Saturday, July 16, 2011

How You Can Change A Worn Out Cord On Your Sash Window Yourself

By James Trent


After awhile, the cords on your window are going to break. But, with a little time and knowledge, you can figure out how to change a broken cord on a sash window all by yourself. To do the job, you'll need some nails, a flat head screw driver, putty knife, and small pry bar available to you.

You have to take out the interior stop first. This will probably come off by unscrewing it or by prying it off, depending on whether there's screws. Swing out the inner sash and angle it out of the way. You should find that the cords are in a stile groove. These are the vertical pieces inside the frame. Each one is in a knot. Undo the them a set the weights aside. As long as you have it open, you may want to clean this out. Bugs are known to get in here.

You have to pull of the parting strip next. They're connected to the jambs, with are the upright supports in the frame. You might have to deal with nails when doing this, so be careful. You'll have to move the upper sash out of your way before you can remove the cords.

The weight pockets must be taken out next. This involves taking off the weather stripping first. Access to the weight pockets should be behind small plates at near the bottom of the jambs. If not, they are behind the interior casing on both sides of the window. In either case, remove the pieces and get the sash weights.

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".

For simplicity, pull the weights to the top of their pockets and hold them in place with a nail. Take the outer cords and attach them to the slots in the sash with screws. Put the parting strip back and take out the nails and pulleys. Then raise the sash and attach the strings to the inside. Finally, put the entire frame back together.

It may be wise to replace all the cords at once to save time, even if they are not all broken. Chains can be used instead of cords if desired. A person can save some money by doing this themselves.




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