The Beauty of Maintenance
It is always a joy when we come across a house that has been well maintained, and we’re there to do window maintenance. Last week the job was to replace some broken sash cords, some broken glass, etc in an 1890’s house in Salem, MA. Even though I try to be very observant when doing estimates, until you start pulling apart a window you have no idea what you are going to encounter.
This house had beautiful two over one windows. They had been serviced in the past so the front stops were easy to remove and the pocket covers were all there with all the weights. Best of all, the jamb had never been painted (which is correct). Some paint had made it’s way from the sash to the parting stops so we lost a few of those in removal. But it’s pretty easy to move quickly when all of these conditions are in place. The only quirky thing was that the weights seem to have been reversed at some time. Two lite sash weigh more than singles generally so the heavier weights should have been for the upper sash, but no big deal to get them ordered correctly.
The stair hall window was a lovely diamond pane window with the center four panes in green glass both on the upper and lower sash. There were seven broken panes on the lower sash as it had come crashing down when the ropes broke. Previous maintenance work had not been done on this window and I soon found out why - no pocket covers! Without these there is no way to get in to the weights which explained why the cords had not been replaced.
Years ago I had no idea how to cope with this situation. There are now a few tricks we have devised to get in there. For this one I drilled two diagonal holes using a 3/8″ drill bit. Then I put the jigsaw blade in the first hole and sawed upward until I was opposite the second hole. Turn the jigsaw around, put in second hole and saw downward. Then saw across the top and the bottom making a square pocket opening. Chains attached to weights, cover back on and window restored to working order.
Wax is a window restorers friend. We use it primarily to lubricate the side edges of the sash. It’s also great to use on the jamb under the upper sash. That area is constantly exposed to sunlight and can get quite shredded looking. Wax helps to protect it from weather and keep the window moving freely.
Add comment May 28th, 2008
