Exterior window painting in Cambridge
Exterior window painting is one of the jobs we are asked about most, and it is detailed work. Our decorators paint timber casement windows, fixed lights, frames and sills, on houses from cottages to 1930s semis and modern timber-framed homes.
This page is about painting wooden windows that hinge open. Sliding sashes need their weights, cords and beads dealt with as well, so they have their own page on sash window restoration. Plastic frames take a sprayed coating instead, covered under uPVC window spraying. The rest of the outside of the house is on our exterior painting page.
Where wooden windows fail first
Water runs down a window and collects at the bottom. That is why the bottom rail of the opening casement, the sill and the lower joints of the frame are where paint cracks first and rot starts. Once the joint opens, water gets into the end grain and the timber softens from the inside.
Putty is the other weak point. Old linseed putty dries, cracks and falls out, leaving the glass loose and a channel for water. Windows with timber glazing beads have the same problem where the beads have shrunk or the paint seal along them has broken.
How we prepare timber window frames
Flaking paint is scraped back, and the frames are sanded to a sound, smooth surface, using our Mirka dust-free sanders where the paint allows. On houses built before the 1960s, old layers may contain lead, so the paint should be tested first. If it is positive, it is never sanded dry, and dust-free or wet methods are used.
Soft timber is probed to find where sound wood begins. Small areas of rot are cut out and filled with an exterior wood repair system. Where a rail or sill has gone too far for that, our carpenter makes and fits a new section. Loose or missing putty is raked out and replaced, and fresh linseed putty is left to skin over before it is painted.
Bare timber is primed. On our Farrow & Ball redecoration in Cambridge, bare pine frames were primed with Zinsser before an undercoat and two coats of eggshell, and the same principle applies outside: no top coat goes onto unprimed wood.
Painting window frames: the details that matter
Sealing onto the glass
The last coat is taken a couple of millimetres onto the glass, along the putty or bead. That thin line seals the joint between glass and timber, which is what keeps rain out. Masking the glass right up to the wood, or scraping the paint back to the frame, leaves the joint open.
Keeping casements opening
Years of thick paint on the rebates are why many casements stick. We take that build-up back where needed and keep coats on the opening edges thin. Hinges, stays and handles are masked or removed. The window needs to stay slightly open while it dries, so we plan with you which rooms can be left ajar and when, with security in mind.
Finishes and colours for wooden windows
Gloss is traditional and sheds water well. Satin and eggshell give a softer, more modern look, and Dulux and Farrow & Ball both make exterior woodwork finishes. White is still the most common choice, but heritage greens, greys and off-blacks are increasingly popular on Cambridge houses.
Very dark colours on south-facing windows get hot, and the timber moves more as a result. If you want a deep shade, Graham will talk through where it will and won't work, and we can paint the inside face of the frames in a different colour on the same visit. A matching front door ties it together.
What changes the price of window painting
Your written quotation lists repairs per window where they are needed, so you can see where the money goes.
- The number of windows, and how many open
- Their height, and whether a tower or scaffolding is needed
- Rot repairs, resin filling or carpentry
- Reputtying or replacing glazing beads
- Lead testing and the precautions it calls for
- Colour change and the number of coats
What happens when you book
Graham will visit, open and close each window, check the timber and putty, and send a written quotation, usually by email. One customer whose cottage windows had taken years of weather wrote on Checkatrade that Graham "took great care of the windows which have really been exposed to all kinds of weather and really needed a good sanding and also lots of filling."
We paint windows across Cambridge and nearby, including Grantchester and Ely. Belinda will confirm dates with you, and the bill only comes once you're happy with every window.
