Sash Window Rotten Bottom Rail Repair Advice

[ricvolpe]

Dears,

Since I purchased my 1850 Victorian Flat in Glasgow one year ago, I have been reading posts in this forum for a while, looking to take more initiative in maintaining and repairing my property.

My current focus in on repairing a large sash window in the living room whose bottom rail is visibly rotten. I have been reading in details these two posts which have been very helpful. Today I went around poking the bottom rail and my discovery is that it is very badly rotten (see attached photos) with the rot reaching all the way to the glass panel. Accordingly, I am planning to entirely replace the bottom rail (rather than filling in with a 2-part filler) but because I am not confident in my woodworking abilities I am looking for local joiners to replace my bottom rail.

I am writing here to seek some opinion on the above plan. Does that sound the right course of action? Or should I consider another approach? And if anyone has any recommendation for who to approach in Glasgow, that would be very helpful!

Many thanks

Ric

 

[ricvolpe]

Also, in the process of poking around the rot, opening and closing the window, the right cord became stuck and does not pull anymore, which is unfortunate. I am not quite sure what might be the issue but looks like not much can be done without accessing the inside cord and weight.

 

[fernicarry]

Ah, that's not looking too clever. Shame because it looks original judging by the size of the rounded part of the inside profile. You can get repair sections from ETR, but I don't think the profile will match because the radius will be smaller. You'll probably need to come quite far up the stiles to get back to solid wood and you have the complication of the tenon joints at the bottom having gone too so it probably needs to be disassembled to work on. Everything can be repaired with enough time and effort but I doubt very much if you'll get a trades-person interested in doing so. Still worth asking and hopefully I'll be proved wrong,

I have a couple of original sashes in the loft that were too far gone for straightforward repair but I live in hope that in my dotage I will have the time and skills to make them great again. In the meantime I had replacements made. Five years ago it was only a couple of hundred per sash but like I say the proportions aren't quite the same and once you see that you can't unsee it.

At the risk of making the problem far worse you should have a prod around on other sashes and also on the cills. Any defects could be letting water into the fabric of the building which can create serious problems over time. The reason the bottom rail has gone will be because the putty has failed so even if you don't find any rot on other sashes make sure the putty is in good condition.

So far as the stuck cord is concerned the weights might have gotten tangled up. Try lowering the top sash to see if that unhooks them. Assuming it hasn't been painted shut that is... Also looks like you don't have brush seals on the beads so worth looking at getting them replaced to improve the draft proofing. Removing the beads will allow you to get into the weight pockets to sort out any issues there.

 

[Stevers]

Full set of functioning sash windows here, I was lucky as my father was the generation that knew how to look after them, even if they ultimately chose not to do so themselves. I've only ever had one sash as bad as that in a previous house and had a replacement made by a local joiner. Sydenhams of Poole are one of my local timber merchants and they still list the side and bottom sash sections though they're unlikely to be a perfect match for yours. With those you would be able to either scarf in or replace sections completely as appropriate. Any bare wood I steep in an oily wood preservative and if the wood is weathered in any way I lay on some 'Bonda' resin wood hardener. The two part epoxy resin wood repair systems are your friend, polyester two part 'wood' fillers to be avoided outside as completely useless. Give everything time to dry/set properly and scuff well for good paint adhesion.