Author Archives: southamptoncarpenter

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 theContinue reading “Maintenance:”

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 theContinue reading “Rot in openers and sliding sashes:”

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,Continue reading “Rot in window frames:”

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.

Refurbishment of a bay window…

Secondary glazing manufactured and fitted to a timber bay window. This format of secondary glazing is common in Europe. Essentially, a second window is fitted into the reveal. The secondary windows open inwards so the original bay window remains intact with its windows opening outwards. This type of secondary glazing is less conspicuous than aluminiumContinue reading “Secondary glazing”

These images show the process of repairing a rotted corner in an otherwise sound hardwood window frame. This rot occurred almost certainly due to the failure of the rubber draught seal that is fitted to this type of window. Over time, the rubbers can become compressed and tired, which weakens the seal, allowing water toContinue reading “Repairing a rotted window”

These pictures show repairs to a bay window: replacing the cill, machining out the rotten timber on the bottom rail and the stile to a fixed window, and fitting timber cheeks.

This shows a repair to the corner of a window cill that had been chewed by a previous owner’s dog, showing the method of routing out the damaged piece and the finished repair.

This is the refurbishment of a fan light (the glazing above a door). This particular fan light had rotted because of the failure of the putty, which is a common cause of rot in timber frames and widows. It is  important to check the putty, particularly on the bottom of the glazing and on theContinue reading “Refurbishment of a fan light in Southampton”

This is the replacement of window, by beading and scarfing-in replacement cills on the corner section of a hardwood conservatory. The beading was machined from stock wood because the exact moulding was not available off the shelf.

This was a recent repair to a conservatory roof, undertaken without taking the polycarbonate roof off, using 45 degree scarfing joints and finishing in white gloss.

It is well worth the time and effort to repair timber windows and frames, not only from a financial perspective but also from an aesthetic point of view. There are many fine examples of traditional timber windows, whether the timeless purity of traditional box sashes or straight forward timber casements, that complement the building’s overallContinue reading “Window and Window Frame Repairs”

This is an example of replacement to the window and fascia on a double garage.