How to prepare your house for a window replacement

The day before

• Clear the space below and in front of each window, at least a metre and a half. That is where the old sash comes out and the new one goes in.
• Take everything off the window board — plants, ornaments, curtains and rails.
• Cover furniture that cannot be moved. Dust from making good the reveals goes everywhere.
• Take pictures off the walls around the opening. Removing the old frame sends knocks through the wall.
• Sort out access — somewhere to park the van and a route to carry the sashes in.

On fitting day

The team works opening by opening. An average window is removed and fitted within one to two hours, including foam and sealing. A house with eight to ten openings is finished in one to two working days.

The whole house is never opened at once. Work goes opening by opening so that only one is ever open — for warmth in winter and for the security of the building.

If you have a pet, keep it in a room not being worked on that day. Open holes and power tools are a risk.

What is left afterwards

The foam has to cure before the reveal is closed up. That means filling and painting are done a few days after fitting, not the same day.

The protective film on the profiles should come off within a few weeks. Left too long in the sun, the adhesive bakes on and becomes hard to remove — the most common complaint, and the easiest to avoid.

The first winter with new windows

Expect higher humidity indoors than before. The old joinery leaked air and dried the house out; the new joinery does not. Air the rooms briefly and thoroughly, two or three times a day.

If a sash starts to bind after a few months, that is normal settlement — the hardware is readjusted in a few minutes. Get in touch and we come out.