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Ahhh, the joys of a quick paint job of a landlord. I'm renting a house, which I love (and for cheap), but the landlord painted the windows shut! The house sat for about a year, unrented (he's wasn't going to just rent to anyone, he was very specific on what type of person he wanted.. and I fit that).
I don't want to get too deep into this, but I just wanted to know the quickest and easiest way to get some of these windows open! I managed to get a few open, but the rest of these I wanted advice on so that I don't ruin them. On a few of the windows that I managed to get open, they are hard to open and shut, so any advice on how to make that easier would be appreciated.
I feel your pain. This is the 2nd house that has painted shut windows that I've lived in. It irritates me to no end to have a landlord care less about their tenants use of the windows - just slap the paint on and collect the rent - truly despicable IMO. That being said, I have had luck on some windows by taking a razor blade and slicing the paint seal, then doing a lot of wiggling of the window before trying to actually open it. You'll need to smooth out the cut areas of paint once you get it open. I used a candle, pressed hard to seal the cut and make sliding easier. Good luck.
Putty knife and a hammer can work fairly fast. Rub the edge of the putty knife on concrete or a stone to sharpen the edge a little. Aim into the crack at an angle and repeatedly TAP with a hammer, wedging and working around. When first attempting to open the window, fold a bath towel under the upper sash of the window you want to push up and whack it with the heel of your palms at both ends of the sash. Be sure to check first that the window hasn't been NAILED shut as well, especially with nails or pegs in the track.
Not that it's overly complicated, but if you F'it up- your paying for repair and/or replacement.
Guess you know where this is going-
...make the LL get them working. Besides, What would happen if there was a fire and your only means of escape was through one of those windows? That usually will motivate them!
Use google to search for "Hyde Tools #45200 Window Open Tool"
Most decent old school hardware shops / paint stores sell 'em for under $10.
It has a very thin serrated edge that will effectively separate the paint film that is forming a "seal" around the window. A putty knife does not have the "teeth" to bite through flexible modern paints and you DO NOT WANT TO USE A HAMMER anywhere an older fragile window / frame!
Putty knife and a hammer can work fairly fast. Rub the edge of the putty knife on concrete or a stone to sharpen the edge a little. Aim into the crack at an angle and repeatedly TAP with a hammer, wedging and working around. When first attempting to open the window, fold a bath towel under the upper sash of the window you want to push up and whack it with the heel of your palms at both ends of the sash. Be sure to check first that the window hasn't been NAILED shut as well, especially with nails or pegs in the track.
This. I did this on the rental I own that still has wooden windows, because I actually wanted people to be able to use them. The previous owner put all kinds of screws and garbage in the tracks that I had to remove too. Someday the windows will all be restored and paint-free on the inside, with new cord for the iron weights in the wall but that takes time.
Thanks everyone for your posts, I'll be running to the hardware store next week and I'll give it a shot. I got almost all of the paint seal around the windows off, except one little part, and the window still is not budging. Will update if I get it open . Thanks again for all of your posts.
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but if you F'it up- your paying for repair and/or replacement.
I fully understand, but I'm going to attempt it myself. I got a few other windows open, so I'm hoping this will finally budge next week. If not, then I'll get the landlord involved.
You need a window bar of the type glazers use, a hammer, a couple of different sizes blocks of wood and some sandpaper.
Tap the bar in around the entire window frame very carefully as to not either damage things or break the window. Put a long block of wood against the upper part of the window frame and tap it till the window starts moving. Move it up and down a little more each time till it moves freely all the way. You can put a little bit of oil on it then to make it move easier. If you can not get it moving after carefully breaking all of the paint seals with the bar you can use the bar to take the mouldings or trim off and expose the entire sash. You should be able to see what is stopping the movement then. Sand it down or scrape it off and then put things back together.
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. Thanks again for all of your posts.
