How to open a window that is stuck?

Michele
by Michele
We bought a house and the previous owners didn't open the windows. How do you do this without breaking them? Help.

  9 answers
  • Dfm Dfm on Jul 18, 2017

    are they painted shut? If so sharp blade to cut the seal.

  • What type of windows are they? I would try WD 40. Just make sure they have not been painted shut from the outside.

  • Martha Martha on Jul 18, 2017

    I'm only experienced with wood windows, not the metal-edged kind. If the windows have been painted shut, use a razor blade or utility knife to carefully cut through the paint at the crack between the window frame and woodwork (the part of the frame attached to the wall).


    Then, on the outside if possible, put a stiff scraper (the kind that looks like a putty knife) between the window frame and window sill and pry it up. Keep moving the scraper to different places so you'll be prying the window open evenly on both sides. You can tap the scraper handle with a mallet or hammer (lightly!) if you need to make it go under the window. You may have to loosen the window all the way around before you can move it.


    It works best to do this when it's dry weather and not humid. Of course, painted shut windows are good for sealing out drafts and saving on air conditioning.

  • Sharon Sharon on Jul 18, 2017

    You don't state what the windows are made of or the style... so here are a bunch of videos on how to..... https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=how+to+unstick+a+window

  • Derek Higgison Derek Higgison on Jul 18, 2017

    A small car jack and a couple of bits of wood will force the bottom sash up if they are wooden sash and case windows.

    Do this after you have taken a craft knife round and cut the paint seal.

    Do not try to lift your hands and arms and try to force them open.......

    This is a remedy for cruched vertibrae in the neck, i should know i did it 40 years ago and my neck can still hurt after athritis set in. WISH YOU WELL

  • Dfm Dfm on Jul 19, 2017

    is there a metal channel on the sides of the window? If so try a tiny squirt of a lube like w d 40...or similar product

  • Dfm Dfm on Jul 19, 2017

    if the window are natural wood and have no been sealed they can swell with the humidity. are there springs or weights the ropes may have given out. If you can see a metal channel on the interior of the windows give it a shot of a a silicone spray lube.

    How old is your place? A friend of the family had polio and was bed ridden...couldn't get her window open either....termites had had made sawdust from a wt bearing timber. The window and frame was carrying the load.


  • Dfm Dfm on Jul 19, 2017

    what type of tracks are holding the windows in place...wooden...metal?

  • Dfm Dfm on Jul 19, 2017

    Oh boy....are the windows wood framed or metal framed?