Sash Window Repair Edinburgh

Fixed Price · Heritage Joiners · No Cowboy Quotes · From £185 per sash

Sash window repair in Edinburgh covers four common faults: snapped sash cords, seized pulleys, rotten timber along the lower rail or cill, and rattle from worn parting beads. Heatscape's vetted heritage joiners survey the whole window, give you a fixed price per sash from £185, and complete most flat repairs in a single visit — no scaffold, no carpet lift, all dust contained.

What sash window repair actually involves

A traditional sash and case window has six wearing parts: the two sashes, the parting bead, the staff bead, the sash cords (or chains) and the cast-iron weights inside the box. Any of these can fail — and on an Edinburgh tenement that's typically 90 to 140 years old, multiple parts usually go together. A proper repair survey checks each one, rather than treating the visible symptom alone. We open the box, inspect the weights and pulleys, sound the timber for rot, and check the meeting rail for square. You get a written quote that lists every fault and a fixed price to put each one right.

Sash cord and pulley renewal

A snapped sash cord is the single most common Edinburgh sash repair. The cord typically lasts 40–60 years; once one breaks, the partner cord and the other sash are usually within a few years of failing too — so we always quote to renew all four cords on a pair of sashes. We use 8mm braided polyester (Solid Braided No. 8) as standard, or waxed cotton cord on listed properties where the council requires a traditional finish. Pulleys are dismantled, cleaned, re-greased and re-wheeled where the axle is worn. The whole job on a single sash takes 90 minutes.

Rotten timber repair and splicing

Rot almost always starts at the lower rail of the bottom sash, the cill, or the bottom of the box pulley stiles where rainwater drives in. We never use polyester resin filler on heritage sashes — it traps moisture and accelerates the rot beneath. Instead, the affected section is cut out cleanly, a matched-grain seasoned softwood splice is scarfed in with marine-grade adhesive, then planed flush and painted with a breathable linseed-oil paint system. A typical bottom-rail splice is £165 and saves the whole sash from replacement.

Draught-proofing and rattle removal

Most Edinburgh sash windows lose 25–40% of their air-tightness through worn parting beads and a sloppy meeting rail. We retrofit a discreet brush-pile gasket into the parting bead, staff bead and meeting rail in a single visit. The brush pile is set deep enough that it's invisible from the room but cuts air leakage by up to 75% and stops the rattle that wakes you in a westerly gale. Combined with re-glazing the original single panes in slim-line 12mm double-glazed units, U-values drop from around 4.8 W/m²K to 1.6 W/m²K.

When repair beats replacement

On a listed building or in a conservation area, the council will almost always require you to repair rather than replace. Outside those areas, repair still beats replacement on cost (typically 40–60% less), embodied carbon, and longevity — a properly repaired 1890 sash will outlast a new uPVC unit two-to-one. Replacement only wins when the box pulley stiles themselves are rotten through, the sashes are racked beyond plane, or you genuinely want the warmth of a modern A-rated factory-glazed unit and the property is not in a conservation area.

Fixed prices and how we work

Every repair quote is itemised and fixed. There are no hourly rates, no day-rates, no 'extras found on the day'. Survey is £0 for repair scopes of three sashes or more, otherwise £49 deducted from the quote. We carry public liability of £5m, all joiners are CSCS-carded, and the work is covered by a 5-year workmanship guarantee. We can usually start within two weeks; emergency draught-and-rattle work on single sashes is often same-week.

Frequently asked questions

How much does sash window repair cost in Edinburgh?
Typical Edinburgh sash repair pricing: sash cord renewal £185 per sash, pulley overhaul £55 per pulley, rotten lower-rail splice £165, full brush-pile draught-proofing £245 per pair of sashes, slim-line double glazing retrofit £445 per sash. All prices are fixed before work starts.
Do you need scaffolding for upper-floor flats?
No. We use internal sash-removal jigs and work entirely from inside the flat. No scaffold, no carpet lift, no access negotiation with the property factor.
How long does a sash repair take?
Cord renewal: 90 minutes per sash. Brush-pile draught-proofing: half a day per pair of windows. A full overhaul including splicing and re-glazing: two days per pair. Most flat repairs are finished in a single visit.
Will the council allow sash window repair in a conservation area?
Yes — like-for-like repair, sash cord renewal, brush-pile draught-proofing and re-glazing in matching glass are all classed as maintenance and need no planning permission, even on listed buildings.
What guarantee do you give?
5-year workmanship guarantee on all sash repair, 10-year on slim-line double-glazed units, and we carry £5m public liability insurance. Every joiner on site is CSCS-carded.
Can you repair a sash window that won't open or has rotten timber?
Yes — both are routine. A seized sash usually needs the parting bead easing and the pulleys cleaning. Rotten timber is cut out and a matched-grain splice scarfed in. Neither requires the whole window to be replaced.

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