Cracked glass in sash window

Grumps submitted this idea :

Should be possible, if it's a small one and the broken one can be removed carefully - risk is for people walking below.

And not just directly below. A big enough piece of glass can 'do a leaf' and travel sideways a bit.

Well maybe. But the bottom sash will be easier to remove than the top one. And it's going to be more fiddly than the top one, because at least the glass in that is not occuluded by the other sash. If it is old glass in an old window, it may be quite thin and also more prone to cracking than modern glass.

Once you have removed decades of paint, removal of the bead (and divider, for the top / outer sash) is usually not too difficult. Also an opportunity to clean and relubricate the pulleys, and replace the cords.

That's what I would do for anything Edwardian or older.

No. At least you have to remove the sliding bit, which is not very difficult, just ease off the beads and disconnect the cords. then replace glass on a convenient flat surface without any contortion or ropes to tie yourself to the bedstead.

eg, yes. You don't need to actually take the whole window out.

TW

It happens that Clive Arthur formulated :

An old bedsheet, passed though the from top of top sash, to below bottom sash, should help mitigate that risk.

I wouldn't risk it. A piece of, for example, triangular glass with a sharp point will go straight through a bedsheet. It might slow it for a fraction of a second as it slices its way through, but it will go through.

At the very least the OP should get some self-adhesive vinyl and stick that over the glass before attempting to remove it to prevent any pieces dropping out.

Unless the putty has deteriorated to the point where it is just a series of chunks about an inch or so long, which can be levered off with a screwdriver, then removing old hard putty is not an easy job, even if you are sitting on the window cill with your torso on the outside. make sure you have an assistant to hang on to you.

Bit pointless, I'd say. Given the lower sash is the easiest to remove. Take it to a glazier and get him to fit the new while you wait.

Possible, sure, but imho fwiw you'd be nuts to do it. Just take the bottom sash out, so much easier, will change a nightmare into a straightworward job.

Depends on what you mean by "window". If you mean just the sash, NO. If you mean the whole window - frame and all - NO.

As others have said, it's not too difficult to remove a bottom sash. You can the lie it on a flat surface and get at both sides to remove the broken glass and old putty.

Trying to do this with the sash in situ on the 4th floor would be a

Have you done such a job yourself (removing a lower sash)? If not, it's quite easy, and certainly the way to go (unless you've got a long ladder like the one at Tring museum).

You only need to remove one side of the staff bead - the moulding that retains the lower sash - which is done by placing a block or short piece of board ar an angle where the moulding is nailed to the box frame, and tapping it with a hammer, bowing the moulding to free the ends - and then prising out the sash cords which are nailed into rebates in the stiles, using a screwdriver or W.H.Y., fixing up the sliding sash/glazing, then putting it back together.

And spend many hours repairing the split beads, rubbing down, repainting, removing splinters from fingers, paint flakes from eyes, ...

If you're Frank whom some mothers do have, maybe. The rest of us could manage ok.

What could possibly go wrong doing it the other way.