Fitting and the whole job
Tu Ventana (legal guarantee of conformity)
Spanish consumer law gives you a 3-year guarantee of conformity on the goods and their installation (art. 120 TRLGDCU). This is the guarantee that covers our work.
Holiday homes
Windows for the home you leave closed for months
A holiday home on the Costa Blanca needs different windows from a home lived in all year. Tu Ventana Costa Blanca chooses them to stop damp and mould while you are away and keep the house secure. They also keep you cool when you visit.
We speak English. Eduardo answers on WhatsApp, 9:00–20:00 Spain time (8:00–19:00 UK time), and replies within 24 hours.
What happens while you are away
Why a closed-up house gets mould when it hardly rains
Many owners arrive in spring to black patches in a bedroom corner, a musty smell and a damp mattress. It surprises them, because the coast gets only about 300 mm of rain a year.
Rain is not the cause. Sea air keeps average relative humidity around 65–70 %, all year and in winter too. That humid air is shut inside the day you lock up. With nobody opening a window, it is never renewed.
The moisture then condenses on the coldest surface it finds. In homes on this coast, that is usually the roller shutter box: a recess in the wall, often uninsulated and open to the outside air. Our guide to mould in a holiday home goes into the details.
Windows that deal with damp and ventilation
The fix is ventilation without leaving the house open, and removing the cold spots:
- Tilt and turn windows in the bedrooms. The tilt position lets air move without opening the house. That is why we suggest tilt and turn rather than sliding windows in a holiday home.
- Micro-ventilation, where the hardware allows it: a secure position that renews air while the home is closed.
- An insulated shutter box. The Kömmerling RolaPlus box reaches a U-value from 0.79 W/m²K, against more than 3 for an old brick box. It removes the cold lintel where mould starts.
- Class 4 air-tightness, the highest class, so humid outside air does not seep in through the frames.
Windows alone do not cure a house that is never aired. If someone can open it for an hour or two once a month, that is still the most effective measure of all.
Security
Security for a house that is known to be empty
For a holiday home left empty half the year, in Calpe, Moraira or Altea, Tu Ventana Costa Blanca fits Kömmerling uPVC windows with three layers of security. It works for owners who live abroad. These are multi-point locking hardware, laminated safety glass and roller shutters with anti-lift devices. The fitting is covered by the 3-year legal guarantee of conformity.
Windows and patio doors are the usual way in. A security door deters; a glazed opening does not, unless it is built to. None of the three layers is expensive when it is ordered with the windows.
Hardware: mushroom-head locking bolts around the whole sash, not only on the handle side. On sliding doors, anti-lift parts stop the sash being levered out of its track. On the front line, ask for anti-corrosion hardware too.
Glass: laminated safety glass does not break cleanly, because the inner layer holds. Note that standard laminated glass protects people from injury; anti-intrusion laminated glass has more layers and is tested against repeated blows. A quote that says only "safety glass" is not offering the second.
Shutters: anti-lift devices stop the most common method on ground floors and villas, forcing the shutter up from outside. Motorised shutters let you raise and lower them remotely, so the house looks less empty.
Where the security layers are worth it
Use them on openings that can be reached from outside unseen. That means ground floors, windows over a porch or low roof, and patio doors to a garden. On ground floors, first floors and detached villas, we treat laminated glass as the default, not an extra.
On a high floor with no outside access, the money usually does more elsewhere. Solar control glass on the west façade, or an insulated shutter box, is a better use.
One more point costs nothing. A shutter left fully down for six months tells everyone the house is empty. Leave shutters half-way, which also stops slats sticking in the heat.
Before you close the house, and when you come back
A few habits prevent most surprises. They come from owners who have done this well for years:
- Leave windows on micro-ventilation or a secure vent position, if the hardware allows it.
- Leave internal doors and wardrobes open. Mould appears where air does not move, such as behind a wardrobe against an outside wall.
- Leave roller shutters half-way rather than fully down.
- Near the sea, rinse hardware and frames with fresh water and grease the hardware before you leave. Salt works on screws while nobody moves the sashes.
- Vacuum the tracks of sliding doors. Sand packs hard in the tracks over a winter.
- Clear the drainage holes before September, when the autumn storm season starts.
- Ask someone to open the house for an hour or two once a month.
Which system suits a holiday home
For most holiday homes, the Kömmerling Xtrem 76MD with its central seal. It holds cooled air in the weeks you are there, and resists wind-driven rain in the weeks you are not. Add solar control glass on south and west façades.
On the front line or with dark colours, the AluNext AD, whose lacquered aluminium face copes better with salt and sun. For the big door to the terrace or pool, the PremiDoor76 lift and slide.
For a flat used a few weeks a year on a tight budget, the Xtrem 70AD still gives class 4 air-tightness and C5 wind resistance.
When you do not need the expensive option
Energy savings will not pay for the windows. In a home used two months a year, the saving on bills is real but small, and payback through bills is long. We will not pretend otherwise.
What does pay is different. You get comfort in the hottest weeks, which are the ones you are there. The house stops damaging itself while you are away. And buyers look closely at windows and the energy certificate.
Triple glazing makes even less sense in a holiday home. It is designed for hard winters, coastal frost is rare, and a house left unheated from November to March will not notice the gain.
The 88plus Passivhaus system is oversized for an ordinary home here, unless it is a new build seeking certification.
If the home is let, the priorities change
For a holiday let, different things matter. Sound insulation, towards the street and between flats, comes first, because noise causes many poor guest reviews. Hardware must survive many different users, and be easy to use for someone who does not know the house.
An exclusive finish or custom colour gives little return. Tell us if the home is let, and the proposal will be different.
How the price is worked out
A fixed price needs an in-person survey, and depends on:
- The number and size of the openings, and how many are sliding doors.
- The Kömmerling system for each opening.
- The glass: low-E, solar control, laminated safety or anti-intrusion glass.
- Security hardware, roller shutters, shutter boxes and motorisation.
- Access, floor height and removal of the old frames.
The price we give is final, with VAT included. The quote states the VAT rate applied: 21 % by default, and 10 % only when the legal conditions are met.
How the job works when you are not there
The full process is on replacing windows from abroad. In short:
- 1
Enquiry in English
Send the quote form with your mobile number. Eduardo replies on WhatsApp, in English, within 24 hours (9:00–20:00 Spain time, 8:00–19:00 UK time).
- 2
Site survey with a key holder
Measuring cannot be done remotely. We use one of your stays, or a key holder lets us in: a relative, a neighbour, your property manager or an agency.
- 3
Written, fixed quote
The quote names the profile system, the glass for each opening, the hardware and the VAT. Nothing is agreed only by phone.
- 4
Fitting while you are away
We agree the fitting date in writing, and you get photos of each stage on WhatsApp. Community rules may restrict works in high season, so check them.
Our work
What a well-finished installation looks like
Jobs by our Madrid team, the same company as our Costa Blanca office: Kömmerling uPVC windows, doors and enclosures fitted by our own people.
Glazed galleryGlass roof on uPVC profiles 
Indoor poolEnclosure exposed to humidity and chlorine 
House with a gable windowThe apex glazed without a frame splitting the glass
Who signs what
Four guarantees, and who gives each one
The fitting is covered by the 3-year legal guarantee of conformity. Kömmerling guarantees the profile for 10 years. A failed glass-unit seal shows as fogging inside the glass; that is the glass maker’s guarantee.
Profile
Kömmerling
Signed by Kömmerling, not by us.
Glass unit
Glass manufacturer
Signed by the glass manufacturer, not by us.
Hardware
Hardware manufacturer
Signed by the hardware manufacturer, not by us.
Write to us even if you are not in Spain
Tell us where the home is, how many openings it has, and when someone can let us in.
Questions we are asked
Frequently asked questions
Why does my holiday home get mould if it hardly rains?
Because the cause is humidity, not rain. Sea air keeps relative humidity around 65–70 % all year. In a house closed for months, that air is never renewed and condenses on the coldest surface, usually an uninsulated shutter box. Ventilation and an insulated box deal with it.
What security do I need for a house empty half the year?
Three layers: multi-point locking hardware with mushroom-head bolts, laminated safety glass, and roller shutters with anti-lift devices. Focus them on ground floors, patio doors and windows that can be reached from outside.
Will new windows save me money in a home I use two months a year?
Not much on bills, and we will not claim otherwise. They pay back in other ways. You get comfort in the hot weeks you are there, a house that does not deteriorate while empty, and value when you sell.
Are tilt and turn windows better for a holiday home?
In bedrooms, usually yes. The tilt position ventilates without leaving the house open, which helps against damp. Sliding doors remain the right choice for the big terrace opening.
Can motorised shutters be controlled from the UK?
The Kömmerling RolaPlus shutter box accepts motorisation and home-automation options, so shutters can be raised and lowered remotely. That is a separate choice from insulation: motorising does not change thermal performance.
When should I replace the windows in a holiday home?
Usually outside high season. In July and August buildings are full, and some communities do not allow works then. Check your community rules and plan the job between two of your stays.
Who lets the fitters in if I am not there?
A key holder you choose: a relative, a neighbour, your property manager or an agency. We only need a name, a phone number and for that person to know we are coming.