Window and door restoration
Worried that your period windows have deteriorated so much that simply adding secondary glazing won’t work? It’s a common issue.
That’s why we employ talented craftspeople who have a wealth of experience from the restoration and marine industries who can restore your windows to their former glory. We offer what we believe is a rare level of expertise in this field.
Skilled craftspeople with high-tech solutions
Our highly skilled craftspeople can restore your doors and windows (including sash windows) as part of our CosyGlazing installation service.
We use reclaimed timbers such as pitch pine and sustainably-grown oak together with epoxy resin compounds. Epoxy compounds are an import from the marine industry that combine with timber better than almost any other bonding and fairing material and can provide restoration with a lifespan equivalent to the original window.
We often meet customers who have been told to replace their windows because they are too decayed and we find we can restore them, replacing only 10-20% of the timber at around one third of the cost of a new hardwood window.
Historic England favours restoration over replacement because it preserves the very high quality old timber, allows you to keep your beautiful old glass, and retains the look and feel of a period property which can be spoiled by the introduction of new windows.
Take a look at one such window restoration project …
Exterior of window showing decayed sills. The customer had been advised to replace the windows.
Replacement sill milled by our joiners in reclaimed pitch pine. Pitch pine has a similar durability to the quality softwoods found in old windows (in contrast, modern softwoods can rot in under 5 years).
The new pitch pine sill is fitted in position using epoxy resin compounds. Epoxies, while not eco-friendly in their own right, are phenomenally compatible with wood, soaking into the timber and expanding and contracting at the same rate, meaning that the bonds can last as long as the timber itself, so there are significant benefits.
One of our project managers scarfing small sections to the bases of the vertical mullions. The structural bonding properties of epoxies mean that small sections of new timber can be scarfed with great durability, allowing us to preserve 90% of the original timber.
The final window, primed, with the glass and sashes in place. The end result, following the guidelines of Historic England, retains most of the original timber and glass, and at the same time gives the window a new lease of life.
Where some windows need replacing as part of a larger CosyGlazing or insulation installation, we can provide beautiful, high specification replacement windows.
Great job! We had M&D teams with us for four weeks over three visits. Partially because of a complex job and partially because of all the little, and not so little, surprises that turned up during the job. We have a listed property and whilst there is some debate whether an LBC is actually required, we applied for one with M&D assistance. No queries from the conservation officer and received approval v quickly.
We did look at a number of systems before settling on M&D. Definitely not the cheapest but the overall appearance is great. It wasn’t a quick decision for us, probably two years from first contact to completion. Helen was our main contact and she was ever helpful and ready to answer our various questions and queries. Equally important for a job of this type is the skill and experience of the fitting teams. The three teams of fitters that we met were all skilled, systematic, calm and thorough.
There is a definite quality approach to the work. They were all polite, clean and tidy. Our project included an amount of restoration and it turned out that there was rather more restoration required than we’d anticipated! Dealing with the surprises was where the fitters skill and experience really made the difference. The end result is a warmer home where the secondary glazing is hardly noticeable.
Sympathetic window restoration across the South and South West
Where some windows need replacing as part of a larger CosyGlazing or insulation installation, we can provide beautiful, high specification replacement windows. Our skilled craftsmen have many years of experience restoring windows to owners of country homes and traditional period properties in Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, Gloucestershire, Monmouthshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire, the West Midlands, Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire, Wiltshire, Hampshire, Berkshire, Surrey, Sussex and South West London, and across the UK. Mitchell & Dickinson are based in North Devon in the heart of the beautiful South West and have teams based in Bristol, Newbury and Surrey.
Some of our Window Restoration Projects
