Old post but thought I'd update. We have finally moved into our forever home and on occasions, obviously in winter, we still have crying window (sob). We have the wet windows on the south side of the home which is the shady side so not unexpected but also on the north side where we still get lovely warm winter sunlight streaming in and I still do have all my windows slightly cracked open and it does help. Incidentally I have glass bricks in our bathroom on the south side and there is no condensation on this window at all. Our home has insulation in both the exterior and interior walls and we have double insulation in our roof, so factor 7 unlike the usual factor 3.5 not that it probably has any bearing on the moisture issue. We have a 1.8mtr wide veranda surrounding the entire home so the windows are some what protected from the elements but when the temperature gets fairly low and can be almost zero in winter, it seems impossible to prevent this crying window sindrome but I can live with the fact it is fairly easy and quick to remove with a Karcher window vac now, brilliant little machine at $99 and it only takes a few minutes. We have an exhaust fan in both bathrooms that is vented outside so the moist air does not go into the roof space and in fact even my rangehood ducting is vented outside too!! We even had condensation in the roof cavity as well to the point of having a rainforest up there but since fitting another whirlie into the roof making it three in total now, it appears to have almost entirely eradicated that problem. I can say catagorically now that crying windows are a very difficult problem to eradicate in very cold climates where obviously the inside of the home being heated at night is going to create the perfect conditions for the condensation to settle with the inside being far wamer than the outside and there in lies the problem which canot be changed. I have blinds and curtains that I close ever day before dark but it makes no difference. As I have aluminium windows and doors throughout, so no timber anywhere, it isn't such an issue for damage but annoying none the less but life goes on and I do so love my beautiful new home!!

Firstly to replace a timber window with aluminium isn't necessarily a good move. The existing windows are probably around 40+ years old so have done a great job so far. While maintenance is required by oiling and/or painting they still have lasted quite well. 40+ is a long time exposed to the elements. Timber performs thermally much better than an aluminium frame. Even the modern thermally broken frames are probably only line ball at best with timber. Repainting a timber window is easier than changing colour on an aluminium one. So far changing to aluminium there is not really any obvious advantage...... The advantage with standard aluminium is really only the cost to purchase, yet a thermally broken is quite expensive...... I regularly change aluminium windows back to timber on many renovations due to the poor quality of the older aluminium frames and timber looks so darn good. Use timber windows with a high quality glass such as Low E, Laminated or double glazing. This will suit the house and perform a lot better. I personally like the existing frame and configurations so would probably only upgrade the glass with a high performance version.

Hi Siriuskey, They are timber looking tiles - we absolutely love them. We are considering the same for the new place but potentially herringbone/parquetry arrangement. Much more expensive vs. laminate but easier to clean and no concern in relation to water...

@cloudyhaze I don't, because it doesn't exist yet! Currently under construction. We have a cedar-clad studio which has weathered awfully, so we are going to attempt to use some kind of wood stripping solvent to restore the colour, and then oil. For our cedar/colourbond we are aiming for something like the images below: cedar cladding on the back, colourbond for the upstairs and around the sides of the house that don't get much traffic.