Windows are not just important to us but to all humanity. We are sash window specialists and take care of your windows from repairs to replacements. Although we regard ourselves as the sash windows specialists, we also have many years experience in fitting and installing windows in wood, aluminium, UPVC or Crittall®.

About

SashCo is a family-run business. We have forged close relationships with manufacturers of wood and UPVC windows and specialise in sash windows of highest standards. We supply and fit in Greater London as well as Surrey and Kent.

Since 1990, we have supplied and installed new windows to both domestic and commercial clients. However, not all windows need replacing and so we also repair, restore and renovate windows as particularly sash windows are an investment for many decades if they are looked after properly.

Our joinery experience allows us to manufacture all types of bespoke windows ensuring your windows are in keeping with the style of your house.

Sash windows, adding a stylish charm to British architectural heritage, have stood the test of time. While they adorn some of the UK’s most elegant buildings, what is most remarkable about these windows is their longevity. Fully-functional sash windows as old as 250 years remain in superb condition today. There can be just one reason for this: the stability of its technical design and craftsmanship. A design that has not been matched to date and as such makes sash windows a most worthy investment.

Sash windows are comprised of weighted cords which support two vertically-sliding glazed sashes. The origins of this design remain somewhat mysterious. Some credit scientist and architect Robert Hooke (1635–1703), while others believe the horizontally-sliding ‘Yorkshire sash’ inspired the window’s invention in the early 17th century.

What is clear, however, is the immediate and infectious popularity of the window in the Georgian era. Wooden sash windows began to frame street and garden views of aristocrats up and down the country, most notably in Hampton Court, Ham House and Kensington Palace. But its success was not limited to aesthetic benefits. Far from this in fact. Its simple weighted cords allowed for an adjusted opening in the window, unlike hinged designs. This could be a slender gap at the top and bottom of the window, giving control of ventilation while preventing rain blowing into the room and rotting the windows themselves – certainly a necessity for weather-wary British homeowners both then and now.

The naturally-powered ventilation system created by sash windows came to be enjoyed by the wider public in the late 17th and early 18th century. The design harnesses the laws of physics to draw in fresh air from outside through the bottom sash, while rising hot air flows out of the top sash. Indeed, today this simple and highly-effective system cannot be faulted, saving homeowners both money and energy.

What’s more the sash, being hung from each of its top corners, rather than from the side as with a hinged window, is less likely to distort under its own weight. This is critical to its survival through the ages and indeed the key factor in why many original sash windows exist and are refurbished by sash window specialists such as SashCo.

Sash design evolved through the 18th century, as glass manufacture gradually improved and various window taxes were repealed. Larger panes became available to everyone and this sparked the ‘horns’, a famously recognisable feature of the sash window, which was introduced to provide extra support for the glass.