When specifying timber windows for high-spec, heritage or architect-led projects, flexibility isn’t a “nice to have” — it’s essential. Planning constraints, conservation requirements, performance targets and design intent all collide at the window line.
At Salisbury Joinery, bespoke timber windows are engineered around the design — not forced into standardised systems. As outlined in our Design Flexibility in High-Spec Projects eGuide, this approach helps avoid costly redesigns, planning refusals and compromised aesthetics
Below are five key ways bespoke timber windows can be tailored to meet demanding briefs — without sacrificing performance, compliance, or craftsmanship.
Every bespoke timber window we manufacture at Salisbury Joinery is designed to accommodate the glazing your project genuinely needs — not what a standard system allows. Our timber windows can be built for single glazing on listed buildings, slim double glazing where permitted, or high-performance solutions such as FINEO vacuum glazing, which delivers excellent thermal performance within ultra-slim profiles.
By designing the timber frame, section sizes and detailing around the glazing from the outset, we ensure performance, appearance and planning compliance are aligned — particularly on conservation-led or high-spec projects.
Our bespoke timber windows are manufactured with true-through glazing bars, allowing us to achieve historically accurate proportions and sightlines that stand up to conservation scrutiny. Unlike factory-made alternatives with stuck-on bars, Salisbury Joinery’s timber windows integrate 16mm or 18mm glazing bars as part of the window’s structure. This results in timber windows that look correct from every angle and meet the expectations of planners, conservation officers and design-led clients alike.
When replacing or replicating existing windows, our bespoke timber windows can be moulded to match original profiles precisely. We regularly manufacture timber windows with bespoke mouldings to replicate historic joinery, align with period detailing or follow architect-designed profiles. This flexibility ensures visual continuity across elevations and is particularly valuable on heritage refurbishments, conservation areas and sensitive extensions where even minor inconsistencies can undermine the overall design.
All Salisbury Joinery timber windows are built with fully bespoke section sizes, allowing proportions to be adjusted to suit the building rather than factory constraints. Whether a project requires slimmer sections for heritage accuracy or heavier proportions for large spans and exposed elevations, our timber windows are engineered accordingly. This ensures each window sits comfortably within the façade, performs structurally and enhances the architecture rather than fighting against it.
Our bespoke timber windows are traditionally constructed using flush mortice-and-tenon joints, delivering strength, longevity and authentic detailing. Where required, we manufacture timber windows with traditional putty glazing and heritage sightlines, avoiding modern shortcuts such as v-jointed or mechanically pinned construction. This approach ensures our timber windows meet the technical and aesthetic demands of listed buildings while offering durability that stands the test of time.
Specifying timber windows for high-spec, heritage or planning-sensitive projects demands more than off-the-shelf solutions. Salisbury Joinery’s bespoke timber windows are designed, detailed and manufactured to meet the real-world constraints of modern construction — from conservation approval and proportionally correct detailing to high-performance glazing and long-term durability. By engineering every window around the building and the brief, we help architects, developers and homeowners avoid costly compromises and deliver windows that perform as well as they look.
Download our Design Flexibility in High-Spec Projects eGuide to explore how early joinery involvement, true bespoke manufacturing and technical design support can help you specify the right timber windows first time.