Sash window internal window board

[Craig89]

Before I have my walls plastered I want to get the window boards fitted to my windows and I was just wondering if anybody has any pictures or details of there own that I can work with to emulate a period item. E.g, how far do they project from the plaster, do they have "wings" that project further than the window left and right, are they generally a full radius, 1" or 7/8' thick I assume?

Also the slot in the sill is obviously for accepting the window board, would it be just slotted in or glued in or other means of fixing?

Thanks, Craig

 

[malcolm]

Ordinarily the inside of the sash window is flush with the inside plaster. You just nail a bit of architrave on after plastering.

Mine are all over the place. I went for double glazed which added 32mm to the window thickness. The windows are recessed where I have insulated and they stick out where I haven't.

For the recessed windows like yours I nailed some 3/4 inch bits of wood around the edge of the insulation to the level I wanted the plaster. Was thinking about nailing architrave to that. Plaster is done but I haven't added the architrave yet.

 

[Craig89]

Mine vary too due to different wall thicknesses. So traditionally would the architrave have gone across the bottom too as opposed to a window board?

 

[Feltwell]

No, window board. Will post up a pic, my house is pretty close to yours in age & location

 

[Feltwell]

Here you go Craig - an "in progress" window, no pesky curtains in the way! Window board is 1" thick and projects 1 3/4" into the room from the plaster.

Dresser Mouldings are a good online supplier of "period" architraves. Select Joinery in Ketley is good if you want a copy of an existing moulding, he has a good selection of cutters there, but it will cost you much more that an "off the shelf" one from Dresser of course. He'd soon knock you up some window board though, he's very helpful.

Fixing window board - mine has that slot too, but I've only had to replace one and that was already missing. I dowelled and glued it in place, and screwed up from beneath into the bottom of the architrave, it's held fine.

 

[Craig89]

Thats great Feltwell, thanks very much.

I was going to go to AK Williams for the window boards but may go to Select Joinery for a price too, thanks.

Although my windows aren't flush with the plaster and are recessed to varying degrees maybe they would still look good with an architrave around the opening with the reveal painted the same colour.

I'm usually against permanent fixings like gluing the window board to the window but at the end of the day it should never need to be removed and there isn't really a better way of fixing it so that's probably the best way to go.

Thanks, Craig

 

[Feltwell]

Although my windows aren't flush with the plaster and are recessed to varying degrees maybe they would still look good with an architrave around the opening with the reveal painted the same colour.

I agree, should look good!

Select Joinery have been really helpful with all kinds of odds & ends for me, I tend to turn up there regularly with some odd bit of wood that I need a section making up to. The owner there likes to see people working "properly" on old houses, both he & one of his staff (who is into his 70's) were apprenticed at a long since defunct timber business in Wellington that seemed to supply all the local Victorian builders, they know & have cutters for a lot of the local architrave and skirting profiles.

Alliance Joinery in Wellington is another worthwhile contact.

 

[Craig89]

I remembered last night that I still had an original window board on my bay window and measured the projection from the frame to the end of the board, 2", same as yours Feltwell so its a fair assumption that the rest would have been similar to yours.

On that note could I have another measurement please? How wide is your architrave and how far does the window board (in terms of its length) project past the architrave. Just so I have some idea of how wide (long) to make them.

On the same subject is your architrave around the windows the same as around the doors, in terms of size and moulding? I still have some original architraves from around my doors and it was wider (70mm as opposed to 60mm) downstairs compared with upstairs and just wondered if the stuff around the windows followed suit.

Sorry for all the questions

Thanks, Craig

 

[Feltwell]

That's fine Craig. Just bear in mind there are no set rules, this is just how the builders built this place!

Architrave - The picture I sent you was of a bedroom window on the 1st floor, the architrave is 3 3/4" wide. In the same room the architrave round the door is 4 1/2" wide, to the same pattern. The window board extends 1 1/2" past the architrave.

That is for a "posh" room though - go to one of the more utilitarian rooms and the architrave is the same pattern but smaller & cheaper. Very common for the Victorians to have larger mouldings in the rooms that guests may see, so for example our kitchen doorway has a much larger architrave on the hallway side than the kitchen side. By the time you get to our attic everything is poverty spec!

 

[Craig89]

4 1/2" architrave, wow thats quite substantial. Thanks for your help, it gives me some figures to work with

 

[Feltwell]

Yes, they are quite chunky. We've got 5 different sizes, going down to 2 1/2", all in the same pattern. Bit of a pain to be honest, whenever you need a piece sod's law says you've got every size but the one you need! :lol:

 

[CliffordPope]

We've got window cills about a foot deep, with angled sides to the window embrasure. I'd never experienced or heard of window boards before I read this thread.
But the dimensions of the architrave are similar. The cill/board projects about 1 1/2" beyond the edge of the vertical architrave, and the architrave supports the overhanging cill, with cut-away ends, which stop abouy 1/2 " before the ends of the cill.
I think it all looks nicer if the cill is quite thin, 7/8" perhaps, or in proportion if the window is very large.

 

[Craig89]

Got the window board installed, looks good and I'm happy with it. Ended up with around 2" sticking out from the wall but all in all went quite well

 

[Feltwell]

Looks good Craig - you'll be decorating soon!