How to Open Stuck Windows
Sticky windows come in a variety of types. Some slide, but unwillingly. Others work well in the winter – when you have no real desire to open them – but balk with the first hint of summer weather. Still others simply refuse to move at all. Windows that are just a little stubborn may respond to a simple lube job. Try shooting a thin film of silicone spray onto the sliding surfaces of the window. This may help with all wood frames, or with wood frames that slide in metal channels. Most plastic sliding surfaces should not be lubed.
After spraying, slide the sash up and down a few times to see if things have improved. If you are happy with the results, consider yourself lucky.
If things are better, but still not good enough, wrap some 120-grit sandpaper around a wooden block and sand the channel the window slides in (this only applies to conventional wood construction). This sanding can open up the fit a bit, and clean away sticky residues that may be hampering smooth operation.
If sanding helps, combine it with silicone spray and you should get good results. A similar but faster technique is to scrape or shave the channels with a chisel. This takes more skill than sanding and carries a greater potential for mistakes. If sanding and lubricating don’t help much, the fit of the sash in its wooden channel is simply too tight. The channels may be too narrow (front to back) or the window framing may have moved over the years, making the channels too shallow.
If the channels are too narrow, you may be able to open them up a bit by adjusting the stop. This is the strip of molding that creates the front lip of the channel the window rides in. To adjust this, place a block of wood against the rear edge of the stop and knock it forward with a few taps of a hammer.
If the channels are too shallow, you can try this: Place your block of wood in the window channel and rap it smartly four or five times to drive the window jamb outward.
If this helps, it’s an indication that the window jamb was warped or moved out of position. Just knocking it back will not hold it in position, but adding a few screws will. Take some 2 1/2-inch flat-head screws and drive these every 4 inches or so through the window jamb into the 2-by-4 framing behind it. This should secure the jamb in the right position. Make sure to countersink the screw heads below the surface of the jamb so they won’t interfere with the window.
If none of this helps, you’ll have to pry off the stops, very carefully. If the window now moves freely, remount the stops slightly forward of their old position. If the window is still tight with the stops removed, remove the sash and plane both edges slightly. Replace and test the fit. If necessary, plane a bit more. Then sand, repaint and replace the sash and the stops.
If you are faced with a window that simply will not move at all, chances are that it has been painted shut. This happens when wet paint seeps into the crack between the sash and the stops, then dries, effectively gluing the window in place.
Sometimes you can break this paint seal with a thin putty knife, but a window zipper like the one in the sketch is your best bet. Work this into the crack between the stop and the sash, along both sides of the window until the paint film has been eliminated. This will free up the window enough to let you move it. Slide it up out of the way, then follow up with the sanding and silicone spray routine outlined above. That should do the trick.
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Tags: sash, silicone spray, window framing, Windows, wood frames