Anyone happen to be restoring double-hung windows with sash weights? Get a load of this.
My neighbor, Dave, died about three weeks ago. Old guy. Eccentric but quite kind and generous. He was one of these dudes who lived alone and accumulated junk. Lots and lots of junk. He was the neighborhood’s unofficial mayor/hardware store.
In the time since he’s died the homeowners on the block have taken turns caring for his dog. This weekend was my turn. My first trip to his back yard was Friday, where I happened to spot a sash weight hooked to a fence. You never know when you’re gonna need a sash weight in the yard, right? Right.
This morning I started reinstalling one of the double-hungs on my second floor. Took out the sash weights to attach new chain. Noticed one weight was a six-pounder and one was an eight-pounder. Uh-oh. I’ve done enough of these damn windows to know you can’t have a two-pound difference. Shoot. Where am I going to find a sash weight … in Trenton … on a Sunday … and I have to go to work … so I don’t have time to fashion one of my own … and the window MUST go back in today, because it’s getting cold.
Ugh. Then I remembered: Neighbor Dave. Dave had a sash weight hanging on his fence. Dave had a sash weight hanging on his fence and Dave was dead. Dave had a sash weight hanging on his fence and Dave was dead, but if Dave were alive, he’d give me not only THAT sash weight, but also – heck – a truckload of sash weights, free, and have a nice day and come back again real soon, you hear?
Could that lonely sash weight be the eight-pounder I needed? Why, yes, it was. I donated the six-pounder to the fence and took the eight-pounder. I completed the installation in about an hour.
The window works perfectly. Dave, buddy, I’m a little creeped. But thanks for the sash weight. I’ll never forget you.