Sash window 3rd floor refurb options

chaotic_j

Hi,

I have a pair of lovely original sash windows on the 3rd floor which are the last remaining in the house - everything else is standard uPVC. At the moment the side is scaffolded for other repairs, so the windows are accessible. It looks like the paint is cracked all over, putty missing in places and some paint missing - down to bare, grey wood but not rotten.

I can have a carpenter refurbish, said they would seal between frame and glass with silicone mastic and paint in 4 coats of Sadolin Superdec.

When I mentioned about linseed oil putty etc.. they can use putty if I want but that the world has moved on and modern products are available. Then said they can use a hardwood glazing bead instead. The price would be £240.

The room is used for storage and not heated - lots of water/moisture gathers on the inside and it's been covered in black mould - now tried to clean some off. I've never opened the windows but undid the bolts today and the left hand one opens and seems to work fine. The future plan is to use as a games room   

Just wondering what others would recommend options wise:

1. Try and putty myself then paint (risky option as I'm good at starting but bad at finishing projects)
2. Pay carpenter to refurbish at £240 to keep the windows going. But may need scaffolding in future (cost could be around £500)
3. Have the windows carefully removed, not destroyed to reuse elsewhere (how feasible is this) and replace with modern uPVC (could be expensive)?
4. Have some specialist completely restore the windows inside and out, maybe even making them double glazed (most expensive option)?

Thanks very much in advance.

travis-powers

I work on a lot of sash windows can you give more details as to what your carpenter will do as £240 seems quite cheap, I like to strip windows, clean them up replace putty yes modern sealant is available but I’ve never used it.
 Repaint the sashes while they are out superdec is ideal for this also as a minimum I would replace parting and staff beads with new brush beads.
All of this can be done safely from inside without a scaffold.
Is there any rot?

FreeBear

It is possible to get thin sealed units some 10-12mm thick. They are not hugely expensive, but modifying the frames will bump the cost up a bit.

chaotic_j

Hi @travis-powers those are the only details I have from the carpenter unfortunately. So the work could actually be done without a scaffold, by removing the sashes? Is that right?

I'm not sure whether to just have them removed and replaced with uPVC double glazing to be honest, it's very difficult in my area to find someone that knows what they are doing..

travis-powers

Absolutely, I would hope he/she would remove the sashes to decorate so all work to the frame could be done from the inside.
 Have you considered Freebears suggestion of slimline glazing it’s very good, it looks from the picture that there may be enough meat on the glazing bars to route out the extra depth required however you would need to replace the weights.
 What I find now is that the cost to update/refurb sash windows is greater than a replacement upvc  so people only do the work when they have to keep them, which is a shame as they are nice windows

chaotic_j

Hi @travis-powers I did contact a sash window refurb company emailing them some pics and dims for an indicative price but they didn't get back to me.. they said on the phone, couldn't come to even look for a few months.. thought if I have all the various cost options would make it easier to decide. I do like them and would like to keep them but like I say in my area most people would just rip them out?

Apodemus

Nothing really to add to the above, but just a vote in favour of a refurb rather than replacement.

In their original working condition, most sash windows can be cleaned, painted or repaired from the inside.  The trick is getting all the moving parts back to their original condition - in other words not painted shut!  Personally I prefer traditional linseed putty, but it does come with the added need to make sure that the putty has time to dry before being painted over, which tends to rule it out for situations where you are paying for a tradesman to visit to do this.  

Oh, and don't rule out some cheap secondary glazing as an option to weigh up when thinking through the whole single/double/slimline issue.