REPLACING windows is costly work at the best of times.
But for the owners of the 47-storey Beetham Tower, where the windows are triple-glazed and weigh in at 80kg each, replacing 21 windows will cost a small fortune.
We're replacing a window in the penthouse suite, on the top floor
At roughly £30,000 a piece, the mammoth task will set them back around £630,000. And that's before you factor in the cost of actually installing them.
£30k - so no playing wall-ey with the windows
You could buy two terraced houses in Burnley for the price of one of those windows.
Great Bridgewater Street was closed on Sunday May 6 in preparation for the work, which is scheduled to go on until June 1.
Braemar Estates, the company acting on behalf of owners Northwest Ground Rents, have tried to organise the work so that disruptions are kept to a minimum. Great Bridgewater Street will be the only road closure, despite windows on all four faces of the building being replaced.
Neil Roberts, managing director of Braemar Estates, said: "Some of the windows are cracked, some have a bit of water leakage and there are two incidences of vandalism.
"One of the windows is for the penthouse suite, on the top floor.
"The team will use the window cleaning cradle on the roof to carry out the work. It can hold two people plus the window, and there will be people inside the building to fit it into place."
So no giant crane then. Too bad.
The road closure is a safety precaution while the work takes place and is expected to last up to eight weeks. The Hilton will be open for business as usual during this time.
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Those windows aren't cheap
Beetham Tower
