Family safety is always an important issue in any home. In this article, we look at the safety of sash windows for your family’s home.
If your existing sash windows are damaged, they can present a real safety risk to you and your family. In addition to any broken glass, one of the biggest safety risks from damaged sash windows is if the cords and weights or the spirals are damaged, as this can result in the bottom sash dropping suddenly when opened.
If your windows are damaged, you will want to get them repaired or replaced. If the weights and cords or spirals are damaged, you may be able to just replace these parts of the window, which will be considerably cheaper than replacing the whole window. At The Sash Window Workshop, we offer this service as part of our timber sash window minor repairs service across Berkshire and Central London.
If the windows are rotten, you will need to look at replacing the window. When looking to install new timber sash windows, there are various things you can do to make them safer for young children.
How do I prevent my child opening the window?
One way to improve the safety of your sash windows is to install rola locks. These are small bolt like mechanisms that prevent the bottom sash from opening beyond a fixed point. This means that the window can be opened far enough to let a breeze into the house, while not being high enough for a young child to lean through.
Rola locks will often have two locations where they can be placed on the window, allowing you flexibility on how much you would like the window to be able to open while always being too small a gap for a young child to fit.
Rola locks also can be removed in case of an emergency or if you want to open your window wider than the rola locks allow. However, as the rola locks screw directly into the top sash they are too high for young children to remove themselves.
What about glass?
Depending how near to the ground your window is, it may be a legal requirement for your windows to have safety glass. Safety glass aims to reduce the risk of accident. There are various different types of glass that can be classified as safety glass, including both toughened and laminated glass.
Toughened glass disintegrates on impact into small granular pieces, which are not sharp, reducing the risk of injury.
In contrast, laminated glass consists of two or more sheets of ordinary glass, which are attached together by a plastic interlayer. On impact any broken shards of glass will remain attached to the plastic, reducing the risk of injury.
Toughened glass also requires more force to shatter it than laminated glass, although once broken it will leave the window exposed. The decision on which type of safety glass to install will generally depend on the location of the window.
Obtaining a quotation
At The Sash Window Workshop we have extensive experience manufacturing, installing and repairing timber sash windows in period properties across London and Southern England.
We understand the vital importance of health and safety in your home and will help ensure that your windows are as safe as possible.
We pride ourselves in providing our customers with a high quality product, alongside excellent customer service, demonstrated by our Which? Trusted Trader membership and the fact that approximately half our orders last year came from previous customers and recommendations.
If you are looking to obtain a free, no obligation quotation to replace or repair your timber sash windows, contact us today on 01344 868 668.
