Sash windows, and why they matter in Littlehampton
The seafront conservation area in Littlehampton has 36 listed buildings in under seven hectares. Among them are the Regency houses of South Terrace and Norfolk Place: stuccoed, four storeys over a basement, with sash windows and, at numbers 19 and 20, fringed pelmets and a porch of paired Corinthian pilasters. In 2014 the owner of a flat at 25 South Terrace lost an appeal against an enforcement notice and was required to remove uPVC double glazing and reinstate timber windows matching the original sashes. The town takes its windows seriously, and so do we.
Most sash windows that look finished are not. A sash with rotten bottom rails, broken cords and a decayed sill can usually be repaired: new cords and weights balanced, rails and sills spliced with matching timber, parting beads replaced, and draught-proofing brushes fitted in the beads. That keeps the original glass and the original profile, avoids any question of consent, and costs less than replacement. Where a sash is beyond repair, we make a new one to match, and on a listed building that needs listed building consent first.
Replacement windows still have a number to meet
A new window in an existing house has to meet Approved Document L: 1.4 W/m²K, or Window Energy Rating band B, and no worse than the one it replaces. Slim double-glazed timber sashes can meet that; very slim heritage glazing sometimes cannot. We check the specification against the rule at quotation, not at inspection.
Victorian staircases and doors
The terraces built across the north and west of the town after 1863 usually have their original stair: a straight flight against the party wall with a turned newel, balusters and a mahogany or pine handrail. Over the years many have had their balusters boxed in with hardboard, a newel cut down or a handrail replaced. Restoring one is satisfying work. Missing balusters are turned or bought to match, loose treads are re-glued and screwed from beneath, and the handrail is brought to a height that meets today's guidance. The four-panel doors in the same houses are often hidden under hardboard too, and come back well.
Where a new stair is needed, it is built to the regulations. A straight softwood flight is £3,000 to £6,600 on our price guide, an oak stair or one with a winder £6,000 to £12,000, both including VAT.
Flint, oak and the older town
Littlehampton's oldest houses, from around 1700, are knapped flint with brick dressings, and Wick, merged into the town in 1974, has Victorian flint buildings and one thatched cottage. Joinery in houses of that age is often oak or good-quality pine, hand-made and slightly irregular. Repairs are made to match, not to a catalogue size, and fixings are kept out of the old timber where they can be.
New-build homes that need storage
The estates north of the town, Courtwick Park and North Littlehampton among them, were built with plenty of plasterboard and very little storage. Fitted wardrobes scribed to the walls, cupboards under the stairs fitted out with pull-out drawers, shelving in alcoves and boarded loft space with a proper ladder are the work there. Fitted wardrobes are £1,680 to £2,880 per linear metre on our guide; an alcove unit £960 to £5,760; an internal door hung in an existing lining from £156; a door with a new lining and ironmongery £360 to £660. All include VAT.
A town that likes good timber
Littlehampton put a 324-metre bench of reclaimed tropical hardwood along its promenade in 2010, beside the East Beach Cafe that opened in 2007. It is a town that notices well-made things. Our joinery is made in our own workshop at Middleton, twenty minutes along the coast, to measurements taken on site, and fitted by the people who made it.
Outside on the riverside and seafront
Doors, windows and gates facing the sea or the river get salt and wind. We use stainless steel fixings and ironmongery, seal end grain before fitting, and paint with a primer and two coats of microporous finish. On a listed or conservation-area elevation the colour and finish are agreed before we start.
The trade in full is carpentry and joinery; nearby are carpentry in Rustington and carpentry in Arundel. The town is on builders in Littlehampton.
Send a photograph of the window, stair or space, and James will tell you whether it can be repaired and what a match would cost if not. Ring 07470 078236. Every item on its own line, two years' guarantee on our workmanship.