A ball, a window and a small child are never a good mix. What is it about hot days that make children want to play outside, anyway? The sun seems to say ‘Come on kids, let’s make trouble’. Can’t they sit sedately on sun loungers like the rest of us? Forget the sandpit, the paddling pool or the climbing frame. Hot weather spells destruction for any self-respecting four year old boy.
Last week, my son managed to kick a ball so hard through a window, that it broke both the pane of glass and the casement fastener, which had been loose for a while.
My first reaction was naturally to scream. This was then replaced by a gentle admonishment and general plea to please play football away from the house. This must be the 167th time I have said this. If I gave him pocket money it would be taken away, but we haven’t got round to teaching him the finer points of financial management, as he can’t yet write his name.
So I got onto the internet and started to search for replacement casement fasteners. I had to use Google images as I wasn’t really sure what my son had broken at first. Eventually I came to a website which seemed to offer every single type of fastener under the sun. Within a few minutes I had identified what I needed, checked the measurements and ordered the item. It arrived within a couple of days, coinciding with a new pane of glass being fitted. So it wasn’t so much of a big deal after all.
There may come a time when you need to replace some item of your window furniture. Maybe the sash fastener has come loose, or your curtain pole is broken after a particularly energetic barbecue with friends. Perhaps you have inadvertently weakened the fastening of the casement, through years of shutting the window too hard. I am guilty of this. Whatever the reason, you’ll be pleased to know that sorting out the window fittings isn’t as daunting as it might at first seem.
Window casement stays are the devices which attach to the window frame and house the window fasteners, which actually open and close the window. Sash window fasteners and handles do the same but for sash windows. Curtain poles hold curtains up and curtain holdbacks and tassel hooks are used to keep various curtain-related objects in place.
Generally, you can find any of these items in the correct style and design you require on the Internet. So, if you have black iron casements, for example, it is quite simple to find replacements online. Likewise, you may wish to order a new style of curtain holdback or tassel hook, and there are many styles to choose from.
So, don’t sweat it if you need to fix your window. It can be sorted in no time at all.