windows were generally in very poor condition, letting in both wind and rain. They were also inefficient in terms of energy conservation being predominantly single-glazed.

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Mr Shaw is extremely pleased with the end result of his refurbishment, commenting that: "The new windows have made a vast improvement to the property visually and in terms of energy and heat retention. They've also resulted in a significant reduction in noise from the wind in such an exposed location".