Upkeep of wooden sash windows

[SashHassles]

Our top floor windows desperately need replacing (single-glazed, wood is rotting). Unfortunately we're in a conservation area so we cannot replace wood with uPVC. Am I right in thinking the upkeep of wooden sash windows on the 2nd floor is an absolute nightmare? If we're going to pay the huge cost for wooden windows we'll want to maintain them properly, but that seems to mean repainting them every 4-5 years. Is there any way this can be done from the inside or does this mean we are condemned to scaffolding the house every few years? 😱

Any tips on what we can do to minimise this? Would hardwood last longer between painting times? We knew we'd have to pay a lot at some point to get them replaced when we bought the place a few years ago, but we hadn't realised it would be an ongoing hassle and cost.

It can easily be done from the inside. It's a case of removing the sashes, decorating them and then putting them back in. Not tricky at all. Definitely no scaffolding required.

And do the whole frames need replacing or just the sashes? If the latter it will def be cheaper

Hardwood definitely lasts longer than softwood. If you do need to replace them and find someone who makes good sash window replacements they can be spray painted before fitting which can last At least 10 years but they will need re-painting every now and then. We had an edwardian house which needed painting every five years - but it was worth it. Those windows were over 100 years old!

check yours really need replacing and not rennovating to keep them longer if possible.

The sashes can be removed for painting, but this is an incredibly laborious way to do it as the internal staff bead will need to be carefully removed first, weights removed, painted then all reassembled before filling the pin heads in the staff bead and internal painting. In short, don’t remove the sashes, it’s a ridiculous suggestion, as the exterior of the frames would still need painting regardless.
If you do replace for new windows, I would strongly recommend to have them made using Accoya. Any reputable joinery manufacturer will be using this now. It is completely stable, so won’t expand and contract with the seasons which means the paint won’t crack and water can’t get in behind the paint - which is way causes the paint to de laminate and fail. If the Accoya windows are painted using Teknos coatings, then I believe the paint is guaranteed for 10 years. Subsequent years of painting can then be done from a cherry picker.

My replacement sashes are about 20 years old. They are stained/varnished and not painted.
The upstairs ones were treated two years ago for the first time since they were installed. It was probably a year or so later than I would have liked but they are fine.

Once you have finished the restoring/filling and repainting a coat of clear yacht varnish will help protect them for years.

It's not a ridiculous suggestion and certainly a lot more practical than hiring a cherry picker! You can paint the exterior of the frames from inside once you have removed the sashes, hence not needing a cherry picker or scaffolding.

Thanks for all the replies, definitely lots of good food for thought!

I suspect we do need to replace the whole thing on at least a couple of them as the casing below the sash has really rotted and is now letting in water that's damaging the wall... But hopefully we'll be able to just do a repair on the others, fingers crossed. And who knows, we might even be being pessimistic about the worst ones.

Thanks for all the advice on longevity, we'll definitely look into using Accoya and the spray painting, coatings and varnish. We had budgeted to go all out with the replacements to minimise issues in future, so good to get some ideas on where it might be worth putting the money. Unfortunately the access to our house is really awkward, hence the concern about external works. A cherry-picker would not be able to get through to the rear and some of the windows are directly over the neighbours so would require scaffolding on their property: bad enough as a one-off but really annoying to do regularly.

While we're here, does anyone have any thoughts on box sash vs spiral balance? From googling I'm not sure why you'd go for box, it seems its only advantage is being more "authentic". Any chance the use of spiral balance makes it any easier to remove the sashes for painting as per jenandberrys' suggestion?

Depending on your property (if it’s listed) then box sashes may be a requirement. We have used spiral balanced windows on a few of our projects as they were specifically specified by the architect. I personally don’t like them as the plastic tubes are rather unsightly, traditional box sashes with lead weights are far superior n both looks and operation. Depending on where you are in the country, I’d be happy to recommend manufacturers and also repairers of existing windows.

Thanks HelloMrBond, if you're anywhere near London, that would be much appreciated!

We have had spiral balances in several windows and they never work properly and the widows are virtually impossible to raise and lower without ladders/ sash poles and swearing. I would never get them again. The weights are much better.