Timber Sash Window Restoration in Wellington
Glass and Window Repair Wellington restores double hung and casement timber windows in the city's villas, cottages and bungalows. We replace broken sash cords, refit weights and pulleys, ease sashes that have been painted shut for decades, cut out rot, reglaze, and draught proof the whole thing so it stops rattling in a northerly.
- Sash cords, weights and pulleys replaced so windows work again
- Rotten sills and bottom rails scarfed and not replaced
- Reglazed with traditional putty or modern beads
- Draught proofed without changing how the window looks
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Wellington has more of this work than anywhere else in the country. Victorian and Edwardian villas fill Thorndon, Mount Victoria, Aro Valley and Newtown, 1920s and 30s bungalows run through Miramar, Kilbirnie, Island Bay and the Hutt Valley, and workers cottages sit through Petone, Ngaio and Berhampore. Most of those windows are over a hundred years old, built from old growth rimu, matai and totara, and they are worth keeping. Timber that dense does not exist in a timber yard today.
Why the window will not open, and what fixes it
A double hung sash hangs on cords running over pulleys to cast iron weights hidden in the box frame. When the cord frays and snaps, the sash drops and stays down. It is not broken, it is disconnected.
We open the pocket in the frame, fit new cord, rebalance the weight to the sash so it stays wherever you put it, and refit the beads. The other common cause is decades of paint bridging the sash to the frame, which we cut and ease rather than force. Both fixes cost far less than any form of replacement.
Rot repair: cut out the bad, keep the rest
Villa joinery rots at the bottom. The sill and the bottom rail of the lower sash take the driving rain, and once the paint film breaks the timber takes on water and stays wet. The head and stiles are usually still sound.
So we scarf. The soft timber gets cut back to solid wood and a new piece is let in, glued, pinned and shaped to the original profile. On a badly gone bottom rail the whole rail gets replaced into the existing sash. Either way you keep the original glass, the original proportions and the original window.
Putty, beads and getting the glass back in
Traditional linseed putty is still the right material on a heritage sash and it is what we use where the look matters. It needs a properly primed rebate and it has to be left to skin before painting, which is why rushed putty work fails within a couple of years.
Where a double glazed unit is going into the sash, putty will not hold it. That job needs the rebate machined deeper and a timber bead fitted, matched to the original profile. Done well it is almost invisible from the footpath.
Draught proofing without ruining the character
An unsealed double hung window has a gap the full width of the sash at the meeting rail and along both stiles. In a Wellington northerly that is a permanent draught, and it is the single biggest reason character homes feel cold.
Brush pile seals let into a routed groove in the sash close it without changing anything you can see, and the window still slides. Combined with retrofitted double glazing it turns a hundred year old window into something that performs, which is what heritage areas in Thorndon and Mount Victoria are usually looking for.
Timber Sash Window Restoration at a glance
- Sash cords
- New cord, weights rebalanced, pulleys freed or replaced
- Rot repair
- Scarf repair into sound timber, or full bottom rail replacement
- Glazing
- Traditional linseed putty, or machined rebate and bead for double glazing
- Draught proofing
- Brush pile seals routed into the sash, invisible when closed
- Original timber
- Old growth rimu, matai and totara retained wherever possible
- Heritage areas
- Work matched to original profiles for Thorndon and Mount Victoria
- Bench work
- Sashes removed to the workshop where the job needs it, temporary glazing fitted
Timber Sash Window Restoration in Wellington: common questions
My sash window fell down and will not stay up. Is it broken?
Almost certainly a snapped sash cord. The sash itself is fine. We fit new cord, rebalance the weight and it works as it did originally.
Can rotten villa windows be repaired instead of replaced?
In most cases, yes. Rot concentrates in the sill and bottom rail while the rest is sound. Scarfing in new timber costs far less than new joinery and keeps the original glass and proportions.
Can you double glaze my original sashes?
Yes, by machining the rebate deeper and fitting a bead. We check the timber and the sash balance first, because the unit is heavier than the original single pane.
Will draught proofing stop the rattle?
Yes. Brush pile seals close the gap at the meeting rail and stiles, which stops both the rattle and the draught, and you cannot see them from inside or out.
Recent Wellington jobs
Got three quotes for retrofitting the front of the house. Only ones who measured every opening and explained why the north facing rooms needed different glass. Eleven windows over two days, and the road noise dropped more than I expected.
Landlord here. Had four properties assessed for the Healthy Homes ventilation rule and two needed openable sashes freed up rather than new joinery, which saved me a fortune. Straight answers, written report, no upselling.
Ranch slider had been jamming for years and we assumed it needed replacing. Turned out to be rollers and a bent track. Two hours, a fraction of the price we were braced for.
Fogged unit in the lounge, measured on the Tuesday and in by the following Monday. Fair price and they cleaned up after themselves.
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