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.

Traditionally, this cladding detail, often associated with late Victorian and Arts and Crafts styles, would have been fitted before rendering. By cutting a chamfer onto the planks, the render effectively forms a dovetail with the cladding, helping stop cupping and fixing it in place

After carefully removing the cladding, we needed to tidy up the wall behind to ensure we had a good fixing medium and made the decorators job a little easier by giving the render a coat of white paint.

We could then fit the replacement cladding, ensuring a solid fixing using stainless screws.

For this job, we were also asked to replace the existing casement windows, which we did in pressure treated pine with hardwood sills.

It soon became apparent that the sashes themselves were in bad condition. As the property isn’t listed, we took the opportunity to improve on a few things that the homeowner had mentioned. First was the warmth in the room and the second was the seemingly low light levels.

After replacing the sills in Accoya, we made new sashes in joinery quality pressure treated pine. We fitted the latest argon filled double glazing with aged leadwork and welded joints to maintain the style of the originals, but opted for slightly thinner leadwork. This small detail, whilst seemingly insignificant, gives a much clearer view of the garden and the impression of much more light coming through the window.

Getting an old window out cleanly on an older building without damaging soft brickwork or delicate lime plaster can be a bit of an art-form at times and needs to be done with great care.  On a side note, if the window is original, then it’s worth knowing that it was common practice to build the window into the wall. It’s important to consider how the brickwork above will be supported when the window is removed.

No matter how many times you measure, it’s always a tense moment when you arrive to fit a window and double-check your measurements. We could see that this window was going to go in just perfectly, snug enough with the brickwork and with nice even reveals to the inside linings.

With the window in, functioning and sealed up against the masonry, the cottage will keep its character without the hassle and discomfort of a rotten, patched up window at the front.

We decided to replace the sashes, making them oversize, then shooting them in to fit perfectly around the settlement of the bay.

We were then able to replace the hardware around the window, including new stays, hinges and catches. With the windows now opening and closing perfectly, the bay was ready for the decorator to work their magic.

Whilst repair was still possible, the customer took the opportunity to upgrade to double glazed units. To achieve this, we opted for new sashes with slightly beefed up joinery to handle the additional weight.

Although it’s often possible to retrofit double glazing into an existing sash, the results are usually short-lived as the extra weight and shallow rebates are less than ideal for both the joinery and the double glazed unit itself. In fact, we often see the sashes and/or glazing fail within 10 years.

To incorporate the stronger sashes and their double glazing, we double rebated each sash to fit snugly into each original frame. This retains the flush appearance of the original design whilst also gaining some additional weather protection, useful in this relatively exposed position on the building.

Pressure treated softwood has superior rot resistance to hardwood and once decorated, it will far outlast a uPVC window.

To ensure the window was weather-tight against the tiles, we fitted rebated linings which seal the edges.

We started by tidying up the brickwork and taking exact measurements for the window. Produced in pressure treated pine and using the latest argon filled double glazing, this will be more rot resistant than even a hardwood window.

We went with spiral balances rather than weights and cords so that the glazing could let as much light in as possible from the porch. We also stuck with the late Victorian window style elsewhere in the house and put horns on both sashes.

We finished this one with a new window board and architraves ready for redecoration.

We were back in Chesham to replace these French doors. Unfortunately, it was a similar story to the window we’d replaced earlier. A combination of poor material choice and bad design had meant that the originals had failed within 10 years.

For the replacement, we opted for a pressure treated pine frame, paired with hardwood sill to stand up to wear and tear. For the doors themselves, we always recommend Accoya wood for its 50-year rot resistance and amazing dimensional stability against the elements which makes it the perfect choice for larger exterior joinery like doors.

This new window was fitted as part of extensive modernisation work to the original 1904 Grade II listed former Police Station.

Despite appearing quite simple, this window is rich in design features; slim and elegant stiles, a turning piece with beaded edge to break-up the facade and we also copied the extra-thick 1 ¼ glazing bars on the original, which were designed to keep the apprehended in! Built in pressure treated pine, these should still be protecting and serving the occupants in another 120 years’ time.