When should you paint your window frames?

If you wait for flaking paint, you are too late. By then moisture has usually been sitting behind the paint for some time. The right moment comes earlier: when the paint turns dull and chalky, when hairline cracks appear in the sill, or when the sealant line along the glass goes hard and lets go.

For opaque exterior paint the guide is 6 to 8 years. With window frames not every part makes it that far. A bottom sill lies flat, gets rain from above and stays wet the longest. The top rail under an overhang often still looks fine after the same time. So you look at the worst part of the frame, not the average. There is a difference between facades too: windows facing north can often wait longer, while the south-west side is already due. Then you do not have to do everything at once.

Take a screwdriver and walk past the windows on the south and west sides:

• Finger test. Rub the paint. If colour or white powder stays on your finger, the top coat is worn out.
• Water test. Pour a little water on the bottom sill. If it soaks in instead of beading, the paint no longer seals properly.
• Joint test. Look at the corners of the frame and the glazing beads. A visible joint is an entry point for water.
• Prod test. Gently press the screwdriver into the bottom sill and the bottom of the stile. If the wood gives, it is no longer just a paint job.

Start on the worst side of the house. If you find nothing there, the rest can safely stand a while longer.

With window frames the damage is often not in the flat timber but around the glass. Glazing beads are thin, sit at a slant in the rain and have end grain that soaks up moisture. Once the sealant between glass and bead fails, water runs straight into the frame. You sometimes see that on the inside before the outside, for example as discolouration or loose paint along the bottom of the window.

Old 1930s windows with glazing bars suffer extra, because every bar has its own joints. On windows like that we tape off every pane neatly and include the sealant in the job. Such a window therefore takes more time than a large plain frame, and you see that in the quote.

A quote for window frames starts with what is there. If you send something in advance, these are the most useful things:

• The number of frames and doors, and whether they have glazing bars or top lights.
• A close-up of two or three bottom sills, especially on the south-west side.
• The height: ground floor, first floor or gable.
• Whether the inside needs doing too.
• The colour you want, or a photo of the current one.

Measurements do not have to be exact to the centimetre. Please mention the year of construction too, because on an older house we look at the old paint layers: if there is any doubt about lead, we do not sand dry. At the site visit we go through everything and discuss the colour. The fixed quote follows after that.

The national market indication is from €50 per frame outside and from €35 per frame inside. A frame is not a fixed unit though: a small toilet window and a tall frame with glazing bars are far apart. The condition of the old paint, repair of rotten spots, the amount of sealant work and any colour change count as well. Going from white to anthracite simply asks for something different than white over white.

At MJA you get a fixed price for the whole job after the site visit. You can read the further breakdown at painting window frames and the costs. We do scaffolding with our own equipment at a fixed price.

We paint outside frames in dry weather, between 5 and 30 degrees and with humidity up to 85 percent. That is mostly May to September. In October, according to the KNMI, Stavoren averaged fewer than 5 days that fully meet those conditions, and in November hardly any. See painting weather in Friesland for the table per month.

The inside of frames is separate from that. It can be done all year round, even when it is storming outside. If the outside is urgent and the summer is full, we agree what has to happen now to get the wood through the winter dry, so the rest can follow in spring.

In Leeuwarden we did all the frames and doors of a house, including wood rot repair. That project is at the frames in Leeuwarden. The order is always the same: degrease, sand, prime, fill, seal and two topcoats. In Bolsward the exterior doors got two coats of primer before the Rubbol Satura 9010 went on. We do not save on that build-up, because what sits under the paint decides how long the paint stays on. What you choose for the topcoat is explained separately at high gloss or satin.

Mohamed is your point of contact from site visit to completion. In their reviews, customers mainly mention the clear communication and the neat taping off.

One sharp photo of your worst bottom sill already says a lot. WhatsApp it to 06 3006 0558 and you will hear whether your frames are due this year or can wait a while. Want a price straight away? Request a quote or read more about painting window frames and doors with us. Not sure if it is worth it? Better one photo too many than a sill that stands open one winter too long.