Yorkshire Horizontal Sash Windows

[MdB]

Calling all window experts....

Does anybody have anything bad to say about Yorkshire pattern sash windows (ones that open sideways)?

We need to replace our plastic windows and with a 1.5m wide x 1.1m tall opening, normal sash windows won't fit sensibly. Yorkshire style is one possible option we are thinking about.

 

[FamilyWiggs]

Nope - our seem fine. Stick a little and don't necessarily open smoothly as it can be hard to apply even pressure on the opening edge, but I guess that can also be an issue with vertical sliding sashes too.

 

[Andrew Bodenham]

MdB,

No personal experience of these, just a few observations.

The basic concept is simple and effective. As with all these things God /the devil /whoever / is in the detail. I'd be concerned about drainange of the bottom channel which is bound to suffer from the run off of driving rain, though hopefully a bit sheletered by virtue of being set back within the construction. And you'd need to think about the sliding detail, to reduce operating friction and prevent damage to paint work - perhaps a brass or stainless rail for the slider to run on? I imagine that draught-proofing could be done with the standard brush strips or (my preference) Aquamac type seals.

Can't help thinking that this format of window never really caught on, especially over here in the wet west. This may simply be because it was easier to form a window aperture with 'portrait' rather than 'lanscape' orientation due to the smaller lintel span involved.

 

[Penners]

Horizontal sliders can't be claimed exclusively by Yorkshire. We had one in the very first house (15th century) that I "fixed up", located on the Essex/Suffolk border. The window was reckoned by the CO to be more than 150 years old, so can't have suffered too much from weather problems! It had no sophistications - just a wooden multi-pane sash sliding in top and bottom wooden grooves.

I used to keep the grooves well candle-waxed, and had no problems.

 

[MdB]

Thanks, that is useful to know.

 

[AMc]

We have a little one that now overlooks the vinery - it was obviously once an external window but has been internal for >100 years. It sticks a bit, if I were looking for a modern version, esp. a bigger one I would want to fit some form of runner mechanism rather than rely on the sashes sitting in a groove.

 

[Gervase]

Much like Penners, I once had a place on the Herts/Essex borders that had a horizontal sash. A candle-stub rubbed vigorously in the bottom run every few months made for very easy opening and closing.

 

[Schoolmarm]

A candle-stub rubbed vigorously in the bottom

:shock:

 

[biffvernon]

Much like Penners, I once had a place on the Herts/Essex borders that had a horizontal sash. A candle-stub rubbed vigorously in the bottom run every few months made for very easy opening and closing.

Ah nice to see Gervase is still alive and well. Yes, he's right about the candle stub.

I actually make Yorkshire sashes. They are my favourite type of window. Yes, they can get wet at the bottom but all mine are made of oak and I reckon the wood dries out quicker than the water soaks in so I don't think they will rot for a century or two. I've found that the sort of beeswax that is designed for painting on floors is a particularly easy form to apply to the bottom, rather than rubbing with a candle stub, but any sort of beeswax will do the job. I don't paint the groove so it's just smoothly planed and finely sanded to a smooth polish oak rubbing on similar oak with a layer of wax between. Even a heavy double glazed sash a metre or more high can slide easily.

 

[MdB]

Well, I've just gone a bought two. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290683915291

It's a pity these are only single glazed but at this price they can go into store for the time that I get to build the summer house (or tree house - preferred by Mrs MdB).

I still need to sort out a new window (or 6!) so expect an email shortly Biff asking for a quote. I'm not sure it is sensible to deliver to Cornwall for you but I'm sure something can be sorted out. Hopefully you can match the above ebay price :shock: :lol:

 

[Gareth Hughes]

Much like Penners, I once had a place on the Herts/Essex borders that had a horizontal sash. A candle-stub rubbed vigorously in the bottom run every few months made for very easy opening and closing.

Ah nice to see Gervase is still alive and well.

Alive, yes, but location seems to be North London?

 

[LadyArowana]

Ah nice to see Gervase is still alive and well.

Alive, yes, but location seems to be North London?

Nothing wrong with North London, there are even a couple of decent football teams :lol:

 

[Penners]

A candle-stub rubbed vigorously in the bottom

:shock:

'Marm... behave! :wink:

Mind you, there seems to be some disagreement as to the best fundamental treatment...

I've found that the sort of beeswax that is designed for painting on floors is a particularly easy form to apply to the bottom

 

[Gervase]

Alive, yes, but location seems to be North London?

North London it is - and something of a homecoming for me. I was born and raised in Crouch End (before it was a media village), and lived in Highbury in my 30s, and now I'm back in Highbury.
West Wales was (and is) lovely, but the chill wind of recession has hit hard there, and work simply wasn't coming in in sufficient amounts to keep the business healthy and me sane and properly fed and watered. So, with a few upheavals, I've said farewell to the sheep and returned to London, where I'm slowly starting up work again on my own. Not a lot of call for rubble-stone work in these parts, but plastering's plastering, and it's nice to be working with brick and freestone again.

 

[Schoolmarm]

Nigel has needed you for his house most desperately!! His chimney stack, enormous, needs rebuilding still but you have missed out on all the exterior wall work. Nigel has missed out too as his builder has been a bit of a worry.

 

[Penners]

Well, best of luck Gervase. I hope it works out well for you.

 

[FamilyWiggs]

Ditto.

 

[biffvernon]

Well, I've just gone a bought two. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290683915291

It's a pity these are only single glazed but at this price they can go into store for the time that I get to build the summer house (or tree house - preferred by Mrs MdB).

I still need to sort out a new window (or 6!) so expect an email shortly Biff asking for a quote. I'm not sure it is sensible to deliver to Cornwall for you but I'm sure something can be sorted out. Hopefully you can match the above ebay price :shock: :lol:

You've got £22.50 worth of glass but they are iroko! That should never have left it's native jungle. Shame on whoever made them and I'm very glad he did not profit from his part of the rainforest destruction.

 

[MdB]

You've got £22.50 worth of glass but they are iroko! That should never have left it's native jungle. Shame on whoever made them and I'm very glad he did not profit from his part of the rainforest destruction.

Yep, I agree with that. I would have much preferred oak which the rest of the windows will be.