Sash Windows in Leicester and Leicestershire

Why sash windows are specified the way they are

A sash window is a proportion exercise before it is a product. If the bottom rail is too shallow, the meeting rail sits at the wrong height or the horns are missing, the eye picks it up instantly even if the buyer cannot say why. We build to the original proportions and put the modern engineering out of sight behind them.

The specification we fit as standard

Two sliding sashes running in a boxed frame on spiral or spring balances, tilting inwards for cleaning. Deep bottom rails and correctly proportioned meeting rails are what make the difference between a convincing sash and an obvious replica. Concealed sash locks at the meeting rail plus restrictors that allow a ventilation gap without an openable window, and laminated glass on ground floor sashes. Modern sliding sashes seal on brush pile and compression seals at the meeting rail, which is a world away from an original box sash. Draught performance is the single biggest gain over a repaired timber original.

• Deep bottom rail and correct meeting rail proportions as standard
• Tilt in sashes so both faces clean from inside
• Run through horns and astragal bars where the original had them
• Sliding sash sits above every other window we fit because of the box frame and the balance hardware. Most owners phase it, front elevation first.
• The functional case is separate from the aesthetic one. Original box sashes leak air through the staff bead, the parting bead and the meeting rail all at once, which is why a period front room never holds heat. A modern sliding sash keeps the movement and the look but seals along all three of those lines.