Your 'Go To' Sash Windows Greenwich Company
TR Carpentry is a classic, Sash Windows company based in Greenwich United Kingdom. It’s an amazing place found in the heart of South East London. We’re a small but specialist team in everything sash windows. What started off as carpentry blossomed into doors and windows. Then we decided that our passion lies with good old fashioned timber sash windows! Our experience was developed through working for another joinery company in Bromwich where we worked with loads of different types of wooden windows.
Here we’re going to write a short article on sash windows, why we love them, a bit more about them and where they came from.
London, and Greenwich in particular, has loads of beautiful properties with lovely, ornate sash windows. There are plenty of conservation areas where it would take contacting the local authorities to get permission to do anything on the window! Often the window has to look exactly how it did before we begin work. This makes the work a bit tricky but a fun task at the same time. It seems like a lot of people are opting for UPVC which is understandable. The material is cheaper, still hardwearing and can still look good. We still love the classic sash windows the most due to their heritage and how they look.
If you didn’t know, sash windows (sometimes named vertical sliders), open and close using pulleys and weights. Unlike more normal functioning windows that kind of just open and close like a door. You simply pull the window handle and the function is very straight forward.
Another noteworthy thing about your sash windows is that the Dutch used to call sash windows ‘English Windows’! Even though they had plenty and they, or the French, possibly created them and not us. In any case, they’re synonymous with English and in particular, South London heritage and culture. This dates back to the 17th century when they were first invented and made popular.
That wasn’t the end of them and certainly most of us don’t have windows that are 300/400 years old. They were still extremely popular in South London throughout all of the centuries from the 17th right into the 20th century. The classic functioning of these windows that keep the window opening smoothly enough for them to still be usable in this fast-paced modern day and age makes them more expensive than their plastic counterparts. There’s not necessarily a problem with this though.
There’s a certain allure you get when you have sash windows that you don’t quite have with plastic windows. One is that, yes, people see that you have more expensive windows and there’s nothing wrong with this. They look great and if you want to keep them and maintain them instead of getting plastic counterparts, do it! We do it at our property and love them. You can find sash window at places like the prime minister’s residence.
Eventually modern technology has caught up with sash windows and people are opting for plastic windows for their windows. It’s understandable as the price is lower and not everyone can afford more luxurious windows or at least they have to prioritise their money to other parts of their life. As plastic windows got more and more advanced (the era of the double glazed plastic window salesman!
We all knew one), sash windows have slowly been going away. Sure, a lot of people need to save money and we understand that, but we’ve always liked the idea of expansion and paying for good things rather than contracting. After all, if people are spending less, then tradesman or whoever was going to be paid then can’t produce anything.
Then Essentially, we just don’t believe anything can grow (like the economy) without lots of activity, production and spending. Thankfully, a decent amount of sash windows still remain as we walk around Greenwich, Bromwich etc. keeping London looking like…. Well, London! That classic rustic city feel. Too much plastic, too much cheap will make it look like Tokyo! Well, not quite, but we definitely don’t want to move everything towards the heavily industrial cheap look.
That’s it for now from us about good old fashioned sash windows. We’ll be back next week to talk about the history and heritage of sash windows! Check out our website as usual or look at our Ad on Gumtre that we posted last week!
Until next time
TR Carpentry.
TR Carpentry
TR Carpentry,
4 Bayfield Road,
Greenwich,
London,
SE9 6BN
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