Guide
Sash Windows in Brighton & Hove: Repair or Replace?
Period windows and the sea air don't mix – but most sash windows are built to be repaired. Here's what's usually wrong, and when replacement is the honest answer.
Why sash windows matter here
Walk down almost any street in Brighton, Hove or Lewes and you'll be walking past sash windows – sliding sashes on the Victorian terraces, casements on the older cottages, big timber windows on the seafront squares. They're a huge part of what gives these houses their character, and on a listed building or in a conservation area they're often protected. But the sea air takes its toll: paint fails, sills rot, cords snap and the sashes that once glided start to stick, rattle and let the wind through.
Most sash windows can be repaired
The good news is that a sash window is built to be repaired. They were assembled from separate parts precisely so those parts could be replaced, and a window that looks condemned is often a few days' careful work away from another fifty years of life. The usual suspects are a handful of things: a rotten bottom rail or sill where water has sat, broken sash cords (which is why the top sash crashes down), worn staff beads that let the sash rattle, and decades of paint sealing the whole thing shut. Stripping out the rotten sections, splicing in new timber, re-cording the weights and re-hanging the sashes transforms how a room feels – and how warm it stays.
When replacing makes more sense
Sometimes a window genuinely is past saving – if the frame has twisted or the rot has run deep into the box, a like-for-like replacement in timber is the honest answer. If your windows are original and the house is listed or in a conservation area, the replacement will usually need to match the existing mouldings and glazing bars, and consent may be needed. For draughty but sound windows, it's also worth asking about draught-proofing brush seals and secondary glazing before deciding on anything drastic – they make a remarkable difference without changing how the house looks.
What a proper repair involves
We start by easing the sashes out and seeing what we're actually dealing with, because the rot you can see is rarely the whole story. Rotten sills and bottom rails are cut back to solid timber and new wood spliced in, rather than filled with filler and painted over. New cords go in on the weights, the beads are adjusted so the sashes slide and stay where you leave them, and everything is primed and finished properly. We'll tell you straight if a window can be saved – and if it can't, we'll say that too.
Get a straight answer
If you have sticking, rattling or rattly sash windows anywhere in Brighton, Hove or the surrounding towns, send us a few photos of what's happening and we'll give you an honest view of repair versus replacement. Every window is different, so we'll always come and look before quoting – but photos over WhatsApp let us tell you roughly what you're dealing with.
Start your project
Get advice on your windows
Tell us a bit about the job and we'll get back to you, usually the same day. Prefer to talk? Give us a ring.