I wonder how many other woodworkers would like to have a stab at replacing their old rotten or hideous plastic windows. If they could combine all the benfits and security of modern double glazing with the beauty and warmth of traditional oak casements, and save a fortune into the bargain then how many would love to give it a go?. Is it in the realms of hobbiest woodworker. Trouble is there seems to be a complete dearth of information on how to make windows. I reckon it would make a cracking series for a magazine. I bet iIm not the only one waiting for it.
This sounds a great idea to me John and can we include some information on how to fit sash window boxes when you have built them and ripped out the dreaded upvc replacements
If you fitted boxes into the rebates of upvc windows you would have to use balance spirals as weight boxes would take up much too much room and you would be excluding your light. Much better to use casements which can be completely draught proof stripped and contain sealed units fitted with beads, made of oak or similar finished with oil they would outlast any other and I agree they would look much better, but more expensive. Given a router table or spindle moulderwith the proper tooling window making is not beyond the average woodworker.
Thanks for the advice, I guess I didnt make my self very clear, the house had sash windows that had been ripped out and replaced with upvc, so it was a case of taking out the nasty plastic winows and removing the infill bricks back to the origional hole for the box and then fitting a new box. As I dont have acess to a spindle moulder and because I was quoted a very good price I took the easy way out with the first window and had it made, but now I know how easy they are to fit I am trying to persuade my wife that if I invested in a spindle moulder and made the rest of the sashes and boxes we would save money in the long run and I dont just want to buy a new toy!
Gavin, Go to www.sashwindowspecialist.com/diyguide thats one on sash windows, If not on Google go to search punch in "weights for sash windows" and you should get up lots of Web sites on sash windows,
Ivor, thanks for the info, at the moment I am still in negociations with the wife about the merits of buying a spindle moulder, but once I persuade her its a vital piece of kit and we will save fortunes, I will get back to the windows!
Hi I know its been a while on this topic but I used to make Sliding sash windows at my old company, they are very easy to build and I was turning 1 off windows around easily in a day. No need for a spindle moulder because Travis Perkins sell the sash section off the shelf very reasonably priced!!
as do most good merchants, as i mentioned way back in this post, you can buy all the components, but, at a price, the object of being a woodworker is that you make it all.
Joinery is a completely separate field as we all know and there is so much to learn if we 'cross-over'. A specialist magazine would be a good idea, but is there a good customer base? George Ellis's book, 'Modern Practical Joinery' is one good source, if you are the sort who can learn like this and you want to use genuine retro-techniques.
As for wooden window frames, I had it up to my hair roots with sash windows in the 1960's. I worked for a guy who had a council contract, for repairs and replacements on buildings that were over 100 years old then. I got tired of codging. Having to replace rotten sash-frames and boxes, and then re-fit the old window; hanging new doors into rotten door-frames or replacing frames and re-hanging the old door. It was mainly the fault of incompetent 'Building Inspectors' who were trying to keep down costs, but it caused me a lot of headaches and guilty 'codging'..
Plastic might not suit the modern trend for retro-fashion, (and it is only a fashion), but I am glad I had the rotten wooden frames ripped out of my house, which was built in 1971.
Gavin, good luck to you, but had I replaced with oak, I might now be forever caulking around them. Wood moves and causes draghts. The Missus might not be so charmed by quaint oaken frames then!
And I wonder... Which horrifies the greenies most? Pollution from the manufacture of plastics, or decimation of our oak trees, to build wooden frames? Now there's a thought.
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