Unstick a Window
Double-hung windows are all too prone to sticking, but you can usually open them with muscle and common sense. Tools: stiff putty knife or paint scraper, hammer, chisel, 6-inch-long wood block, pry bar. Materials: medium-grit sandpaper, silicone spray lubricant. Time: ½ to 2 hours.
First check the window to make sure it’s unlocked. Assuming the catch is open, the most common problem is that the window was painted shut, and the paint is holding the sash shut. Use a stiff putty knife or paint scraper to cut the paint sealing the groove between the window sash-the sliding part and the frame.
Push the blade of the knife straight into the groove. If it won’t go in with mild pressure, tap it in lightly with a hammer to break the paint all around the sash. If this was the only problem, the window should open.
If the window still doesn’t open, the tracks the sash moves in may be blocked. Examine the tracks above the sash. If they’re clogged with paint or dirt, clean them carefully with a chisel; don’t dig into the wood, but remove lumps and bulges. Sand the inside of the tracks smooth with medium-grit sandpaper, then spray them with a silicone lubricant, and raise the window.
If the grooves are clean but the win¬dow still sticks, place a 6-inch-long wood block flat against the wood of the sash frame and tap it gently with a hammer to push the sash back from the window frame. Work all around the edges of the sash with the block and hammer, tapping very gently and evenly along the sash frame; then try to open the window. If it opens, clean, sand, and lubricate the tracks as above. If tapping on the sash doesn’t work, tap the block sideways into the window frame, to push it the other way. Try the window again, and clean and lubricate as above if it opens.
As a last resort, use a pry bar. Work from the outside of the window if you can. Slip the flat end of the pry bar into the crack between the bottom of the window sash and the windowsill. Set the block of wood on the windowsill under the bar to improve leverage and protect the sill. Pry gently at the corners of the window, pushing the bar down to move the window up; pry first one corner, then the other, moving slowly back and forth toward the center of the sill.
Work carefully, and don’t force the window open. If it does open, clean, sand, and lubricate the tracks. If it doesn’t, repeat the wood block procedure from the outside. Clean and lubricate as above.
If cutting, pounding, and prying don’t work, leave the window alone. The problem may be caused by excessive swelling from humidity, by extreme misalignment of the sash, or by uneven settling of the house. Don’t make it worse; call a carpenter
