Windows, doors and glazing

What should you ask if the putty is falling out of a timber sash but the glass is still intact?

Ask about the rebate and the putty, not about a sealed unit. Traditional putty holds a single sheet of glass, and when it falls out the pane can rattle and still be unbroken, which is not a misted unit and not proof the sash is rotten. Soft timber under the missing putty is a separate finding only if it was seen, and a survey does not re-putty the window to test the rebate.

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?

Putty fails with age, paint build-up and water sitting on the bottom rebate. The glass stays until the last of the putty or the sprigs let go. A home survey can see gaps, cracked putty and a loose pane. It cannot see the timber hidden under sound putty elsewhere on the same sash. One face of one window is not every window in the house. Single glazing with failed putty is a maintenance defect. It is not, by itself, a reason to call single glazing a condition rating 3.

A joiner can hack out and re-putty, and can say if the rebate is soft once the old putty is gone. There is no RICS price for a sash. Do not let a glazing quote turn missing putty into new double-glazed windows unless you have chosen that. If you do replace the glass, the frame condition is still the question the survey started. Linseed putty needs time to skin. A silicone substitute is a different material. The survey will not specify the putty.

What should you ask your surveyor?

Which sashes have lost putty, and is the glass still held?
Was the timber under the gap soft, or not tested?
Are you separating this from any sealed unit in the same house?

What are the typical next steps?

Ask a joiner to re-putty and to report the rebate.
Do not call intact single glass a failed sealed unit.
Do not treat every single-glazed sash as urgent because one has lost putty.

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

Is loose putty a security problem?

A pane that can be pushed is a practical risk. The survey does not test locks, and it does not guarantee the glass stays in. Say if the pane actually moved.

Does paint over cracked putty cure it?

Paint hides the crack. It does not replace the putty. The survey should not call painted cracks sound.