Windows painted shut

frogglet

Sarah windows are more complicated to paint to keep them opening. 
Go round and press on them, you will soon find out if they are rotten.

NeverTooLate

I recently renovated some 100+ year old sash windows myself. If you have a little diy knowledge it's not a too difficult a job with the help of internet tutorials.

I removed the bottom half of the window (you'll need to cut the paint if it's painted in), then with that window out you can sand, replace putty, repaint etc easily. Then you replace the sash cords, then replace the window and it all works as good as new.

I fitted nice solid brass window locks that make the window secure and stop it rattling.

I decided that refurbishing the top half of the window would be a job too much for me, so screwed that shut. With sash windows you can push the bottom one right up to the top which allows plenty of ventilation.

All of the above assumes that you don't find too much rot once you take the window out, although a little rot can be easily fixed.

youth_leader

All of my sashes were painted shut in my grade II listed house, I'd commissioned my own survey and they all had dry rot.  I did invite someone to give a quote for repair/replacements, he spent three hours at the house but after six emails asking for the quote I gave up.  I put it on the market and told the buyer's mortgage lender surveyor I had tried to get a quote without success, he said it was common and indicated he didn't want the work.  @NeverTooLate if you are getting drafts from the middle where the sashes join, I recommend the microwave neck warmers, just long enough.  

NameUnavailable

NeverTooLate said:

I recently renovated some 100+ year old sash windows myself. If you have a little diy knowledge it's not a too difficult a job with the help of internet tutorials.

I removed the bottom half of the window (you'll need to cut the paint if it's painted in), then with that window out you can sand, replace putty, repaint etc easily. Then you replace the sash cords, then replace the window and it all works as good as new.

I fitted nice solid brass window locks that make the window secure and stop it rattling.

I decided that refurbishing the top half of the window would be a job too much for me, so screwed that shut. With sash windows you can push the bottom one right up to the top which allows plenty of ventilation.

All of the above assumes that you don't find too much rot once you take the window out, although a little rot can be easily fixed.

The way a sash window is meant to work is to have it open at the top and bottom, which causes the air to circulate in the room (warmer air rising so escapes through the upper sash). Genius idea really.

NameUnavailable

14sprocket said:

NameUnavailable said:

What sort of windows are they?

It could just mean running a stanley knife along the joins and a bit of a heave to get them to open again, or they could have been painted shut to hide rotten frames.

Sash windows, rather old

My concern indeed is that the windows may need major repairs once the paint is stripped

You will really want to strip the paint and repaint them properly so that they are fully working again.

There may be some rotten woodwork but it's not too expensive to replace a frame or two. You should also look at the cords and if you're taking the windows apart replace them anyway (I had sash windows and a couple of the cords snapped making it difficult to open/close them).

On balance I'd rather have original sash's than some ugly looking replacement DG (I know you can get sash DG and some nice sash style/looking DG, I'm thinking the sort of stuff they fitted in the 70's 80's).

Some people paint them shut to stop draughts and rattles so it might not be all bad news but if they're original frames I guess you need to expect some rot.

NeverTooLate

The way a sash window is meant to work is to have it open at the top and bottom, which causes the air to circulate in the room (warmer air rising so escapes through the upper sash). Genius idea really.

True, but getting the top one out on my own was not an option - large windows. I can always remove the screws from the tops at a later date.

@NeverTooLate if you are getting drafts from the middle where the sashes join, I recommend the microwave neck warmers, just long enough.

Thanks @youth_leader sounds like a genius idea - I guess you don't need the neck warmers on your neck if you use them to stop up the draughts! However due to my bodging, the top part of the window is screwed to the frame and the window locks keep the bottom one tight to the top when done up - so no draughts!