Painting sash windows in Melbourn
The weather side of a house usually shows it first: paint cracked at the joints, bare timber on the bottom rail and putty coming loose. Graham notes each window's condition at the visit, so your written quotation lists them one by one and you can start with the worst.
We scrape back to a sound edge, sand with Mirka dust-free sanders to keep old paint dust contained, fill cracks and open joints, prime bare wood and finish in eggshell or satin. Sashes are worked up and down so every face is painted without gumming up the runners.
Listed windows and the conservation area
Melbourn's listed buildings include The Manor House and the Parish Church of All Saints at Grade II*, and 70 at Grade II. If your windows are on a listed house or within the conservation area, ask South Cambridgeshire District Council before changing their colour.
Cords, weights and rotten timber are joinery. Our carpenter deals with those first as part of the same job, and the sash window restoration page has the detail.
Melbourn at a glance
- 19 milesby road from our Landbeach base, about 27 minutesOSRM routing
- 12%of properties were built before 1919VOA Council Tax stock
- 72listed buildingsHistoric England
- 1conservation arealocal council
- 17%are terracedCensus 2021
- 4%date from 1919 to 1939VOA Council Tax stock
How we approach sash window restoration
Inside faces can be painted in any season, while outside faces wait for settled, dry weather and an exterior-grade product. Sills and end grain get extra priming because they hold water. A neat line of paint is carried just onto each pane to seal the putty, and sashes are eased each evening. The full method, products and FAQs are on our sash window restoration page.