Twisted window cords.

If the pulleys, cords, and weights are kept in good order, a window is not likely to give trouble for many years. The parting beads sometimes warp and spring out of place, but they can be secured by a screw at the foot, driven into the sill so as not to interfere with the removal of the bead when required. The sashes also shrink slightly in one direction, and the inside beads in the other, so that a sash originally fitted tightly may give annoyance by rattling in windy weather. It is now common to put on inside beads with screws passing through brass sockets with slotted holes, so that the screws can be relaxed, the beads pushed up, and the screws tightened again in a few minutes. In this way the sashes can be perfectly adjusted at any time, so as neither to bind nor rattle; and this is, probably, the best and cheapest way of meeting the difficulty; but other devices, such as rubber wheels, which are screwed to the beads, pressing on the sash, or strips of rubber set in wood or metal moulding, are sometimes used.

Rattling windows.

Sashes that rattle because they are too loose are more common than those that are too tightly fitted, but the latter often occur. With adjustable sockets and screws on the inside beads, the sticking is usually quickly remedied; and such as may remain is generally cured by rubbing the grooves in the frame in which the sashes slide with paraffine or with common hard soap. The latter is probably quite equal to the paraffine as a lubricant for wood; but, not being waterproof, it does not last so long.

Sash-fasts, which are indispensable as a protection against burglars, often show a disposition to come out. They are usually packed with screws far too short for security; and as they furnish excellent examples of the power of an inclined plane, it is not surprising that, when the sashes do not quite meet in closing, owing to the presence of ice, or gravel, or other foreign substance under the bottom of the lower sash, or between the upper sash and the top of the frame, the forcible closing of the sash-fast, as it must either crush the obstruction, or pull out the screws, usually produces the latter result. If people, before locking a window, would see that the "meeting-rails" came evenly together, and if they did not do so, would raise the lower sash and brush away everything sticking to the edge of the sash, or lying on the sill under it, sash-fasts would not get loose; but, as this is too much to expect of human nature, they must occasionally be reset, with longer screws.

Doors share some of the faults of windows, besides having others of their own. Among the former is a disposition to stick in damp weather, owing partly to the softening of the paint or varnish on them by the dampness, and partly to the swelling of the wood, by absorption of moisture. In this latter respect there is a great difference between doors of various woods. Whitewood is, perhaps, the worst wood in this respect. Being of a spongy texture, doors made of it will often swell in the damp days of summer, so that it is almost impossible to open them, and will shrink again in winter, when the air of the house is dry, so that the bolts of the lock will hardly catch; and these variations are repeated every season, whitewood never losing its susceptibility to the effects of moist and dry air. The ordinary remedy for the sticking of doors, which consists in taking off the hinges, planing the back edge of the door, and putting the hinge on again, must, therefore, be applied with caution to whitewood doors; for, if they are made small enough to shut easily in the dog-days, they will often be so small in winter that they will not stay shut. Pine doors are the best in common use in this respect, as pine shrinks less than any other wood, except California redwood, and, when once dried, has very little tendency to absorb moisture again. The so-called hard-wood doors, which really consist of veneers, from one-eighth to one-quarter of an inch thick, of oak, mahogany, cherry, or ash, glued to a pine core, behave like doors of solid pine; and, if properly fitted in the first place, with one-eighth of an inch free space all around, are not likely either to shrink or swell enough to give trouble.

The faults of doors.

They may, however, stick from other causes. Very frequently the hinges of doors are too light, or the screws not long enough, so that they yield slightly under the powerful leverage of a heavy door, letting the top of the door fall forward sufficiently to bring the upper corner in contact with the frame, and the lower corner with the threshold. Then the door binds, and a carpenter is sent for, who usually planes off the corners a little, but without doing anything to strengthen the hinges, or the screws, which continue to yield until the door again binds, when the process is repeated. The planing away of the corners of the door destroys its rectangular shape, so that it can never again be made to fit neatly in its frame; and it is far better, instead of "easing" it in this way, to put on heavier hinges, with longer screws, or to put an additional hinge in the middle of the door, so that no sagging can take place after the screws are once driven firmly home. All doors more than seven feet high should have three hinges in any case; and solid bronze or brass hinges, if used, should have steel bushings, as the soft metal will otherwise soon wear away, and let the door sag.

Sagging of doors.

Even when the door is properly supported, it may bind, through settlements or shrinkage in the partition, which distort the frame of the door. In the framing of wooden houses it is not unusual to see the partition stud on one side of a door opening standing on a girder or partition cap under the floor, while the stud on the other side of the opening stands on the top of the floor. As the floor beams shrink, the latter stud descends with them, often a quarter of an inch or more, while the stud which rests on the support below keeps its place, and the door-frame is, in consequence, distorted quite sufficiently to make the door bind against it. In this case, nothing can be done except to plane off the door until its upper edge is again parallel with the frame; and as the movement of the frame carries with it the striking-plate of the lock, while the lock itself, attached to the door, remains in place, there is usually difficulty in locking or latching the door, and the holes in the striking-plate must be filed out.

The locks and knobs of doors often give trouble, independent of any settlement. Most locks have certain portions of the interior mechanism of cast iron, which is easily broken, and the fragments, in such a case, often fall down so as to prevent the key from being turned. If this should happen after the door is locked, it may be necessary to cut the bolt entirely off by means of a thin, flat file, with teeth only on the edges, inserted into the space between the door and the frame, before the door can be released. The mortise bolts which are set in the thickness of the door, with a knob or other handle outside for operating them, are liable to similar accidents, which must be treated in the same way. Knobs, unless they are so fragile as to break, give most annoyance by coming off, through the falling out of the screw which holds them upon their spindle. For some reason, these screws are generally so loosely fitted that they shake out of place in using the knob, and unless the householder is prudent enough to go about occasionally with a screw-driver, and tighten those that are loose, they are likely to come out altogether, and the knob then pulls out of the door. Screws of the proper size and shape can be had in bronze, brass, and iron, at the hardware stores, and it is well to have some on hand to replace losses, so that the knobs may be kept at all times in condition for use.

The door-knob itself will often require attention. The most satisfactory material is bronze, in what is called "statuary finish." This is a dark brown which never changes, except where projecting portions are polished by the hands. The bright bronze is pretty when new, but soon discolors unevenly; and brass knobs, although fashionable, require frequent rubbing to keep them presentable. Glass knobs are clean and strong, and might with advantage be produced in a much greater variety of shapes and colors than can be found at present in the market; but as the glass must be set in metal, which will require occasional attention, there is no saving of trouble in using them. Wooden knobs, which were once very fashionable, and are still in use, have the disadvantage that the varnish with which they are coated becomes sticky and black with use, but they can be cleaned and revarnished in case of need. Celluloid is a good material, and would lend itself to the production of very beautiful effects; but, although colored celluloid knobs were once in limited use, the manufacture of them seems to have been abandoned.