DIYbanter - Seeking Double Hung Window Grille Clips

Our 19 year old home has about 25 double hung wooden sash insulated
glass "tilt to clean" windows in it.

They all have "fake" stained and varnished wooden grilles up against the
inside surface of the glass.

The grilles are made up of one horizontal and two vertical strips of
molding to simulate the look of a "six over six" windows. The strips are
notched where they cross, making them pretty weak there.

The grilles are fastened onto the window sashes by clear plastic clips
on each end of the horizontal strip. The clips are shaped a bit like
cartridge fuse clips, with a peg molded onto them which presses into a
hole drilled into the side of the casing, next to the glass. The tops
and bottoms of the vertical strips just butt against the sash with no
support there. You just push the end of the strip toward the glass to
snap it into the clip.

The grilles look fine, but the problem is that the succession of
cleaning ladies we've used over the years forget they are not "real" six
panel windows, spray glass cleaner on them and then proceed to
vigorously wipe off each "panel", whacking into the vertical strips as
they do so. Given the leverage there, it doesn't take much of a sideways
push to snap the wood where it's notched.

About once other month I notice a window with one of those vertical
strips a bit skewed, and find that it was busted off where it crosses
the horizontal strip, and then carefully stood back in place without
mention.

When I find one like that I cuss and take the grille down to the
basement to drill blind holes into the the broken ends and splint it
back together with a piece of a 6d finishing nail epoxied into the
holes. I must have done that unexciting job 30 times already.G

I can't blame the cleaning ladies, those grilles are a crappy design
from the standpoint of accepting "normal" cleaning, and they're a bit
tricky to spring out of the clips holding them, so I wouldn't ask the
cleaners to remove and replace them every time they clean a window.

I'm trying to find a source for those clear plastic clips so that I can
buy a bunch of them and add them at the top and bottom of each sash to
hold the free ends of those vertical grille strips. That should solve
the problem. The majority of the windows are the same size, so I could
make up a simple jig to let me drill the holes for the additional clips
faster than you can say Jill Robinson.

Since the grilles are painted white on the sides which face out, I've
thought of using short lengths of double sided foam tape near those free
ends to stick them to the glass, but I'd rather do it with clips if I
can find them.

I can't seem to locate any manufacturer's label on the windows, so I
don't know where to start looking.

Help please?

Jeff

--
Jeff Wisnia (W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"As long as there are final exams, there will be prayer in public
schools"