Windows and Double Glazing in Fribourg

Are you looking for windows and double glazing in Fribourg? The bilingual city, built on a spur above the Sarine, combines a very extensive medieval old town with more recent districts: replacing a window is not the same job from one street to the next. This guide helps you describe your project and compare quotes for windows in Fribourg.

Windows in Fribourg: the most common jobs

The typical job is replacing old windows, with single glazing or ageing double glazing, with more airtight ones. The frame can be timber, PVC, timber-aluminium or metal, with double or triple glazing. You also come across:

• repairing the seal around frames, sometimes without replacing the whole window;
• replacing the glazing alone, when the frame is still sound;
• installing roof windows in attic spaces being converted;
• changing French windows opening onto a balcony or terrace.

In Fribourg, this work concerns townhouses and older buildings as well as co-owned flats or more recent rental buildings. The starting point is always the same: the real condition of the frames, the sills and the masonry around them.

The Bourg, the Auge and the Neuveville: when heritage decides

Fribourg’s old town is one of the most extensive in Switzerland. It is organised around the Bourg district, the Auge and the Neuveville, within the loop of the Sarine. Many facades there are old, with stone surrounds, and proportions and a rhythm of openings that give the place its character.

In practice, this changes three things for your windows:

• the material: timber is often expected, and a PVC frame may be refused;
• the design: glazing divisions, profile thickness, colour and the position of the frame in the reveal may be imposed;
• the timetable: an application takes time to examine, which matters if you want to install before winter.

A tradesperson used to this type of building will know how to reproduce an existing design while fitting high-performance glazing. Tell them in your first enquiry that your building is in the old town or is protected: this avoids a quote drawn up for a standard window that will not be accepted.

Slopes, the Sarine and site access

The city is terraced: the top of the spur, the slopes and the bottom of the Auge do not have the same access. In some narrow lanes of the old town, delivering and carrying up large or heavy windows takes organisation: parking the vehicle, getting through the staircase, possible hoisting. Triple glazing is heavier than double; if your staircase is narrow, mention it.

The funicular and the university district are also a reminder that many homes are occupied by tenants and students: for an occupied building, warn the residents, because a removed window leaves the opening wide open for part of the day.

Noise, winter and comfort: choosing the glazing

The canton of Fribourg stretches from the plateau to the Prealps and the Gruyère, snowy in winter, as far as the lake shores. Fribourg itself sits on the plateau and beside a river: cold winters and damp put a strain on the seal of old frames, which let air through and cause condensation and mould on cold walls.

Noise is the other criterion. A window onto a busy street, near the station or along a railway line is not chosen like a window onto a courtyard. For noise, the glazing make-up and the quality of installation count as much as the number of panes. Describe to the tradesperson the orientation of each room and the source of noise: they can suggest different glazing depending on the facade.

A common-sense precaution: very airtight new windows change the ventilation of the home. Ask how the air will be renewed, especially if you have had traces of damp.

Permits, FRIAC and subsidies: the procedures

In the canton of Fribourg, building permit applications are submitted through the cantonal FRIAC platform. The permit is issued by the prefecture or by the municipality depending on the type of work. A simple like-for-like replacement on an ordinary building does not call for the same procedure as a facade modification in the old town or on a protected building: the exact rule for your address should be checked with the municipality of Fribourg or the relevant cantonal service, before ordering.

On the energy side, the cantonal energy service manages a subsidy programme. Replacing windows is often eligible only as part of a wider renovation, under this programme. Check the conditions and the timing of the application before signing: some grants are available only if the application comes before the work.

Finally, the consent of a third party:

• tenant: the landlord must give their agreement, and they decide on the change;
• co-owner: windows are often part of the facade, and therefore a collective decision; the external appearance must remain uniform;
• house owner: you decide, but the protected character of the building or district may frame your choices.

Preparing your request and comparing quotes

The more precise the request, the more comparable the quotes. Gather:

• the address and the type of building (apartment block, villa, old town, protected building);
• the number of windows, their approximate dimensions and their floor;
• the current material and the one you are considering, or the constraint imposed on you;
• the objective: thermal insulation, noise, airtightness, like-for-like replacement;
• photos of the windows, outside and inside, and of the site access.

A good quote itemises each item: supply of the windows, type of glazing, removal of the old ones, installation, joints and sealing, interior and exterior finishes, waste removal, scaffolding or hoisting if needed. Compare the same service from one quote to the next, not just the total.

The cost varies with the frame material, the glazing make-up, the size and shape of the openings (arched, made to measure), the floor and access, the condition of the masonry once the old windows are removed, and heritage requirements. It cannot be stated without seeing the site: the quote spells it out. To start the process, you can request a quote by describing your project; your request is passed on to tradespeople and companies in the region, who will contact you for a free, no-obligation quote.

Useful pages for your work in Fribourg

• windows and double glazing: the general page for the trade;
• work in Fribourg: all work in the municipality;
• canton of Fribourg: an overview of the canton;
• roofing in Fribourg, useful if you are fitting roof windows or redoing the attic;
• plumber in Fribourg and bathroom renovation in Fribourg, if the window change is part of a wider renovation.