Author Archives: southamptoncarpenter

A opportunity arose for me to undertake some circular work. The window in question had been re-glazed approximately 10years ago. Unfortunately the glazier did not measure the bend correctly and had to fit the glass ‘off centre of the bend’. This resulted in the glass having to be forced against the rebate and pinned.In turn […]

This started as a small area of rot in one of the corners. But once I started It became apparent that the whole cill had perished. The exterior walls had been rendered and the interior walls plastered after the window had been fitted. It would have meant either a re- rendered exterior wall or a […]

An area of wet rot to a 1930s window appears to be the result of either water ingress past the putty or insufficient primer used when painting a previous repair. As you can see I  made  a cut out of the effected area leaving in the piece that has the interior moulding it may have […]

There is pressure to replace wooden windows with PVC-u this has come about partly by plastic window industry which has heavily invested in marketing, with the often optimistic claim made to fit replacements  in one day to a whole property, and the promise of a seamless experience with out the need too bring in other […]

Broad Glass. A method used widely in the 12 and 13th century found mainly in churches and cathedrals made by blowing a bubble of molten glass swung to create a tube this was then laid and flattened with  the ends cut. Once cool the tube was cut into small rectangular lengths of sheet glass. Crown glass. […]

Energy efficiency for reasons of economy, comfort and, reducing carbon emissions are a major priority. Economy because we all want to save money and there is only one direction that fuel bills go. Comfort – who would want to live in a cold home with draughts which adds not only to the economy argument but […]

The cords had broken on these shutters, and I could not locate the pockets to access the weights in order to re-cord them. I had to refer to a publication by George Ellis titled ‘Modern Practical Joinery’, printed in 1902, for the answer. As you can see, the pockets had been cleverly hidden behind the […]

This particular porch is in good condition apart from the corner post and cill. The rotten timber was cut out and a hard wood replacement offered up and glued in place, Merranti was used for the post and the cill, the original being an inferior pine, that however was not the cause of this rot, […]

This particularly fine example of a double bow window manufactured and installed in the early 1950s was made by Crittal, who have been trading since 1849 originally in Braintree Essex. The steel windows are almost as good as the day they were made a testament to their quality, the cills were also surprisingly in a […]

An annual visual check and action on potential weak spots, coupled with a 5-7 year cycle of re-painting, will be sufficient to protect your timber windows for many years. The oldest windows I worked on were installed in the 1700s. They were ‘tired’ but because they had been included in a maintenance programme over the […]

Putty The number one cause of rot, it cracks over time, usually starting in the corners, water gets in, and the damage starts.  Water sits in the rebate where it has no means of drying out sufficiently, until next winter arrives, bringing more rain and, for good measure, a frost, which freezes the water between the […]

There are very few instances where a window frame has become damaged by rot any significant distance above the cill.  Such rare instances have four main causes: when water gets into the drip bar or the transom; when a closed opener sits tight on the transom leading to capillary action; when the opener loses the throating, […]

The culprit. A leaking gutter over time will do this damage. Repairs to a bay window the result of a leaking gutter. Showing the damage to the frame and cill and a example of one of the pieces taken out and finally the repair  

Replacement of rotten cills to a former Victorian school, the grooves in the brickwork were made by pupils in the 1800s that used the bricks as a sharpening stone for their pencils, a marine primer was used to protect the new cills until a painter can finish in the desired gloss.