Tuesday, July 19, 2011

How To Replace A Worn Out Cord On Your Sash Window

By James Trent


Every so often the cords may need to be replaced because of overuse. In a few basic steps, anyone can quickly learn how to change a broken cord on a sash window without help. In addition to the new cords, having a small pry bar, flat head screw driver, putty knife, and small small nails can make the process easier.

First, take off the interior stop. This can be pried off with the putty knife or it can be unscrewed. Pull away the inner sash as carefully as possible. There are upward pieces inside the frame, called stile grooves, where the cords are tied in place. Pull them free and remove the weights. If it needs it, clean out the frame.

Next, the parting strip needs to be opened from one of the jambs. These are upright supports in the window frame. Be careful when trying to remove this as it may be nailed down. The cords can be taken off after the upper sash is taken out.

From here, the weather stripping must removed so that the weight pockets can be reached. Once the stripping is off, take out the weight pockets. These may be behind small metal plates, which also have to come off. Sometimes, there are no plates, in which case the weight pockets are behind the interior casing on both sides of the window.

Make sure that the replacement cords are the right length and cut them if necessary. Take off the old ones and place them over the pulleys. String them from the pulleys to the weight pockets. Remember to loop the cords before tying them to the small metal bars in the weights. This is sometimes referred to as the "eye".

Hold the weights in place by pulling them to the top of their pockets and putting a nail through them. Fasten it to the frame. Fasten the outer cords to their slots with screws. Next, replace the parting strip and take out the nails and the pulleys and then lift the sash. Tie the cords to the inner sash and then seal up the frame.

It might be easier to change all the strings at one time while the frame is apart. This insures that they are all fresh and shouldn't need to be changed again for some time. It is possible to use chain instead of string, whichever is preferred. It may take some time, but it's much less costly to do it yourself.




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