Homeowners with sash windows can be put through a testing time when the storms really start to blow.
It is no fun living in a home where the windows rattle as icy draughts howl around your rooms.
It can be a real problem but finding a solution to rattling and draughty sash windows is now much easier and less expensive than many people believe.
With over 30 years experience, Jim Toal of Sash Windows and Restoration by Fairco, knows exactly what it takes to put those troublesome windows to rights.
“People just don’t realise how easily sash windows can be draught-proofed and the process is not difficult,” said Jim.
“Householders imagine it will cause them all kinds of disruption but that is not the case. One sash window can be totally draught proofed in about four hours.
“The surrounding decor is not disturbed, carpets, and curtains and walls remain exactly as they were.”
The householder is never left with a window exposed with all work carried out on-site.
Indeed, the skill of Fairco’s expert team lies not only window restoration but in ensuring that during the process homeowners enjoy total peace-of-mind.
“We don’t just arrive, every aspect of the job will have been thought out methodically,” said Jim.
“From the dust sheets on the decor to our vacuuming up afterwards, we deliver a turn-key solution.”
Draught proofing your sash windows makes for a warmer, cosier home, with a significant reduction in heating bills.
Not only that, Fairco’s expert restorers are hugely mindful of maintaining the beauty of traditional sash windows while bringing them up to modern standards of heat retention.
“Preserving the original window aesthetics is very important to us which is why we ensure our draught proofing will be virtually unnoticeable,” said Jim.
“The type of mohair draught excluder we use is most discrete on the market and it is kept below the sight line.”
While they are on site, Fairco’s expert restorers will repair any other defects they notice, such as crumbling putty or replacing cracked glass panes.
Contrary to what people may think removing the draughts and rattles from sash windows need not be an expensive business.
Depending on specification of timber and fittings, draught-proofing starts from €500 per window, a cill can be replaced from €110, outer casings from €60, all-new brass hardware from €90, and to retro-fit restrictors to the bottom sash costs from €60.
And there is no doubt that it will be money well spent.
“Draught proofing makes a huge difference in a house that has old sash windows, the improvement is dramatic and instantly noticeable, “said Jim.
“People find it hard to believe how their comfort levels rise and their energy bills fall when the rattles and draughts have been removed.”
