WhatsApp has become our go-to tool for this; it’s easy, quick and almost ubiquitous. So, we thought why not allow the good folk of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and surrounding areas contact us via WhatsApp straight off the website!?

And why wouldn’t you want to chat with us. Colin’s quite the raconteur when he gets going!

The observant amongst you will notice our website now has a big green WhatsApp button on each page. No doubt you’ll have some questions about how to use it.

If you’re on a PC, Laptop or tablet, (you might want your mobile phone’s camera to hand to take photos of windows, doors, exterior joinery etc) click on the button and follow the 3 easy-peasy steps.

If you’re viewing the website on your phone, well that’s even easier-peasier. Head to the Contact Us page and just click the WhatsApp button. Like magic, you’re chatting with us.

You can of course still contact us via email or on the “dog and bone” in exactly the same way as before. If you email, just remember to include your phone number as it’s helpful to talk things over.

Although a relatively straightforward job, the devil is in the details. With this style of beading where the bottom bead is larger and forms a drip, it’s essential to get the vertical beads just right. The Georgian style glazing bars add another detail in that the choice of pin length for fixed is critical.

With so many cuts to make, it’s important to get all these details ironed out so you can get in a rhythm and be productive.

Double glazing an existing window throws up a handful of challenges:

Firstly, the rebate depth of the sash needs to accommodate the extra thickness of the glass and still leave room for some form of facing to retain the glass. In this case, the fitter had resorted to a very thin bead of mastic.

Secondly, the extra weight of the glass in the sash needs to be counterbalanced by the weights in the sash box. The fitter had achieved this by adding a number of make-weights on top of the original weight. The length of all these weights meant that the window never properly closed again and would snag when opened, leading to the owner essentially abandoning use of the window.

To restore use and proper closure of the window, we opted to replace the weights in the box with a heavier material that would take up less space and allow for free movement. Although apparently straightforward, removing the weights was an awkward job involving painstaking use of seemingly every long, flat item in the tool kit.

5 “naughty little sausages” later, we discovered and removed the original weight. It was then a simple case of replacing the weights appropriately and hanging them from new long-life sash cords before re-fitting the window and perfecting the closure position.

With the introduction of staff and parting bead with draft proof pile machined into it, it’s possible to eliminate the drafts and rattles without damaging the structure of the window itself.

However, fitting the beading perfectly is critical to keeping the window working whilst also keeping the drafts out. We were near Great Missenden adjusting and replacing the beading which hadn’t quite been fitted correctly; some windows were a little sticky while others were drafty.

Luckily, the sash weight cords were in good enough condition to keep, but we also found the catches weren’t closing the meeting rails correctly in some places. We therefore replaced the existing alloy catches with a good quality solid brass catch of a different design that will keep pulling the window closed snugly well into the future.

After removing the broken pieces, we reglazed with some suitable glass in keeping with the remaining panes.

We then replaced the cords on the sash weights. These windows have a classic Georgian design with the pocket in the center of the pulley lining so the parting bead helps hold the pocket in place.

Finally, we made some adjustments to the bottom sash and beading so that the window closed perfectly and stopped any drafts but could still be opened easily and smoothly.

We were able to repair the window by fitting a solid wooden sill, jointed just as the original was. This method of repair restores the window to good as new condition without any of the trouble and expense of replacement. New draft-excluding beading completes the repair.

These are the windows to the changing rooms of a gym, hence the obscured glass. They had been painted shut for quite some time and we were asked to get them working again.

The challenges were two-fold; find out why they had been painted shut and correct it, and perform the work without holding-up too many gym goers in need a shower!

After removing the beading and sashes, it quickly became clear that a broken sash cord was the cause of the problem. We installed our long-life sash cords to put the matter right. The vital point to note with the cords is that the ends MUST be sealed to prevent fraying. We use a very specific model of German hotknife which simultaneously cuts the cord and seals the cut end in a matter of seconds using a 600 degree C blade.

We refitted the sashes with beading that has as draft-excluding pile machined into it. Finally, we made sure the sashes were opening, closing and meeting perfectly. The windows can now be opened in summer or when the changing rooms are full of condensation, and when closed they’ll keep out the cold just as well as when they were painted shut.

A design from the 1920’s in the Art Deco style, they allow the full aperture of the window to be enjoyed when open. To keep the weather out when closed, they rely on a hook rebate; a great idea but after 100 years the hook shape gets filled with paint and the thin stiles warp, preventing the hook shapes meeting together correctly. This is also a very common cause of failure and subsequent rot on window sills when the drip groove of the sill gets filled with paint, so check those sills this spring! We cleaned the rebates out and gave them a fresh, thin coat of long life, micro-porous paint.

Now back to those thin stiles. Rather than using strips of wooden beading that you might see on more modern timber windows, the glazing on here is held in place with putty. It keeps the profiles thin, the site-lines clear and emphasises the classical proportions of the window: That all-important Golden Ratio. Again, a great idea but finding someone who’s good a puttying is another matter. Luckily, we can putty like Charles Catteau could throw pots.

The (mere 64) corners are the fiddly bits. Other than that, you just need to peer through the glass to the rebate behind and match the putty depth exactly with a Sheffield steel putty knife as you smooth it. You don’t want to see the rebate behind, but you don’t want to make the window profiles any thicker either. No bubbles, no scuff marks, no ripples, for crying-out-loud don’t scratch the glass or the woodwork and if you can apply the putty with both hands at the same time, well that’s perfection.

This large central sash was in need of a service to get it working perfectly. As part of the service, we made sure the sash chains were moving smoothly. If sashes are hung on cords, we replace the existing ones with our long life cords. We made sure the meeting rail between the two sashes fit perfectly together, added Brighton catches to ensure no gaps where drafts might get through. Finally, we replaced the existing parting and staff beading with a beading that has pile machined into it. The pile acts as a draft excluder as well has significantly reducing outside noise.

This particular sash needed a bit of extra work in the form of a plank A repair in Accoya.

Once refitted, the window kept more noise out, retained more heat and despite being about 40kgs, could be opened with a single finger.

The window was difficult to access with a ladder so whilst the scaffolding was up, we were asked to replace the drip so that the decorator could finish the painting. We took a precise set of measurements and made a sketch of the profile. With no space on site to set up our mobile joinery shop, we headed back-to-base to set the tools up. After machining the drip, we gave it a few coats of long life primer.

The next day, we were back on the scaffold to fit the drip, trim the plugs for the screw heads and hand the job back to the decorator.