How to Fix a Stuck Window Sash
When you're dealing with a stubborn stuck sash, your first instinct may be to use the prying tool.
This will disturb the paint, so don't hurry up to do this.
Following are some parts of the window whose names you should know.
Double-hung windows have two moving components that are called the sash.
There will be an upper sash and a lower one, locked together by means of a latch made of two pieces.
The sash holds the glass part of your window.
On the vertical sides of the sash there are channels guiding the sash up and down in a straight line.
The horizontal part of the sash frame consists of the rails and the vertical parts are called stiles.
If you can work both sides of the window or you can find a friend to help you, prepare these for the fixing job: lubricant or silicon spray, a small wood block, claw hammer, duct tape, a piece of heavy cloth and a sponge.
After making sure the sash is unlatched, wrap the block of wood in the heavy cloth so that you insure protection to the finish of the windows.
You can use some duct tape to keep the cloth in place and not allow it to slip off of the block.
Put the wood block against the frame where the lower sash is, along its bottom rail.
Gently hammer it along the width of the sash.
Do the same to the corresponding rail on the exterior side.
Work along the stiles of the sash progressively, inside and out, and working towards the top of the window.
If the sash is now free, move it up and down and make a check of the channels.
Use the sponge to clean out the dirt and debris.
After drying, spray some silicon or lubricant in the channels.
If the reason why the windows are stuck is that they have been painted while being shut, then just score the paint that is keeping the window parts together with a utility knife.
This will disturb the paint, so don't hurry up to do this.
Following are some parts of the window whose names you should know.
Double-hung windows have two moving components that are called the sash.
There will be an upper sash and a lower one, locked together by means of a latch made of two pieces.
The sash holds the glass part of your window.
On the vertical sides of the sash there are channels guiding the sash up and down in a straight line.
The horizontal part of the sash frame consists of the rails and the vertical parts are called stiles.
If you can work both sides of the window or you can find a friend to help you, prepare these for the fixing job: lubricant or silicon spray, a small wood block, claw hammer, duct tape, a piece of heavy cloth and a sponge.
After making sure the sash is unlatched, wrap the block of wood in the heavy cloth so that you insure protection to the finish of the windows.
You can use some duct tape to keep the cloth in place and not allow it to slip off of the block.
Put the wood block against the frame where the lower sash is, along its bottom rail.
Gently hammer it along the width of the sash.
Do the same to the corresponding rail on the exterior side.
Work along the stiles of the sash progressively, inside and out, and working towards the top of the window.
If the sash is now free, move it up and down and make a check of the channels.
Use the sponge to clean out the dirt and debris.
After drying, spray some silicon or lubricant in the channels.
If the reason why the windows are stuck is that they have been painted while being shut, then just score the paint that is keeping the window parts together with a utility knife.