Sash windows speak of a by gone era of a romantic and gracious time when ladies wore long flowing gowns and bonnets that were stylishly angled on their coiffures with ringlets of hair dropping to their shoulders and gentlemen smoked cheroots and sported elegant coats over their riding breeches.
Vermeer, a Dutch painter added a sash window in his painting The Milkmaid which he completed some time during sixteen sixty and an inventor scientist Robert Hooke from England has the distinction of being acknowledged as the inventive mind behind this type of window. Beautiful examples of its double set of three conception can still to be seen today in many of the historic and well preserved Georgian and Victorian homes.
The concept was invented at a time when glass sheets were still very thick and heavy and had to be placed in sturdy oak frames that could bear their weight. This unique design made up of two glazed sashes which slide in a timber frame supported by sashes and balanced with weights is still being applied when making modern sash windows.
The fact so little has been modernized in the basic concept and manufacture is a great tribute to the carpenters of old who made these first sashes which operate with cords and pulleys that make it easy to raise and lower these heavy contraptions. It is remarkable that without the computers and machinery of today that those men were able to construct so precisely with such lasting results.
Wood has a tendency to weather badly if not looked after and it swells and shrinks with weather changes over time as well. This may often lead to sashes allowing in draughts. Fortunately there are now numerous companies that specialize in draught-proofing as well as refurbishing the wooden frames and repainting them to a person's specifications.
Many historic homes that have retained their original windows that graced their home for centuries and are now heritage sites protected by local and state laws with regard to changes and restoring that is allowed. Any restoration or maintenance has to be done on site and with the approval of the governing council.
The beauty of these wooden frames of old or the newly made copies add an air of elegance to any building and whether filled with plain or stained glass can be a focal point for any home.
The new windows can in some instances rid a house of problems caused by aged and worn sash windows that remain esthetically pleasing and an efficient method to ventilate an area.
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