No one wants to pick up a huge joinery bill because maintenance hasn’t been kept up properly. In this article we look at professional tips and tricks that’ll keep your wooden sash windows and doors in top condition without spending a fortune. Poor maintenance can lead to rotten joists and flooring, leaving your home unsafe and not mortgageable either, this is totally avoidable even for the most basic skilled DIY enthusiast.
- Wooden sash window and door repair
If you notice rot on your sill sections, door treads do not ignore this. Often what can be repaired as a small splice can spiral out of control into a full sash window sill or treat replacement. Small splice repairs are relatively easy to do for a DIY enthusiast. Simply cut out the offending piece of timber and the screw it into position. With resin then fill the gap and sand the joint. Once your happy with how the repair looks simply prime and undercoat the repair using sealant if there’s a gap to the frame. If your unsure of the sash window sill splicing technique I highly recommend taking a look at the resource provided for clear instruction.
- Treat any exposed timber
If you leave decoration too long you might notice exposed timber on your wooden sash windows and doors. This is the beginning of serious joinery issues. The best thing to do is scrape back any excess paint and then allow the timber to dry fully. Once the timber has been fully dried you will apply a timber preservative. the very best preservative on the market today is Cuprinol Five Star. It’s wood decaying fungus treatment properties virtually guarantee that your timber will stay in top condition. Once this has been generously applied begin the process of priming, undercoating, and then glossing your timber.
- Fill Any cracks in your joinery
It’s possible that you will notice cracks on the joints of your windows and doors. this is perfectly normal because timber moves. When timber is in direct sunlight, it heats and then begins to shift. Where you have two sections of timber joined together, you have two different timbers that have different temperature moving points. This almost always results in cracking. The very best thing you can do in this situation is fill the crack with an epoxy resin that will help hold the joints together. Do not use a low grade decorators filler as the movement will continue, resulting in water ingress and then eventually rotten wood. In the link provided you’ll find a typical mortise and tenon that can crack open.
- Decoration is the key to healthy wooden sash windows and doors
Almost all of maintenance boils down to how well you decorate your sash windows and doors. There is no value in cutting corners, using cheap paints, they just won’t last as long. Instead be sure to use Dulux Trade or Weathershield. These paints will normally last upwards of five years in most circumstances, unless the joinery is South facing and takes significant weathering. Cheap paints might not even last 18 months. When you factor the value of your time into the price of decoration, buying high quality Dulux is a no-brainer and an easy win with regards to avoiding costly wooden sash window repairs.
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