Maintaining window frames: washing, checks and paint

Wooden window frames give a home character, from the Haarlem townhouse to the terraced house in Purmerend. But wood is alive: it expands, shrinks and faces wind, rain and sun every day. With good maintenance, frames last for decades; without it you can find wood rot after just a few wet winters. In this article you will read what you can do yourself, when a paint job is needed and how to avoid having to replace your frames.

1. Why frame maintenance pays off

A window frame is more than a surround for the glass. It keeps draughts and water out, carries the weight of windows and doors and largely determines how your home looks from outside. If the wood deteriorates, you notice it through sticking windows, draughts and eventually wood rot. Replacing is then a major intervention, whereas regular maintenance costs relatively little.

In Haarlem, with many older town houses and the sea wind blowing in from the coast across the city, window frames have a tough time. How a painter deals with that can be read on the page about exterior painting in Haarlem. Not sure whether your frames can still be saved? Painting or replacing window frames helps you weigh it up.

2. What you can do yourself

Most maintenance is simple and takes you an afternoon a year at most. These regular habits go a long way:

• wash frames twice a year with lukewarm water and a mild cleaner
• check sealant joints and glazing beads for cracks or loosening
• lubricate hinges and locks, but never paint over them
• keep trickle vents and the drainage in the sill clear

Dirt and algae hold moisture and make the paint weather faster. A clean frame dries quickly after a shower and you immediately see whether there is a crack or a flake somewhere. Small damage can then be touched up in time, before water gets behind the paint.

3. The paint job

How often frames need a new coat depends on the exposure, the colour and the paint system. A frame facing south or west in full sun and rain is due sooner than one on a sheltered north side. A good paint job starts with cleaning and degreasing, then sanding, priming bare patches and finally a topcoat of exterior gloss from a premium brand such as Sikkens, Sigma or Wijzonol.

Exterior work is preferably done in a dry period with mild temperatures. Still, not everything has to wait until summer: small repairs and the inside of frames can often be done in the cold season too. What is and is not possible can be read in painting in winter.

4. Repair in good time

If there is already wood rot in a frame, a new coat of paint alone is pointless. The affected wood must first be removed and repaired with wood filler or a new piece of timber. Primer and topcoat follow, so the frame is protected again for years. Oranje Kwast does this as part of wood rot and frame repair, from a small repair to all the woodwork around the home.

In Purmerend there are many terraced houses from the period when the town grew rapidly. They often still have the original wooden frames, which can last very well with good maintenance. More about painting in those neighbourhoods can be read under exterior painting in Purmerend.

5. Mistakes to avoid

The most common mistake is waiting too long. A frame that still looks fine from a distance can already be soft at the sill. A second mistake is applying paint over dirt, grease or loose layers of paint: the new coat then comes off just as quickly. Sealant joints painted over without being renewed first also remain a weak spot.

You also often see windows painted shut, so they stick or no longer open, or interior paint used outdoors. More pitfalls and how to avoid them can be read in common painting mistakes.

In practice this topic belongs with wood rot and window frame repair and exterior painting. There you can read about the approach and the options, or request a free, no-obligation quote straight away.

Further reading: VAT on painting work: 9% or 21%?, Spraying a ceiling: how does it work?, Spraying or rolling latex: which is better?.

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