Fresh Air Sash Cord Repair, Inc.

Many of the windows in our house were painted shut when we bought
the house years ago. We lived with it. But high temperatures over the
past couple of years made these rooms increasingly uncomfortable.
So, we were delighted to learn of Fresh Air Sash Cord Repair, Inc. in Portland
that restores stuck windows to their original working condition. This entails a lot
of careful detailed work to free-up the windows by removing the lead paint,
re-balancing the original weights and installing new cords. Patty Spencer, 
the owner, and her assistant worked like surgeons. They set up an air-tight
enclosure in each room to contain the lead paint. Vacuums were on
almost all the time for further safety. Different electric tools were used
for different tasks to minimize damage to the windows. The outcome
is fantastic! All seven windows she repaired now work perfectly. 
There is nothing like a window that opens for cross ventilation
on a hot day. The cool early morning breeze through an open window
makes it easier to sleep.

The lower sash of the window jammed open after being refurbished by another provider.  That company was not responsive, so I contacted Fresh Air. Since the window did not work, the owner squeezed us into her schedule. In the course of doing the work, the owner pointed out two things: the sash cords put in by the other company were probably too light. I am not competent to judge this, but I accept her professional opinion. Second, since part of the rebuild carried out by the other company involved replacing the single pane glass with double pane glass, the window was now much more heavy than before. The extra weight of the window required heavier weights. These weights are larger than the old weights and therefore hit bottom sooner when the window is opened, lifting the ropes off the pulleys. Fresh Air replaced the weights with somewhat shorter weights so the window could open a little farther. She did recommend that I put a stop at the top of the window so the sash could not be opened too far. I did this and we have had no further problems. Both the repair job and the advice were very satisfactory.

excellent

unknown

Patty was extremely dependable and careful about her work.  She was very responsive in making time to come in quickly to do the windows that were already opened up by our remodelers, then scheduling the rest in her tight schedule.  She complied with all the safety rules relating to lead paint in old houses.  She cleaned up every day, and was cooperative with other contractors working in the house.  She is quite knowledgeable about historic renovation related to windows.  Her worked seemed a bit expensive to us, but she was very good about allowing us to do some repairs and discounting for that.  All in all, her work was worth it! and well done!  Sorry this review is so late in coming.  Our remodel kept us very busy.

She was great. She was A+ for everything. She is good communicator. She did good work and she is trustworthy.

It was very good. The windows are double hang windows in an old house and they did a fine job. I thought it was a little expensive.

It was  great. The'y did a lot to abate lead dust. They were very careful and respectful and did good work.

very professional and easy to work with; work exceeded my expectations; excellent cleanup

Patty was amazing to have working in my home. She has great attention to detail but also works quickly! She has each room that she's working in taped off with plastic so that the rest of the house is not getting contaminated with lead based paint dust. She is very passionate about what she does and loves to share this with her clients. Our windows in particular were all painted shut and she sash cords and weights were all missing. There's no way I could have tackled such a big project on my own. I'm so excited to have my original windows working beautifully and smoothly! I would highly recommend her services to anyone needing help with their old windows.

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We had to book Patty 4 months in advance because she is in so much demand and it was well worth the wait.
We had purchased a house built in 1938 with original double hung windows, many of which had been painted shut over time or
had damaged sashes.    For budget reasons, we selected 6 windows to be repaired this time.  This included some large unique leaded glass windows in the living and dining rooms as well as two sets of bathroom windows.
Patty and her assistant are meticulous and wonderful to work with.   They set up a "tent" with positive pressure in order to contain all of the dust and paint chips to prevent any contamination from old lead paint.   They then go to work on the window.  They are more like craftspeople than contractors - and the quality of the result clearly shows this.
She got all but one window working as well as new, both bottom and top sashes.  We learned how great it is to have the top sash work since it allows ventilation while maintaining security that might be compromised by leaving the bottom sash open at night. The one window that she couldn't fix had a storm window on the outside that couldn't be removed and prevented her from working on it - and she did not charge us for that even though she spent some time trying to remove the storm window.
All in all - a very positive experience.   Highly recommended.

I had been looking at the advertisement for Fresh Air Sash Cord Repairs for several years and finally called Patty last fall when one of the last cords snapped in my windows.
Patty was quick to respond, made an appointment with me to look at my windows and we agreed to move forward. I live in a 1936 English Tudor in the Rose City neighborhood and the eleven windows Patty fixed are all original to my house. Patty and her assistant did a great job on the project, they kept the work area very tidy and provided me with a progress report each day via email. My windows are now functional and open easily both up and down - I am so glad they are functional, I couldn't imagine replacing them and losing their charm! Now, I just can't wait for the warmer weather so I can use them!
My only regret was not having this done sooner. I highly recommend Patty and would hire her again in a heartbeat if I had any more windows to give her!

We recently purchased a 1926 Dutch Colonial (lots of windows).  Almost all the windows were either painted shut, had cut cords or broken glass, or needed a book to hold the window open.  A friend had raved about Patty's services and we liked the idea of keeping the original vintage glass instead of replacing the windows.
Patty was prompt for the estimate and it was immediately obvious she is passionate about restoring windows.  She only works on 1 job at a time, so we had to wait at least a month to get started.  She works 3 days a week- for us that was 2 windows a day.  She is very aware of being efficient and tried to combine window set ups when possible.  There were a few groupings were the set up stayed overnight and she always asked first. 
My husband and I both work, so our system was to leave the lockbox for Patty in the morning.  I'd lock up the cats in the basement so they didn't bother her.  She'd let them back in the rest of the house when she was done and lock the door with the lockbox.  (my cats are indoor only) I had to come home in the middle of the day once and the window area was taped with floor to ceiling plastic (looked like a scene from ET) and banjo music was blasting.  Awesome!  
We'd get an email report in the evening of how it went and any questions about set up (we had to move furniture in a few rooms).
I wrote a check for the deposit and paid for each week by check.  Patty was very careful and explained charges (she charges by the hour for extra things.   I certainly didn't have time to do them myself and her rates are reasonable)
We had another vintage home and had replaced non- functioning windows with vinyl composites (oops).  This was less expensive, environmentally friendly and looks great.  I spent at least 10 minutes "playing" with my new windows after the first day.  It's amazing!  They smoothly open and shut!  I have cross breezes in my house!  My house smells better!  
I don't have air conditioning and between the functional windows and a few fans, even the hot days this summer have been pleasant inside my house. 
I don't think most people know that it's an option to have vintage windows repaired.  I am thrilled with the results.

See above.

Her name is Patty Spencer and she fixes the cords in broken windows.  She advertises in the Hollywood Star, which is a local publication.   She takes off the molding and she does it in old homes.  I would recommend her for any job. 

Patty Spencer and her assistant did an excellent job. I had a broken sash cord on one double-hung window in a bedroom I was repainting. I also had a broken sash cord on one double-hung window in my living room. I called Patty who came out, inspected the two windows and wrote me an estimate that came in right around the final price. On the bedroom window she and her assistant were able to repair both sash cords and both sections of the window open smoothly. On the living room window, which is no longer square due to settling, she was not able to repair the sash cords because, at some point the past, foam insulation was sprayed inside the wall which hardened and blocked the channel in which the weights and sash cords normally move. It would have been impossible to repair without removing exterior siding. Patty called me to explain the situation and recommended not going to the extra effort and expense of removing the siding, which I agreed with. I can still open and close that window (which I rarely open) but it requires some extra care as there are no longer any counterweights guiding either the top or bottom panes. Overall, I am very satisfied with the work and Patty's professionalism. I would call on her again if I needed her services.

Patty responded to my initial call on the same day. She came out soon afterwards for an estimate and thorough explanation of the process. The work was done on the days originally scheduled, and they were able to do it all while I was away at work. Patty called me a few times to discuss details about my windows and to ask me how I wanted to proceed. They cleaned up very nicely after their work. They were very friendly with my pets, which put me at ease about having them in my home while I was away. My windows are fully functional now.

I decided a different repair technique would better suit my needs in these two rooms, but would have no hesitation at all to use Fresh AIr in the future. Patty's knowledge and responsiveness were impressive, and her price was competitive with the other bids.

Patty did exactly what she said she would do and touched base whenever anything unexpected came up. Was sensitive to the fact she was working on the coldest days of the year and minimized the amount of time the windows were out. They work beautifully now, and she did a fantastic cleanup job. Also very nice about putting up with my pets, who were a little too curious about the job! I plan to call her again when I need to have more windows done.

Patty was booked out for three months. She is the only service available for repairing these old windows in Portland. Otherwise they would have to be replaced, or remain hard to open and close. Two days before our appointed time, Patty called to be sure we would be ready, and described how to prepare the worksite. At exactly the time she'd promised, she showed up with her assistant and got to work. They are scrupulous in their work habits--efficient and skillful. She uses a hipa filter and screens off the work site with plastic so that there is no danger of lead-based paint dust in the air. The windows work like new. She's wonderful, well worth waiting for. It's cheaper than replacing the windows, and much nicer for the integrity and historical appearance of the house.

They were great, the owner and an assistant did the work. Their estimate was dead on. They actually did more work than they said they would and they didn't charge us.

She is excellent at restoring the waits and chords of old windows, so that the windows will open again. She is very professional and does an excellent job. She is extremely thorough, as well.

They are very professional and they were very informative. They did great work and they cleaned up their mess very nicely. I would recommend them to others.