As winter comes to Scotland, and our homes are battered by the high winds, rain and snow which characterise this time of year, we reflect on the importance of our windows. They are vital for letting in the sparse daylight, and for keeping out the cold. So, let’s consider some of the common issues you may face when maintaining and repairing your windows, and making sure they stay intact throughout the winter.
Preventative maintenance
Prevention is always better than cure, and the same can be said for regular maintenance work on your windows. Taking care of small, regular tasks can save you the cost of an expensive repair in the long run. Repaint your timber and metal windows at least every five years to prevent decay. Every time you repaint, get the mastic (the sealant around your windows) checked too, and replace it as necessary. If you have a stone building, you should use traditional mastic made from burnt sand and boiled linseed oil, rather than modern polysulphide mastics applied with a gun. Traditional mastic will retain its strength and flexibility for longer.
Oriel and bay windows
Many traditional tenement buildings, particularly those built before 1919 in the west of Scotland, feature bay and oriel windows. An oriel window is a bay which starts on the first floor rather than the ground. Both oriel and bay windows are particularly vulnerable to damp, so make sure that you maintain clean gutters to avoid water damage to the surrounding stonework. Watch out for signs of water damage such as black stains on the stonework, and internal cracks in the plaster inside your flat, which is a possible sign that the corbel stones which hold your bay window in place have moved.
Tackling draughts
You can check your windows for draughts by placing a piece of card against the window. If it blows over, you have a draught which needs to be dealt with. This can often be fixed with draught-proofing materials, which can be bought from any good DIY shop. You can also purchase draught-excluding blinds; look for thermal blinds with a honeycomb structure, which create air pockets between their layers for added insulation. Another solution is to hang full-length, heavy curtains with a thermal lining over your windows, to prevent the draught from entering a room. This simple solution can lead to a 14% reduction in heat loss from a window, so is worth considering. You can use blinds and curtains together to increase the effect.
Dormer windows
Dormer windows are an attractive feature of many tenement buildings, but their exposure to the elements means they need special attention. They are typically made of several different materials, with joins between them which need to be checked regularly for damage. Watch out for slipped slates on the sides and top of your dormer window. Regularly check the gutters, flashings and ridge for signs of leaking water, rot and sagging.
Are window repairs common or individual?
Typically, your titles will tell you which areas of your building are individual and which are common. If a window is defined as individual, it is your sole responsibility to maintain and repair it. If it is ‘common,’ it is the shared responsibility of everyone in the building. So your first port of call should be to check what your titles say.
If your titles are silent on the issue of windows, you can then look at what the Tenement (Scotland) Act 2004 says about common and individual repairs. Interestingly, according to the Act, the question of whether window repairs are common or individual depends on the part of the window which needs repairing. Everything inside the window – the panes, frames and mastic which seals it to the building – is individual, so you alone are responsible for arranging repairs. However, all the stonework around a window, including lintels, are considered to be ‘common,’ so require all the owners of your building to work together to organise repairs.
For more information on window repair, click here to visit Under One Roof’s dedicated webpage on the topic.
