A Few Sash windows

[Bradshaw Joinery]

Hi Guys and Girls,

Thought i would share some picture of my last few months work! Im at the installation stage right now so will hopefully get some more when im finished, if i ever get there. Didnt take many photos during construction. There is 16 windows in total, and i have personally done every single task to every window. A very daunting task loking back. i was stupid to take it on!

Solid accoya construction, Double glazed with Krypton gas, steel weights (28lbs), Brass ironmongery, cream sikkens wf375 finish, draught stripped on 3 faces, and a hidden trickle vent design.

Never doing so many again. far to much work for me alone.

 

[deema]

Look great Olly, well done

 

[MickCheese]

Looks good, hope you got paid well!

Mick

 

[carlb40]

Excellent job, a mamouth task for 1 person.

I would love to have a bash at making a sash window.

 

[pip1954]

hi olly
i can only guess how much work that lot took but they look fantastic
thanks for showing
pip

 

[Peter Sefton]

I love good quality Sash windows and even better that you have made them double glazed. Great looking job did you hand scribe the glazing bars or do you spindle/single end tenon them?
Nice work Peter

 

[Harbo]

Nice work - is that a new build or a refurb - love the stonework too?

Rod

 

[bugbear]

I love good quality Sash windows and even better that you have made them double glazed. Great looking job did you hand scribe the glazing bars or do you spindle/single end tenon them?
Nice work Peter

The latter, I hope, for his sake!

BugBear

 

[MMUK]

I'm surprised you went down the traditional sash cord and steel weight route. There's numerous modern counterbalanced alternatives that use wound springs instead. Much lighter and easier on the arms when moving the frame about

 

[AndyT]

I admire your hard work and the quality of the end product.

But it's a sobering thought that when that house was built and had its first set of windows, all that would have been hand work at the bench, including planing all the mouldings.

One question - for the windows that look the same size, were the new boxes and sashes the exact same size? Or did you have to work to slightly different dimensions for each one?

EDIT: Ignore me - that's a new build, isn't it?

 

[Bradshaw Joinery]

Thanks for all the kind words, I needed them after finding out there is one more window needed than ordered! so very annoying!

I set the tenoner up to work from a flush cut piece of stock, so i take the glazing bar section(at that point in time its square) then cut both ends so it fits in the moulding, then the tenoner trims away the profile to a perfect fit. do all the vertical ones first, mould them, then cut all the horizontal fiddly pippers! Because they were all the same size i set a stop and got them done pretty quickly considdering!

Its a new build house, 200mm cavity walls and 1.4 ceilings, built very much to be as traditional as possible hence the pulleys rope and weights, and traditional makeup of the sash windows, no modern touches. i will take some more photos before im done, my phone wouldnt let me today.... no space apparantley.

The weights route was to have the traditional feel and look, its also very long lasting. to quote snatch... (heavy is good, heavy is reliable)
they also look alot better i think, seeing plastic in something like this always needs explaining why its there. Doesn't look right. (if that makes sence)
The frames are pretty light also, i'm cording them up on site, so probably lighter than a balanced type window, especially in Accoya. Sashes not so much! haha

Andy, Yeah New build! There all exactly the same. I would have ended myself by now if they weren't. The builders and owner will be happy though, they wanted a traditional looking building! seems they have suceeded.

 

[shim20]

they look great, you say you will never do it again..... give it a year or 2 and you will :lol: the end of the day you got them done and they look great.
look forward to more pictures

 

[DannyEssex]

I think they look great, well done

 

[AndyT]

Going back to my admiration for times when these would have been made by hand... this is from Henry Mayhew in London in 1850 interviewing woodworkers about what has happened in the trade as more and more work is demanded from hard pressed tradesmen:

"No slaves work like we do. At some of the strapping shops the foreman keeps continually walking about with his eyes on all the men at once. At others the foreman is perched high up, so that he can have the whole of the men under his eye together. I suppose since I knew the trade that a man does four times the work that he did formerly. I know a man that's done four pairs of sashes in a day, and one is considered to be a good day's labour."

(Morning Chronicle letter LXI)

 

[bugbear]

Going back to my admiration for times when these would have been made by hand... this is from Henry Mayhew in London in 1850 interviewing woodworkers about what has happened in the trade as more and more work is demanded from hard pressed tradesmen:

"No slaves work like we do. At some of the strapping shops the foreman keeps continually walking about with his eyes on all the men at once. At others the foreman is perched high up, so that he can have the whole of the men under his eye together. I suppose since I knew the trade that a man does four times the work that he did formerly. I know a man that's done four pairs of sashes in a day, and one is considered to be a good day's labour."

(Morning Chronicle letter LXI)

Of course, we don't know how much of the work was parcelled out e.g. with apprentices (or machines) doing stock prep or runs of moulding.

BugBear

 

[Bradshaw Joinery]

Got all these fitted today!

WOO WOOP

Two More pics, one showing the trickle vent slot, There vent is screwed on the inside and has a mini box inside the head of the window, then the top sash has a section in the middle chamfered away to allow air to pass to the grill. The frame is also machined away a little, and the draught strip stopped aswell.
Can just see the slot here!

 

[shim20]

look great like the vent idea, did you stick the beads on the glass outside?

 

[Bradshaw Joinery]

So its been a while since i put the original pictures up and since i finished this,

The doors are now in and working well, they are 2.4m tall and use multipoint locks in both doors, without a dummy mullion, and also no cill, the door has a draught seal and it seats onto a stainless water bar.

Front door they wanted a nightlatch lock, so no multipont system, the front door is also hand painted in a full gloss sikkens xd,

The house is ontop of a hill ina. Very open area, its is incredibly windy, and very pleased to announce there a no draughts through the french doors. something most french doors cannot claim! The seals all interling around the doors, and they are double sealed around the frame sections.

 

[Ollie78]

These look very good. I feel your pain as I made 38 sashes not long ago, double glazed with slim krypton gas units. Also by myself though mine were Utile.
I am Just experimenting with some Accoya right now for another little window I am doing. How did you find it ?

I quite like it so far, it machines quite crisply on the spindle but I find the dust very fine and annoying. I had to take slightly less than normal with the thicknesser as it was struggling to extract the chippings fast enough. Also it makes the workshop smell a bit like an empty salt and vineger crisp bag.

How did it take the paint ?, and any advice on which primer. I normally use Zinnser.

Great job.

Ollie

 

[Bradshaw Joinery]

Hi ollie,

Thanks for the kind words! Dont think i would want to make 38! Haha thats insane!

With regards to the accoya, i fully advise you contact accys technology before using it for production. They will come out and talk you through the whole process of using the product, problems you may encounter, precations to take and give you a certificate to say you have been trained in the use of, and are competent to offer the warranty.. Things like No PVA or cascamite.

The two main things are stainless/brass or non corrosive everything as the timber is acidic. The paint needs to have a stain blocking primer, but it will finish well with any timber coating after that. End grain sealer for the exposed end grain.

I love the stuff now, would use it for everything if people didnt want oak everything.

These sash windows have been in while the floors and plaster have been drying, everything inside the house is saturated, with beasd of water.... And nothing has moved in the joinery. I couldnt believe it, the doors are as they were installed, unlike the kitchen that has recently gone in.

Olly