The Details That Make a Sash Look Original

A joiner builds a sash with straight joints: the rails run between the stiles, so you see a fine vertical line where they meet. Most PVC-U windows are welded at 45 degrees instead, and that diagonal line at every corner is the first thing that gives a replacement away.

Our timber-look joints recreate traditional joinery, assembled by hand on a cleated system so the joint stays tight for life.

Horns are the shaped extensions of the upper sash below the meeting rail. Victorian joiners added them to strengthen the joint once heavier plate glass arrived, and they became a signature of Victorian and Edwardian sashes.

Georgian windows usually never had them, so we only specify horns where the house calls for them.

On a traditional sash the bottom rail of the lower sash is noticeably deeper than the others, which gives the window a solid, grounded look. A thin bottom rail is one of the quickest ways to make a sash look modern.

Our deep bottom rail is 90mm, half as deep again as the standard 60mm rail, recreating the look of a mortise-and-tenon joint, in every colour and finish.

Astragal bars sit on the face of the glass, so each one stands proud and casts a fine shadow line, just like the glazing bars of a traditional sash. From the street the window reads as individual panes.