When it comes to sash window repairs and restoring your old timber windows or timber french doors, there are two main options: doing it yourself or hiring a professional window restoration company to restore sash windows.
Both sash window restoration options have their pros and cons, so how do you decide which is the best option to fit your needs and budget?
In this blog post, we’ll take a look at the benefits and drawbacks of each renovation approach and help you to make an informative decision or point your research affords in the right direction.
Table of Contents
What does it take to Restore Windows Yourself?
First of all, you need to look at the wooden window restoration task as realistic as possible. It is human psychology to overestimate abilities and underestimate the task which always leads to frustration, stress and dissatisfaction.
As with any physical work, window restoration is not physically easy. It requires holding a sander or other electric tools for long periods of time, working all day on ladders, and scaffolds mean moving back and forwards.
If you are not doing this every day and your mussels do not get used to this work, just after a couple of days you will become exhausted and will start looking for sash window services to finish the work you have started.
Planning and Research
Before you start restoring your windows, sit down, take a cup of coffee and do your research and planning.
Start by finding some images of sash window details to get yourself familiar with different sash window parts. Read blog posts and articles about window restoration and double glazing instaletion if it is in your plan to replace single glazing with double glazed units.
There are many articles and youtube videos about the most common sash windows problems like broken sash cords, rotten window sill and broken glass panes.
You need to submerge yourself window restoration topic for some time to understand what is involved.
Tools, Access Equipment and Materials
From your research, you should have a good idea of what tools and materials you will need.
You will need ladders or scaffolds to access the windows. Besides that, you need to think about an electric sander, different grades of sandpaper, paint brushes, dust sheets and other equipment to work with wood, cords and glass.
You will also need to factor in the cost of tools that you will need to buy in addition to what you already have. The tools list will highly depend on the method of restoration your will follow, so lots of variables here and good research is a must, that’s why planning and research come first and buying tools suldho be done shortly before your start the project itself.
Also think about wood fillers, glazing putty, paint or varnish and other materials, depending on the condition of your windows, you will need a different amount of each material.
Skills
It’s also not just a case of sanding down the wood and slapping on a new coat of paint.
Depending on the severity of the timber damage, your window restoration project might require professional carpentry skills and this is something that can not get trained overnight watching youtube.
Hire a Professional Window Restoration Company
If in doubt about restoring windows yourself, it is always better to hire a professional window restoration company.
There are Plenty of Reasons for that:
- The quality of work will be much higher.
- The company will have all the necessary tools, materials and access equipment.
- The workers will have the required skills and experience.
- The company will be insured, so in case of any accidents, you will not be liable.
- The work will be done much faster.
- You will have a guarantee for the work done.
Research and Planning
Research is still required when you hire a professional window restoration company.
You need to make sure that the company is reputable, has a good track record of working with historic buildings, uses quality materials and has a solid guarantee for your peace of mind.
The best wayto fin d a reputable company is by asking for recommendations from your friends, family or neighbours or checking for Google reviews, Trustpilot reviews and other independent platform.
Check the company’s website, and their social media accounts and see if they have any certificates or accreditations.
Write a List of Requirements and Priorities
There are also so many different options available from acoustic glass to double glazing retrofitting and draught-proofing, make sure you know your needs, otherwise, you can overpay for things that you do not really need.
For example, if you have a large house like yourself your need to double glaze every single window or some basement and dormer windows can remain single glazed and restoration and painting is also they need.
A good, understanding of your requirement and avoiding unnecessary work will serve well your budget.
Get quotes for window replacement, restoration and other options to see the bigger picture
Once you have done your research and planning, the next step is to get quotes from different companies.
Get at least three different quotes and make sure you compare them not just by price but by other variables such as guarantee, specs of timber and glass.
The quote should include all the materials, labour costs, and any other additional costs such as scaffolding or skip hire.
You can use our quote comparison tool to get multiple quotes from different window restoration companies in one place and compare, but because window restoration is a quick costly job, better to hand-pick companies for your quotes as quote comparison is usually used by less reputable, smaller companies.
Think long-term, quality work gives better value over quick and cheap patching
Once all the quotes are in, it is time to make a decision.
Remember that you get what you pay for and when it comes to your windows, it is worth investing in a good quality job and it is always better to repair original sash windows than replace the entire window frame and sashes for the new windows.
