A shopping list for four old window sashes, for a garden shed being built in Atlanta · August 2026 · Written to be read on a phone in a salvage yard. No knowledge of the project needed — everything you need is on this page.
Historical (superseded Oct 1, 2026). Pre-purchase search criteria only; the windows are now the 33-1/2″ × 19-1/8″ sash in a 34″ clear RO, fixed and service-removable. Current: Window_Install_and_Drainage.
The brief, in four lines: Width: 24" — up to 24¼" and no more. This one is genuinely fixed. Height: 24" to 35" — taller than wide is fine, and often easier to find. Matching pairs only. A single orphan sash is a pass, however nice it is. Deadline: about Sept 1. After that the search narrows to 24" square only.
Why there's a deadline. The wall framing that forms the opening gets built to whatever sash are in hand — but once that wall gets covered with plywood, the opening is permanent. If nothing has turned up by then we frame the standard 24½" square opening and buy new sash, which are stocked at about $65. That fallback is what makes the wider search safe.
If something outstanding turns up outside this range, send it anyway — the framing has more latitude than the brief does, it just costs a conversation.
What we're shopping for
We're building a garden shed, and it needs four old wooden window sashes.
A "sash" is just the wood-and-glass part of a window — no frame around it, no hinges, no hardware, nothing that slides. Think of a picture frame with panes of glass in it. They're common in salvage yards and easy to find; the hard part is finding four that match.
How many
Where they go
What they do
2
In the side wall
Hinged along the top edge, they swing outward so the shed can be aired out
2
In the doors — one per door
Cut into the door and fixed permanently in place, so it isn't pitch dark inside
All four the same size is the goal. They'll be seen together and they should read as a matched set. If four matching aren't findable, two matching for the wall is the priority — the door panels can be bought new later.
Both pairs need to be about the same size anyway. Each door is only about 30" wide, so a sash wider than roughly 24" simply won't fit into one. The door panels are just as size-constrained as the wall windows — not more forgiving. Height is where there's a little room to play, in both places.
Budget: new ones cost about $65 each, so that's the ceiling — roughly $260 for four. Anything cheaper is a win, but a sound $50 sash beats a warped $15 one every time.
What a barn sash actually is
A single wooden frame holding glass — no surrounding frame, no windowsill, no weights or cords, nothing that slides. Think picture frame with panes in it. On a shed it gets hinged along the top edge and props open outward, or is fixed in place permanently.
✅ This is what we want
❌ Not these
A single wooden frame with divided panes One rigid piece, nothing attached A single sash removed from a double-hung window counts — that's most of what's out there Sometimes called: barn sash · wood sash · window sash · 6-light sash · 6-pane · antique window · salvage sash
A whole double-hung window — jambs, track, two halves sliding past each other Vinyl or aluminum frames Replacement windows Insulated / double-pane glass
Quick test: one rigid wooden frame with panes in it, and nothing attached that moves. A single sash pulled out of an old double-hung passes this test — and usually has a groove down each side, which is fine. See Grooves & double-hungs.
How to measure — this is where it goes wrong
Sellers routinely quote the glass size or the opening it came out of. Neither is what we need.
If a listing doesn't give the frame size, ask for a photo with a tape measure laid across the outside edges. That one photo saves a wasted trip.
Specifications
What
Target
Limit
Outside frame width
24"
must be ≤ 24¼" — fixed by the wall framing
Outside frame height
24"–35"
the opening gets framed to whatever is found, if found before ~Sept 1
Panes
6 (2 across × 3 down)
4, 8 or 9 fine if all match
Frame material
Wood
wood only
Thickness
~1⅜"
¾"–1¾"
Glass
Single pane
not insulated / double-pane — too thick, wrong look
Finish
Any
getting repainted an accent color, so condition of the paint doesn't matter
How many, and which ones go where
Four total is ideal, but they have two different jobs — and that changes what "good enough" means:
Pair
Job
Standard
2 for the side wall
Hinged at the top, actually open outward
The flattest and soundest two. A twisted sash will never seal
2 for the doors
Set into the shop-built doors as fixed lites — never move
Rougher ones are fine here
Two good ones is a real result, not half a result. The wall pair is the priority; door lites can be bought new later if needed. Matching matters more within each pair than across all four.
A single sash is not useful. The two wall windows sit side by side on the same wall, evenly spaced, and have to be identical. One orphan, however good, doesn't advance anything — the unit of a successful find is a pair.
The wall opening's width is fixed at 24½" by framing that's already planned. Its height gets built to whatever sash turn up — provided they turn up before that wall gets covered with plywood, around Sept 1. The openings in the doors are cut to fit whatever is found — but each door is only about 30" wide, so the same ~24" width ceiling applies there too.
Grooves down the sides — fine, but not ideal
Lots of salvage sash have a groove running down each side edge. That means it came out of a double-hung window rather than being a purpose-made barn sash — the groove is where the sash cord or spiral balance rode. There may also be small holes or pockets where the cord knot sat.
Acceptable and fixable. Not the preferred find. If you're choosing between two sound sash, take the barn sash. If the double-hung is sound and the barn sash is marginal, take the double-hung.
What comes with it
What it costs you
The groove itself
Fill with a thin wood strip and glue, or caulk. On the two door lites it doesn't matter at all — those get bedded in sealant and stopped both sides, so the groove is buried
Cord holes or pockets
Plug and fill. Ten minutes
One rail beveled a few degrees — the "meeting rail" where the two sash closed against each other
Usable. Note which edge it is: on the operable wall windows the bevel can face down, where it sheds water like a drip edge
Often thinner stock — about 1⅛" instead of 1⅜"
Fine, but all four should match each other
Higher odds of being racked
These get pried out of painted-shut frames. Check flatness harder, not less
Upside: double-hung sash are usually taller than wide, which is exactly the 24 × 24-to-35 range we want — and a sash from a working window has generally been better maintained than one that sat in a barn.
Condition check, in order of what kills a deal
Is it flat? Lay a straightedge across the face both directions, or sight down its length. A twisted sash is the #1 reason to walk away — it will never seal against its stops and it can't really be fixed.
Is it square? Measure both diagonals. They should match within about ⅛".
The bottom rail. This is where water sits and rot starts. Press it with a thumbnail — soft or spongy means pass.
The corner joints. They're mortise-and-tenon. Wiggle the frame; loose corners are repairable but add real work.
The glass. Count cracked or missing panes. Fixable, just factor the time.
Glazing putty. Crumbling or missing putty is completely normal on old sash and gets redone anyway. Not a reason to pass.
Paint age. Anything painted before 1978 should be assumed to contain lead. Fine to buy — just flag it so it gets handled and stripped properly.
Whatever turns up, its opening now gets a sill pan and flashing first. This is newly documented and was previously absent from the entire library. It matters more here than it would on a new window: the two wall sashes have alligatored paint, failed glazing putty, an open corner mortise-and-tenon and one punky bottom rail, so they will pass water this winter, before restoration. The pan is the actual defense, not a code formality — it does not stop the leak, it makes the leak harmless.
Sequence-critical. The pan goes onto bare framing before the window, and the housewrap laps over the head flashing only after. It cannot be retrofitted once the wrap is on without cutting it.
Read before installing:Wall_Framing.html → Windows and weather — the rough openings, for the back dam, the end dams and the lap order; and the Atlanta-specific add-ons section of Dimensional_Lumber_and_Foundation_Addendum.html, for the climate-driven additions the Vermont-oriented plans undersell.
A photo plus these four things is enough to decide on any candidate.
1. Outside frame width and height — tape measure in the photo if possible 2. Number of panes, and how many are cracked or missing 3. Is it flat? Straightedge across it, or a photo sighting down the length 4. Price
Budget
New ones run about $65 each, so that's the ceiling — anything cheaper is a win. But a sound $50 sash beats a warped $15 one every time. Total budget for four is roughly $260.
Summary for a screenshot: wooden sash, outside frame 24" wide (24¼" max), 24"–35" tall, 6 panes, single-pane glass, flat and square, no rot in the bottom rail. Matching pairs only — up to 4 needed. Grooves down the sides are OK. ~$65 each is the ceiling. Deadline about Sept 1.