Windows, doors and glazing
One sash weight is missing and the other is still in the box. Why will that sash not stay up, and what of the frame was not the fault?
The sash will not stay up because one weight is missing, while the other is still in the box. A sash is balanced by a pair of weights. With one gone, the remaining weight cannot hold the sash where you leave it, so it drops. The frame was not the fault recorded here. The note is the missing weight, not a failed stile or a rotten outer frame. The survey has seen the empty side of the box. It has not rebuilt the balance.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
Sash weights hang on cords in the boxes at each side, sized to that sash. One weight still in its box shows this is a weight balance, not a spring replacement, and that half of the pair is absent. Cords and pulleys can be sound while the sash still will not stay. The survey did not blame the frame. A joiner can reinstate the missing weight. That is not a new frame unless the frame itself is decayed, which this note does not say.
Ask a joiner to put the missing weight back and to check the cord on that side. Tell the solicitor the defect is the balance, and that the frame was not the fault. Do not price a replacement window on this note alone. The survey has not said the glass, the cill or the remaining weight has failed. It has said one weight is missing, so the sash will not stay up.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Is one sash weight missing while the other is still in the box?
- Is that imbalance why the sash will not stay up?
- Was the frame left out of the fault for this note?
What are the typical next steps?
- Treat the missing weight as the reason the sash drops.
- Ask a joiner to reinstate that weight and its cord.
- Do not price a new frame on this note alone.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
If the cord is intact, will the sash balance itself?
No. An intact cord does not replace a missing weight. The sash needs both weights. One is still in the box and one is not, so the pair is incomplete and the sash will not stay up. The frame was not the fault. A sound cord on an empty side still leaves the balance short.
Does a sticky pulley mean the frame has failed?
Not on this note. The fault recorded is the missing weight, and the frame was not that fault. A pulley can be dry or dirty without the frame being decayed. The survey has not condemned the frame. Deal with the weight that is absent before anyone rewrites this as a frame replacement.