 Do you have a stuck window that's painted shut? I'm going to show you how to open it again in minutes. It can seem a bit scary to force open a wooden window that's been painted shut. It's really quite easy. I'm going to show you how it's done. The first step is to take a putty knife or a taping knife and push it into the jam. Do this all the way around the window and on both sides. Wiggle the knife to break open any stuck paint. The putty knife needs to get all the way to the back of the jam. You may need to use a razor to cut around the window first. If necessary, use a hammer to gently tap the putty knife. Be very careful with the hammer near the glass. Once you've done this, the only paint left will be the paint around the inside of the jam. You can't get to this paint unless you take the window completely apart, but that shouldn't matter. We're ready to force the window open. Please understand that repair jobs create hazards. People and especially children can swallow lead dust or paint chips and get poisoned. Lead poisoning has serious health consequences. Now let's get this window unstuck. This is the part that's a bit scary. Take your putty knife and slide it under the bottom of the window. Again, if it's painted shut, you may need to use a razor or a hammer to get the putty knife in position. Start gently lifting up, first on the sides and then in the middle. If the window doesn't pop open, keep repeating using a bit more force each time. Remember to use progressively more force. Be as gentle as you can, but add a tiny bit more force each time. At some point, the window will pop open. You'll probably need to lubricate your window to get it to slide more smoothly. If so, check out my video on how a bar of soap helped a window out of a tight jam. By the way, when the painter painted this window shut, I asked him how much for the job. He said, don't worry, the paint's on the house. A few years ago, I started reaching out to neighbors to help with various issues relating to our historic homes. As I took notes and talked to local experts, I began to think about how I might best share what I know. The result has become VallejoHistoricHomesSupport.com. It's a video blog series meant to encourage local preservation and increase our enjoyment of living in historic Vallejo. It's been a tremendous labor of love and I'm excited to share it with you. I'm Chris Jacobson, a local Vallejo Realtor, and I love our historic homes. I'm sure you have a frozen window or two. I would love to hear about your success in popping them open. This is easy and you can do it. Please let me know how it went in the comments section below. Also, tell me about what other problems you'd like to fix or tips you'd like to share. Your comments and questions are important to me. Please let me know you got your windows open. I read every comment and I hope to hear from you there.