What We Do

Sliding Sash Windows - what we can do to help

Believe it or not sliding sash windows have been instrumental in keeping rooms at just the right temperature over the years and date back as far as the middle of the 17th century. Just as a ‘by the way’ this type of window was originally positioned much further forward so that they would sit flush with the front of the building. The Great Fire of London (1666) gave rise to a series of building acts covering London predominantly, but spreading to other areas later. Following these acts and a more comprehensive one later in 1774, rather detailed sets of regulations were published. Amongst other items they specified all openings must be recessed by at least four inches and that the mechanisms for sliding windows must no longer be exposed, and that’s why the sash mechanisms are hidden in the pockets nowadays

So how do they work? Well the trick was to keep the top and bottom windows open in equal amounts. This meant that the warm air spills out from the top and the cooler air flows in through the bottom opening, thus keeping a steady and regular supply of cooler air. We heat our houses in different ways now and we don’t tend to have fires burning in the same way. So what about winter when you want to keep warm? Sliding sash windows are fine when they are first installed but after a number of years they get a bit draughty and can rattle. Often they become too heavy to lift to open, or they stick – usually layers of paint have built up which makes them even worse and the bottom sills or corners rot. All of these problems can be sorted out and your windows restored to their former glory and function.

What will we do? First we inspect the window and discuss with you what action needs taking, if there are rotten sills, corners or uprights we will show you them. We can repair and draught-proof most sashes and you can make the decision whether to remove the rotten areas and splice in new wood if possible , or whether to replace altogether. New sills and sashes, whether in hardwood or softwood, can be fitted without removing the sash box and usually without damaging the internal decoration.

We will ‘service’ the sashes and fit draught-proofing seals and when we do draught-proof a sash window the only place we use brush seals, which are hard to avoid when painting, is in the new staff beads. The remainder of the seals are low friction plastic seals that resist paint and are helpful in cutting out noise as well as draughts. The existing parting beads are replaced with a two-part system that is far easier to remove for painting. We automatically replace the cords with a strong nylon cord that is resistant to rotting and can re-balance the windows, adding extra weights to make the windows run smoothly and easily, if needed. All treated sashes are fitted with rope grabs that make removal and re-installation a simple and easy operation and when we've finished we'll even give you, or your painter, full instruction on the remove/refit steps.

Lastly, if you have cracked or broken panes of glass we can replace them, whilst we are renovating and if your window is really bad and it needs to be replaced with another, we can fabricate that too. We are happy to work on both small and large numbers of windows. If you have a question that the foregoing hasn’t addressed then feel free to ask, our details are on the Contact Us page.

Side removal of sash

This before and after shows the difference

A rotten sash made good as new!

From the days when quality and integrity counted.