Sash windows in a cathedral city
Ely's older homes are a minority, around 12% of the total, but that is where most surviving sashes are found. On those windows we do the decorative work: scraping back to a sound edge, filling open joints, priming bare timber and painting so the sashes still move. Where a cord has broken or the timber is soft, our carpenter carries out the repair before we decorate.
Old windows can hold many layers of paint, some containing lead, so we sand with Mirka dust-free sanders that keep the dust out of the room.
Listed and conservation area windows
If your house is listed, or within the Ely conservation area, check with East Cambridgeshire District Council before changing window colours. Most owners keep to white or a soft off-white outside. Indoors a coloured frame can work beautifully, like the Fired Earth Turkish Blue window in a Cambridge bedroom we stripped and skimmed.
Ely at a glance
- 12 milesby road from our Landbeach base, about 18 minutesOSRM routing
- 12%of properties were built before 1919VOA Council Tax stock
- 199listed buildingsHistoric England
- 1conservation arealocal council
- 25%are terracedCensus 2021
- 7%date from 1919 to 1939VOA Council Tax stock
How we approach sash window restoration
Graham notes each window's condition at the visit, so the quotation lists them one by one. We scrape and sand, fill cracks in sills and bottom rails, prime bare wood with Zinsser, then undercoat and finish in eggshell or satin. Sashes are worked up and down as we go, and a neat line onto the glass seals the putty. The full method, products and FAQs are on our sash window restoration page.