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Easing the job of
changing friction stays
»»EXPERIENCED REPAIR
people know that replacing or
repairing a window sash can
be a tricky task. This process
carries with it not only risks
to the health and safety of
the repair person holding
the window, as the weight
can often exceed 25kg, but
also potential damage and
inconvenience caused to
the customer if the fitter is
unfortunate enough to drop
the window in the middle of
the repair.
Carrying out a friction
stay (hinges) repair can be
dangerous on your own.
Glazed sashes can be very
heavy and even deglazed
sashes can be awkward to
handle without a second pair
of hands. Here, Glazesafe
shows a way forward with
Sashmate – its ‘clamp and
brace tool’ which has been
designed for repair people, by
repair people.
There are generally six
different sizes of friction stays
used on top hung sashes.
They are 8, 10, 12, 16, 20,
24 in inches. On side hung
sashes there are 12 and 16
inches. This is the total length
of the friction stay.
Side hung friction stays
can also have extra working
systems. One is called ‘easy
clean’ which allows the
sash to slide on the friction
stay creating extra room for
someone to clean the outside
of the frame/unit. The second
is ‘fire egress’ which allows
the sash to open at a 90° from
the outer frame providing
extra room for a person to
exit in an emergency. Friction
stays can also have a child
safety feature, a press button
restrictor that restricts the
opening of a sash until the
button is pressed.
There are also different
depths of friction stays: 13mm,
15mm and 17mm. For top
hung sashes the length of the
friction stay should take up
around 2/3 of the height of
the opening.
Friction stays can be
used on aluminium, wooden
and PVCu window frames,
depending on the system.
The weight of a double
glazed PVCu sash is very
roughly worked out as
25kg/M² which is extremely
strenuous on fitters as the
sash must be supported
in an almost fully opened
position (to allow access to
the top friction stay fixing)
meaning the fitter may
have to lean out of an open
window, stretching to take
the weight.
Taking out the complete
sash can be very useful,
not just for replacing the
broken friction stays but
also to replace a broken
externally glazed sash or
an espagnolette locking
system.
The correct way to carry
out repairs above ground
floor should be carried out
from a safe means of access
equipment like a tower. This is
not always possible because
of time and costs involved
and obstacles on the ground.
In this procedure one fitter
would be on the outside of
the building supporting the
weight and the second fitter
would be inside removing the
friction stay fixings. For some
smaller companies expensive
access equipment is just
that, expensive, so smaller
companies may tend to work
from ladders which can also
be dangerous and not always
possible, once again because
of obstacles. Falling from
ladders accounts for 37% of
all fall from height deaths
during work by contractors on
domestic properties.
The alternative is one fitter
leaning out of the window
supporting the weight of the
sash whilst a second fitter
works around the first fitter,
removing the friction stay
fixings and taking the sash
into the building for repairs.
Many companies, especially
sole trading companies may,
out of economical necessity,
be forced to do these repairs
with a single fitter which has
in the past lead to dropped
sashes and injuries including
falling from window openings
and injured backs.
LOCKSMITHJOURNAL.CO.UK | JAN/FEB 2016
Sponsored by Gretsch-Unitas
The process for changing
top and side hung friction
stays is available in detail in a
Sashmate guide (see end of
this article).
Accessories for the tools
have also been designed to
make jobs even safer. The
Sashmate tools have been
around now for over ten years
and in that time they have
been highly commended by
judges at multiple health and
safety and Industry awards,
they are now recommended
by the Industry Body for
window and doors, The Glass
and Glazing Federation is also
recommended in the Code of
Practice for Work at Height.
The Sashmate Tools
are used by councils,
social housing groups and
companies large and small all
over the UK, Ireland and as far
afield as Australia.
To see a demo film on
the Sashmate visit
www.glazesafe.com