Sash Window Renovation Or Replacement Which Decision Is The Best:

| Saturday, April 7, 2012
By Nathan William Holding


As Jane Austen's novels are made into films and screened world wide sash windows play their parts in defining the elegance of the buildings that graced her era. Behind them gentlemen and ladies interact as people do. By night they are covered by gilded curtains and by day they are open to let in the fragrances of English gardens. Sash window refurbishment or replacement which option is the best:

Real life may leave different impressions of sash windows. A man walks into a room and sees that his dog is enthusiastically digging a hole in a flower bed. He rushes to the window and tugs at the little brass ears that are placed there for lifting. The window rises a centimetre and then sticks fast. The man bends and bellows ineffectually through the crack. The dog carries on digging.

Public buildings erected before the world wars had such windows. Banks of them grace schools, hospital and public offices, From outside they add considerably to the grace and beauty of buildings.

On closer inspection, after years of service, wear and tear has wrought its ravages. Cords that are supposed to link frames to weights hang loosely, having assumed a distinctive pale grey colour. Successive layers of paint and dirt clog the runners. The windows rattle in the wind and let in draughts. In many cases they obstinately refuse to budge, either up or down. In classrooms a ruler may be used to prop them up six inches to allow for air. In government offices a now unused ash tray may serve the same purpose.

Inevitably the question arises of whether to refurbish old windows or replace them with new ones. Broad expanses of bullet proof or one way glass are now available and they may be fixed in light weather proof aluminium frames. The problem is that such windows can destroy the character of a precious old building making it appear like a lady of advanced years wearing teenage trinkets.

They define the face of the building and were designed as part of it. Air can circulate through the top and bottom parts when open. When shut the windows keep out bad weather and dark nights, making people feel safe inside.

The good news is that there are firms specializing in the restoration of windows to the elegant and effective frames that they were when first installed. After supplying a quote these firms will plane and grout the surrounds of windows, make them draught proof and scrape old paint away. Beading will be replaced. The windows will no longer rattle or jam. Instead they will fly open as easily as they appear to do in period films. The restored sash windows will retain the elegance and historic integrity of a building whilst working just as elegantly as they did when first installed.




About the Author:



0 comments:

Post a Comment