Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-09-22
Replacement
OF Sash Cord
is Tough Job
By ANDREW 9. LANG

Z
1 One OF the most common all
Iments Of an ordinary window is
a broken sash cord. A handyman
adept at many kinds Of repair
work often will steer clear Of
attempting to Ak one.
There are thousands Of homes
in the country right now with
one or more sash cords In need
of repair, and in some cases they
have been that way for many
years. There must be a reason.
since the man Of the house often
will tackle far more difficult re-
pair jobs at the drop Of a hat.
Perhaps it's because the broken
sash cord isn't always in sight
and doesn't impress itself upon
the mind as something In need
Of repair.
Most Of the time it's the sash
cord on the lower window which
is broken. The sash must be
taken out Of the window frame.
To do that it is necessary to re-
move the sash bead, sometimes
known as the window stop.
How to Remove q Bead
The sash bead is merely the
fiat wooden molding that runs
up and down the side Of the
window frame. Remove the bead
on the side that has the broken
cord by prying it carefully with
a chisel. A screwdriver can be
used, but it is more likely to mar
the wood. In removing the bead,
work from the bottom upward.
You'll find that once the first few
inches have been pried loose, the
rest will come of quite easily.
When the bead is of, the en-
tire sash will lift out of its
groove without trouble. Unite
the knot of the unbroken cord
and you will be able to remove
the sash completely. Incidentally,
when you unite the cord. notice
what kind Of knot it has, since
you will want to use the same
type knot when you put in new
cord.
The Weight Pocket
Look at the edge Of the window
frame on the side where the cord
is broken. Near the bottom you
will see an oblong piece of wood
screwed into the frame. This is
called the sashweight pocket.
Remove the screws and lift out
the piece of wood. There, at the
bottom in the frame, you will
md the sash weight. 1t has
dropped there because Of the
broken cord. Take out the sash
weight. remove the old cord and
begin the job of putting in new
cord.
Tie a knot at one end of the
new cord. Run the other end of
1.-THE cord over the pulley at the
top OF the window frame until it
reaches the bottom of the pocket
from where you took the sash
weight. Most of the time the new
cord is stiff enough to slide down
the frame easily. If you have
trouble, put a small weight at
the end of the cord to sull if
down. A nail or a piece Of chain
or a small fishline sinker will do
the trick. When the cord is al
the bottom. attach it to the sash
weight. Put the sash weight back
in the pocket and screw the
pocket cover back in place.
Next, get the window sash YOU
removed from the frame. Rest it
on the window sill. Pull the sash
weight as high as it will GO
until it touches the pulley. The
extended cord should then be
run down the side of the sash
to a point about 3 inches below
the hole into which the cord Will
mt. That tells you how long the
cord should be. Cut it to fit and
tie a knot at this end Of it. This
Knot fits into the hole in the
sash.
The rest of the job consists of
putting everything back the way
you found it. However, while you
have the window apart, it's a
good idea to lubricate all the
sliding surfaces with beeswax OF
a good hard paste wax.
Upper sash cords do not break
very often, since the upper part
of a window seldom is given as
much service as the lower part
The principle of replacing an
upper sash cord is the same as
for a lower one. The difference
is this: to get at the upper sash
cord, the lower sash must first be
removed. Then take off what is
called the parting strip - the
piece OF molding that runs verti-
cally in back of the lower sash
From there on the procedure is
the same for an upper broken
cord as for a lower.
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