I have mentioned in previous posts that our new old house still has its beautiful original antique wood windows. Unfortunately, over the years they have been neglected and in desperate need of restoration. I’ve already restored one pair and I’ll be sharing the details of that restoration process in detail in later posts. Today I’m going to cover the very first step and that is how to open sealed or stuck windows.
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Should you Restore or Replace
Many people decide to toss out their old wood windows and replace them with new vinyl windows rather than go to the trouble of restoring what they already have.
I can’t tell you how much this breaks my heart.
There are several reasons why people decide to do this. While I understand people’s initial reasoning to go this route. After extensive research, I’d argue replacement is the wrong choice in almost every case.
But I won’t get into the argument side of this topic today.
This post is for those of you who have already decided your windows are worth saving. For those of you who see your antique windows value and you’re looking for how and where to start.
Cost of Restoring Antique Windows
Let me tell you guys right now the restoration process for antique windows is not an easy or quick process.
To be frank it’s not necessarily cheap either.
However, the cost to replace them still outweighs the cost of restoring what you have. That is as long as you don’t factor in your own personal labor.
Not to mention the satisfaction of knowing you’ve preserved a piece of history is worth the effort alone. It will be a lot of work but antique wood windows can be saved.
Take a look at the photo below of our attic windows.
This is right after I took them out before I did any work on them.
They were in terrible condition. I won’t show you what they look like finished quite yet. But they are now back in the attic completely restored and look beautiful!
About Our Antique Wood Windows
Our windows are in the worst possible situation they could be in. In addition to them being neglected for who knows how many years (take a look at the photo below of our attic windows to see how bad they were), they were also sealed completely shut. I’m not talking about simply painted shut (which yes they are). They were also silicone caulked shut, between every possible opening inside and out. In addition (as if that wasn’t already enough), someone screwed them shut in multiple places then caulked and painted over the screws to make it nearly impossible to know where the screws were.
Now luckily for most of you, your wood windows will likely just be painted shut. If however, your windows are sealed like mine you’re in luck! Because I’ll be telling you exactly how I opened mine.
This brings me to the point of this post.
How To Open Stuck Antique Windows
While restoring antique windows is a labor-intensive process there’s not really much cost involved in the opening up part. Yay!
There are a few essential tools you’ll need and you’ll likely already have them on hand to get started.
What you’ll Need
- Hammer
- Box Cutter
- 5-in-1 Tool
- Needle Nose Pliers (optional)
- Heat Gun (optional)
That’s it, that’s all you’ll need for this job.
How To Open Stuck Windows
So first things first, you’re going to take your box cutter and loosen everything up. Cutting in between all the jams and areas of the window that need to move freely when operating properly.
Do this on all areas that have been painted over inside and out. If necessary make several passes or at least two.
Be very careful when you do this. Remember you’re using a sharp blade and it’s easy to get carried away and accidentally cut yourself.
In addition, make sure you are only cutting through the paint. Do your best to not cut the actual wood sash and gouge your beautiful antique window sash.
Ok, so you’ve gone through and loosened things up with your box cutter.
Now starting in an area that looks loosest, take your 5-in-1 tool and hammer and carefully hammer the tool into the crack.
Start by holding the tool at an angle so only part of the tool’s edge goes in.
Keep it at approximately a 45-degree angle.
Use the hammer to continue to drive the tools edge up, down, sideways. Whatever direction you’re going until you reach the corner.
Repeat this process until you’ve gone all the way around the window sash.
Again, try your best to not gouge your wood. I know it’s hard given the hammering action but do your best.
You’ll want to tap hard enough so that you’re moving your tool around the sash.
Be careful not to apply too much.
After all, you are working with a window sash and you don’t want to break any glass.
Depending on how old your sash is, the glass is beautifully blown antique wavy glass that you’ll want to keep.
Trust me when I say it’s heartbreaking when you break it.
Alright, now if your window is being stubborn and doesn’t want to be cut free, or if it’s caulked shut like mine this is where a heat gun comes in handy.
A Word of Caution when Using A Heat Gun
You’ll have to be careful using a heat gun because you’ll likely have lead paint.
At high enough temperatures the heat gun could vaporize the lead paint into the air. It’s also possible to burn the wood using this tool.
You’ll only want to hold the heat gun right above the spot you’re trying to loosen for a few seconds. Just enough to get your box cutter blade or 5-in-1 tool in the sash crack to move around more freely.
The heat will cool quickly so be quick and move in sections as you work your tool around the sash.
If you’re getting caulking out you should be able to pry strips of the caulking out as you go.
Be Patient
Once all that’s done you can try to gently but with some pressure open up your window. You might feel some resistance.
Slight resistance is to be expected.
If there’s too much, however, don’t force it open.
This can cause you to break your glass. We want to preserve as much original material as possible!
You’ll need to go back and repeat some of the steps above until your window feels like it’s ready to open up for you.
Last thing to note. Check before you try to open your window that there aren’t any screws or nails holding it shut. If there are, remove them before attempting to open your window.
As I attempted to open up the sash I was unaware of countersunk screws hidden beneath the layers of paint and caulk. Even as I moved my tools around.
Because of this, I attempted to force my window open. Assuming it was just being stubborn or swollen wood caused by water penetration.
As a result, I broke more than one glass pane before seeing and realizing there were screws keeping it shut. But not before spending several hours trying to get the sash open.
Learn from my mistakes and be thorough. And don’t forget to be patient with your window. After all, your antique wood windows are likely older than you and your grandparents. They deserve our respect and patience!
That’s it for today’s post. If you have any questions about this process feel free to reach out, I’m happy to help if I can.
Want to learn more about restoring an old home?
Check out my post on how to restore old antique hardware
Restoring your old antique wood windows and looking for even more resources?
Stay tuned, I’ll be writing more posts about window restoration and other home improvement projects in the near future.
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Happy restoration everyone and thank you so much for stopping by the blog today!
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It’s so great to hear that this post was helpful to at least one person. Thank you so much for your feedback!!