Windows & Doors in Tuam, Claremorris and North Galway / South Mayo

The stretch of country along the N17 between Tuam and Claremorris, and out towards Headford, Ballinrobe and Ballyhaunis, is a different job for a window fitter than Galway City or its commuter estates. Houses here are more often one-off builds on their own site: a 1970s bungalow, a dormer from the nineties, a farmhouse that has been extended two or three times. That variety is exactly why a proper survey matters, and why a "per window" price rarely tells the full story.

The kind of homes we see around Tuam and Claremorris

Tuam has a mix of town-centre terraces, older two-storey houses on the approach roads and a ring of estates built in the 2000s. The estate homes are typically on their first set of builder-grade uPVC — frames that are now around twenty years old, with dropped sashes, worn hinges and misting sealed units being the usual complaints.

Around Claremorris, Ballinrobe and Ballyhaunis the balance tips towards rural one-off houses. The classic example is the dormer bungalow: a long ground floor with large living-room windows, and roof windows or small gable windows upstairs. Many of these had their original timber replaced with first-generation uPVC in the late eighties or nineties, and those frames are well past their best — often with single-point locks, thin glazing and no trickle ventilation at all.

Farmhouses and extended homes throughout north Galway and south Mayo are the most varied of all. It is common to find three or four different frame ages on one house, openings that are not square, and thick stone or solid block walls in the oldest section. These jobs need the most time on survey and benefit most from a single, consistent specification across the whole house.

Things that come up on rural installations

A few issues appear far more often out here than in the city:

• Wide openings and large picture windows. Bungalow living rooms often have one very wide window. Replacing it like-for-like with a single large fixed pane can look great, but the frame needs the right reinforcement, and it is worth thinking about whether you want an opening section for ventilation and cleaning.
• Open, exposed sites. A house on its own on a hillside or open farmland takes the full force of the weather from every side. Good gaskets, properly adjusted multi-point locks and careful external sealing matter more here than a marginal gain in U-value.
• Ventilation in older houses. When draughty old frames come out and airtight new ones go in, the house loses its accidental ventilation. Trickle vents or an agreed ventilation plan are part of doing the job properly, otherwise condensation simply moves somewhere else.
• Back doors and utility doors. On rural homes the back door is often the main entrance and takes far more wear than the front door. It deserves the same security and weather specification, not the cheapest option on the quote.

Frame and door choices that suit the area

For most homes around Tuam and Claremorris we specify uPVC on Aluplast profiles — the IDEAL 4000, 7000 and 8000 ranges — matched to the budget and the thermal performance you are aiming for. Woodgrain and coloured foils are popular on rural houses where owners want to keep a more traditional look, particularly on older farmhouses and cottages.

Where a project involves an extension, a new build or large glazed openings to a garden or view, Ponzio aluminium systems give slimmer frames and larger panes. Composite front doors from the Palladio and Mikea ranges cover most door requests, and in this part of the country a new front and back door together is one of the most common starting projects.

Planning a job outside the city

Tuam is a short drive from our Ballybane base, and Claremorris, Headford, Ballinrobe and Ballyhaunis all sit well inside our normal working radius. For rural properties it helps to have a few things ready before the first call: rough sizes of each window, photos of every elevation, the age of the house and any extensions, and whether anyone lives in the house during the works. Grouping all the windows and doors into one project usually makes the most sense — one survey, one installation window, and every frame matching.

If you have a home in Tuam, Claremorris or anywhere in north Galway or south Mayo, take a look at our windows and doors service and project gallery, visit our showroom to compare frames and door styles in person, or request a quote with your address and a short description of the house.