This article will review how sash window restoration can increase the sale value of your property. Many older properties have beautiful and elegant sash windows, which add to the charm and character of the building. Districts of towns and cities with collections of Georgian and Victorian properties are an important part of the heritage of our urban environment. Retaining these elegant windows is not just an aesthetic consideration for homeowners, but many estate agents will say that it makes the property easier to sell, and adds real value.
Single-hung sash windows were probably invented by the French, and copied by the British during the seventeenth century. After that introduction, the double-hung sash appears to have been invented in England, and it allowed much more subtle ventilation than in the older side hung casement windows which were prevalent in earlier buildings.
Until around 1700 windows often used hardwoods such as native oak, but these woods were becoming harder to find and quite expensive, so joiners turned to softwoods from fir and pine trees. At this time these woods could be imported from the Baltic and from North America.
Although many timber windows built in the 1950s and 1960s have already deteriorated, sash windows from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries may often be found in good condition. This is because the Georgian and Victorian builders used the more expensive, and higher quality heartwood, from the center of the tree, rather than the cheaper sapwood, which is often unsuitable for external joinery.
During any sash window repair project it is important to use the best quality wood. If top-quality heartwood is not available, then use sapwood which has been thoroughly treated with timber preservative. Despite the popular belief that all softwoods are of inferior quality, there are many top quality woods available from well managed forests in Scandinavia, North America and the UK.
When sash windows are being repaired it is possible to introduce modern improvements such as weather seals. These are fitted into grooves which can be machined into the sashes. They are both discreet, and effective at eliminating draughts and rattles.
There are also modern glasses available which provide better thermal and noise performance than the original window glass. Security, plus safety for young children, may also be improved by fitting more modern varieties of lock.
Single-hung sash windows were probably invented by the French, and copied by the British during the seventeenth century. After that introduction, the double-hung sash appears to have been invented in England, and it allowed much more subtle ventilation than in the older side hung casement windows which were prevalent in earlier buildings.
Until around 1700 windows often used hardwoods such as native oak, but these woods were becoming harder to find and quite expensive, so joiners turned to softwoods from fir and pine trees. At this time these woods could be imported from the Baltic and from North America.
Although many timber windows built in the 1950s and 1960s have already deteriorated, sash windows from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries may often be found in good condition. This is because the Georgian and Victorian builders used the more expensive, and higher quality heartwood, from the center of the tree, rather than the cheaper sapwood, which is often unsuitable for external joinery.
During any sash window repair project it is important to use the best quality wood. If top-quality heartwood is not available, then use sapwood which has been thoroughly treated with timber preservative. Despite the popular belief that all softwoods are of inferior quality, there are many top quality woods available from well managed forests in Scandinavia, North America and the UK.
When sash windows are being repaired it is possible to introduce modern improvements such as weather seals. These are fitted into grooves which can be machined into the sashes. They are both discreet, and effective at eliminating draughts and rattles.
There are also modern glasses available which provide better thermal and noise performance than the original window glass. Security, plus safety for young children, may also be improved by fitting more modern varieties of lock.
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Get inside information on how sash window restoration can significantly increase the sale value of your property now in our complete review of sash window repairs and sash windows london .
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