Birmingham's Victorian and Edwardian suburbs — Edgbaston, Moseley, Harborne, Kings Heath, Handsworth — were built with timber box sash windows in their thousands, often in the red brick and terracotta that gives the city its character. Many are now well past a century old and showing it: rattling sashes, snapped cords, rot in the sills and paint that has not been touched in years.
Leicester Sash brings a specialist sash window team to Birmingham, Sutton Coldfield and Solihull. We repair and restore the windows you have — splicing new timber into rotten sections, re-cording and rebalancing, draught-proofing and repainting — so the original joinery stays in the house and the draughts and rattles go.
Where we work in Birmingham
Click through for the local page for your town, or get in touch if your village is not listed — we cover the whole county.
Conservation areas across Birmingham and Solihull
The Calthorpe Estate in Edgbaston, Moseley village, the Jewellery Quarter, Harborne's older streets, Four Oaks in Sutton Coldfield and Knowle and Dorridge in Solihull are all conservation areas where the original windows are part of what the designation protects. Repairing them like for like keeps the character and, in almost every case, keeps you clear of planning.
We work on listed buildings too, and are used to matching moulding profiles, horns and glazing bars so that a repaired window is indistinguishable from the original.
Problems we can help with
- Sash windows in need of repair or restoration
- Windows that are difficult to open or close, or painted shut
- Draughts, rattles and street noise through the window
- Rotten sills, bottom rails and frames
Sash window repair services in Birmingham
Structural sash window restoration
Replacing rotten timber; repairing damaged frames, rails and sills with spliced timber or resin so the original window stays in the wall.
External redecoration
Full, comprehensive repainting with a durable exterior system, and the sensitive reinstatement of mouldings, horns and other character details.
Draught-proofing
Discreet brush-pile seals routed into the beads and meeting rail — the most cost-effective single improvement you can make to a period window.
Functional repairs
Re-cording, rebalancing, easing seized sashes, curing rattles and refitting locks and fasteners so the window works as it was designed to.
Double-glazed sashes
Slim double-glazed units fitted into new or existing sashes in the original frame, keeping the look of the street and improving insulation.
Doors and casements
The same repair, draught-proofing and painting service for timber French doors, casement windows, bays and dormers.
A cost-effective alternative to replacement
Restoring an original window costs a fraction of replacing it, and the restored window — dense, slow-grown timber, draught-sealed and properly painted — is at least as efficient in use and will usually last longer. Many of the sashes made in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries were cut from far better timber than modern joinery, which is the strongest argument for keeping them.
Listed buildings
On a listed building, repair rather than replacement is normally the only approach a conservation officer will accept — and, done like for like, it does not usually need consent at all. Where new sashes have to be made we match the profile of the originals exactly.
Every style, every era
We work on box sash windows, casements, bays and dormers from every period — Georgian, Regency, Victorian, Edwardian and inter-war — and on doors and French windows of the same construction. If the job you have in mind is not described on this site, ask us: it is very likely something we can do.
Frequently asked questions
Do you cover all of Birmingham?
Yes. The towns listed on this page are where we work most often, but we cover the whole of Birmingham and the villages between the towns. If you are not sure whether we reach you, send us the postcode and we will tell you straight away.
Is it really cheaper to repair than replace?
In almost every case, yes — usually by a wide margin. A repair deals only with the parts that have failed (a sill, a bottom rail, the cords) and keeps everything that is sound. A replacement throws the whole window away, and on a period house it also loses the original glass and proportions that give the building its value.
Will I need planning permission?
Not for a like-for-like repair, which is what we do. Replacing windows in a conservation area or on a listed building can need consent; repairing them does not. Where a listed building needs new sashes made, we work with the conservation officer on the specification.
Can you double-glaze my original sash windows?
Often, yes. Slim double-glazed units can be fitted into new or existing sashes where the timber is deep enough, keeping the original box frame. On a listed building this needs listed building consent; in a conservation area it usually does not.
How do I get a quote?
Call 0116 360 2080 or use the form below. We will arrange a survey, count and inspect each window, and send a written quote that itemises what is being done to each one.
