Window & Door Repairs in Eastbourne, East Sussex

Repair or replace?

A great many of the windows and doors we are asked to replace do not need replacing. Misted double glazing usually means the sealed unit has failed, not the window, and the glass alone can be swapped. A draughty sash normally needs new cords, parting beads and brush seals. A door that will not shut is often hinges, a swollen edge or a frame that has moved.

So we repair where a repair is sound and lasting, and we say so when it is not. On a period property that is usually the better answer anyway, because original joinery is generally better timber than a modern replacement and it is what makes the building look right.

We work on timber, UPVC and aluminium windows and doors for homeowners, landlords and businesses across East Sussex, including sash windows, casements, bays, French and patio doors, front doors and commercial entrances.

We do supply and fit replacements where that really is the better answer. We are simply not trying to sell you one when a repair will do.

The faults we see most

Misted or blown double glazing, where the seal on the unit has failed and moisture is trapped between the panes. Draughts and rattles around sashes and casements. Rotten sills and the bottom rails of doors and frames, which is where water sits.

Then the moving parts: dropped or binding doors, worn hinges, failed multipoint locks and gearboxes, snapped sash cords, seized casement stays and handles that no longer line up with the keep.

On this coast, salt and damp shorten the life of every mechanism and fixing. Locks and hinges corrode, steel lintels over openings rust and expand, and timber that stays wet at a sill end goes soft far sooner than it would inland.

Security is the other thing people ring about, usually after a break in or after an insurer has asked for a particular lock standard.

What we do about it

We work out what has actually failed before quoting, because the difference between a new sealed unit and a new window is considerable and it is worth being sure which one you need.

Timber repairs are spliced into sound wood, treated and primed before they go in, and painted to match. Sashes get overhauled: new cords, beads and seals, easing where they bind, so they run and close as they should.

Locks and gearboxes are matched to the existing hardware where we can so nothing else has to change, and we keep the original ironmongery on a period door wherever it is serviceable.

Where a unit really is beyond repair we will tell you, and tell you what the sensible replacement is for that building rather than the most expensive option in the brochure.

Misted double glazing

Replacing failed sealed units while keeping the existing frames and hardware, which costs a fraction of a new window. We measure and order the unit to suit the frame rather than replacing the frame to suit a stock unit.

Sash window overhauls

New cords and weights balanced to the sash, new parting and staff beads, discreet brush seals set into the beads, and easing where paint has built up, so the window runs, closes and stops rattling.

Casements, bays and stays

Adjusting and rehanging, new stays, fasteners and hinges, and structural repairs to bay window frames where the timber or the support beneath has moved.

Rotten sills and frames

Cutting out and splicing in matching treated timber rather than replacing whole units, primed before fitting because the end grain is where the next failure starts. Through our carpenters.

Doors and thresholds

Easing, rehanging and adjusting, new frames and linings, thresholds, weather bars and closers, plus fire doors fitted as complete certified assemblies where a block requires them.

Locks, security and glazing

Multipoint gearboxes, anti snap cylinders, handles, hinge bolts and window locks, repairs after a break in, and replacement glass including toughened and obscure where regulations require it.

Draughtproofing without causing damp

Sealing up an older house sounds like a straightforward win and can cause problems if it is done without thinking about ventilation. This is how we approach it.

Seal the gaps that waste heat. Around sashes and casements, at the meeting rail, under doors and around frames. That is where the draughts you feel come from.
Keep the ventilation you need. Trickle vents, extract fans in kitchens and bathrooms, and airbricks serving suspended floors all need to keep working.
Never block a suspended floor vent. Airbricks keep the timber under your floor dry. Covering them causes rot.
Watch for condensation afterwards. A house sealed with no added ventilation moves moisture from the windows onto cold walls, which produces mould instead of streaming glass.
Deal with the worst offenders first. A single ill fitting door or an open chimney usually loses more heat than every window in the house.

Done that way you get a warmer house without swapping a draught problem for a damp one. There is more on the damp side of this on our damp proofing page.

Sash windows and period property

Eastbourne, Lewes, Hastings and the villages around them have a great many original sash windows, and they are worth keeping. The timber in a Victorian sash is usually slow grown and dense, far better than most modern softwood, and it is why so many of them are still in place after a century and a half.

The complaints about them are draughts, rattling and sashes that will not move, and all three are repairable. An overhaul means new cords and weights balanced to the sash, new parting and staff beads, discreet brush seals in the beads, and easing where paint has built up. Done that way a sash window runs smoothly, stops rattling and loses far less heat.

In a conservation area or on a listed building, replacement often needs consent and like for like repair usually does not, which is another good reason to repair. There are conservation areas across this part of East Sussex, including Old Town, parts of Meads, and much of Lewes and Battle, and we are happy to talk to your conservation officer about what is proposed.

If you want better thermal performance without losing the windows, slim profile double glazed units can sometimes be fitted into existing sashes, and secondary glazing is often permitted where replacement windows are not. Both are worth considering before anyone suggests taking the originals out.

Questions we get asked

My double glazing is misted. Do I need new windows?

Almost certainly not. Misting between the panes means the sealed unit has failed, and in most cases the glass unit alone can be replaced while keeping the existing frame and hardware. It costs a fraction of a new window. The exception is where the frame itself has also failed, and we will tell you if that is what we find.

Can draughty sash windows be fixed without replacing them?

Yes, and it is usually the better answer. Overhauling a sash means new cords and beads, brush seals fitted into the beads, and easing the sashes where paint has built up. That removes most of the draught and the rattle while keeping the original joinery, which matters on a period house and in a conservation area.

My front door will not shut correctly. What is wrong?

Usually one of three things: the door has swollen with damp, the hinges have worn or dropped, or the frame has moved as the building settled. On UPVC and composite doors it is often the multipoint gearbox failing so the hooks no longer engage. Each has a different fix, so it is worth having it looked at rather than forcing it.

Is it worth repairing a rotten window rather than replacing it?

Very often, yes. Rot is usually confined to the sill and the bottom few inches of the frame, and that can be cut out and spliced with matching treated timber, then primed and painted. If most of the frame is sound you keep the original window at a fraction of the cost. Where there is too little sound timber left we will say so.

Can you improve security on my doors and windows?

Yes. We fit and upgrade multipoint locks, anti snap cylinders, hinge bolts, window locks and door reinforcement, and we can put right damage after a break in including frames, glazing and locks. Tell us if your insurer has asked for a particular standard and we will meet it.

Do you supply new windows and doors as well?

Yes, where replacement is the right answer. We will tell you honestly when a repair is not worth doing, and we will talk through what suits the building, including timber on a period property where the profile matters. We are not trying to sell a replacement when a repair will do.

Can original sash windows be double glazed?

Sometimes. Slim profile double glazed units can be fitted into existing sashes where the rebate is deep enough and the sash is strong enough to carry the extra weight, which needs checking rather than assuming. Where that is not possible, secondary glazing gives much of the benefit and is often acceptable in a conservation area where new windows are not.

One of my windows has cracked. Can you replace just the glass?

Yes. Single panes, sealed units and toughened or laminated glass can all be replaced in the existing frame. Where the glass is in a door, a low level panel or near a staircase, building regulations require safety glass, so we fit toughened or laminated as appropriate even if the original was not.

Where we work

We are based on Hyde Gardens in Eastbourne, so the town and the villages around it are home ground for us. We are out working here most days and we know the housing well, including the older seafront terraces, the Victorian and Edwardian houses in Upperton and Meads, and the newer estates and blocks of flats nearer the edge of town.

From Eastbourne we cover the whole of East Sussex. Along the coast that takes in Bexhill, Hastings, Seaford, Newhaven, Brighton, where salt air and driving rain are hard on any building. Inland we work regularly in Polegate, Hailsham, Pevensey, Willingdon, Lewes, Uckfield, Heathfield, Crowborough, Battle and the smaller villages between them, where period cottages and country properties often need a gentler approach and older materials matched carefully.

Being local matters for window and door repairs. We can get to you quickly to take a look, we know the buildings and the ground conditions, and we are never far away if you need us again. If your village is not on the list there is a good chance we still reach you, so give us a call on 01323 671001 and we will tell you either way.

Backed by recognised standards

We are Gas Safe registered and members of the Federation of Master Builders, NAPIT and the FSB. Those memberships mean our gas, electrical and building work is measured against recognised standards, and that an outside body has looked at how we work rather than us simply saying we are good at it. For a family business our reputation matters more than anything, and we have built it one customer at a time.

Window & Door Repairs