How to preserve sash windows

When my husband and I bought our first house eleven years ago we were so excited. There was a lot to do to the house. The 'flamingo pink' bathroom suite needed to go, the kitchen needed updating, the gas fire was condemned the week we moved in, so that also required updating. At every stage, something needed doing. We did our absolute best with that house, learned new skills; tiling, grouting, wallpapering. I loved pushing my boundaries, and also found removing flocked wallpaper ridiculously rewarding. I even wallpapered the stairs two weeks before my son was born. When we put it on the market though, we struggled to sell. 

The one thing we naively hadn't realised needed upkeep was the wooden windows. We hadn't once painted them in the eight years we had lived there. It didn't even cross my mind that they would need anything doing to them, that they would deteriorate with the weather. After nearly two years on the market, there was only one thing for it, we needed to replace the windows! Within a couple of months of replacing the old windows with new uPVC ones, we had sold the house.

cat and sash window

This was one of the biggest lessons we have ever learnt when it comes to our home. Ensure that you maintain all aspects of the house.

The new house we bought was double-glazed on one side of the house and the front of the house had wonderful sash windows. One of the first things I noticed when we were looking round the house was that the windows needed painting, and it was the first thing we did. It turned out that we lived in our second house for almost exactly two years, far less than we ever imagined. My husband and I are now landlords and the maintenance of the house is even more important.

House to let
I have been looking for sash windows in Yorkshire and discovered a company called K Glazing, who are a specialist glaziers based in Pontefract. They manufacture a range of uPVC sash windows which offer energy efficiency and, more importantly, no maintenance! They're a local company and also are a Which Trusted Trader, which would give me greater confidence in a trade. The sash windows are also available in different colours, to match your original windows. Often uPVC windows can lose the traditional look of a house, but these look timeless and definitely something we will consider in the future for our house.

Sash windows victorian terrace

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post.