Older metal windows won't close

Hello All:

Windows at my nephew's home won't close unless one pushes it with substantial force from outside. I looked into it a bit. I first thought it was paint buildup, but ruled this out after cleaning the buildup did not help.

I have photos of the windows at:

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I think the windows are slightly warped over time --this is a 60-year- old home. I am thinking that if he can replace the pins in hinges (one of the hinges is marked with "B") with a smaller diameter one, the "A" side of the window would be slightly pushed out, and the "D" edge then would get to touch the mating frame (it now stands 1/4" or so away).

Alternately if the lateral edges can be bent inwards a bit this would also get the Edge D closer. But I cannot think of an easy way of bending these edges in a controlled manner, and without breaking the glass...

Any recommendations?

Thanks!

Deguza

Reply to
Kompu Kid
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Can you remove the brace at the bottom of the window? Looks like it also has heavy paint build-up ...... hard telling from here, but if the brace has thick paint on it, it might be pushing on the hinge when it closes. As for bending the frame, take out the glass, bend, replace glass. Have you used a straight-edge to make sure only one edge of the frame is not straight? Glass shouldn't bend much, so perhaps the mating edge against "D" is also warped (with, perhaps, too much weight from above?). Perhaps the framing is warped from too much wind against the open window over time?

Reply to
Norminn

Sadly, the only real solution is to replace them, or leave them shut.

My last apartment had those crappy aluminum casement windows.

Reply to
mkirsch1

We did remove the arm at one point but it was not blocking anything. This arm opens and closes the window when the crank handle is rotated.

Deguza

Reply to
Kompu Kid

Wish these were aluminum, it would be easy to bend them. These are steel.

Deguza

Reply to
Kompu Kid

The title of this post is "Older metal windows won't close" - it's not obvious from the pictures that the window frames are metal. You don't say what the metal is, but I'll bet it's aluminum.

I doubt that the aluminum and glass have warped on their own. More likely, in my estimation, is that the house has settled since the windows where installed, and the dimensions/orientation of the frame have changed over the years.

Possibly, taking the windows off the house entirely, and reinstalling them as though they were new (shiming and sawing as needed), would fix the problem - unless of course, the house continues to settle.

Reply to
Lou

They are steel windows. And I think you are right about the cause. I also think that removing and reinstalling the windows can help. However, this is beyond my and the nephew's skill set... Having some else do it would be costly--this is the first home nephew got, and he does not have much funds left to hire someone.

What do you think of putting slightly undersized pins at the hinges-- say 10 or 20 mil smaller in diameter? This would make the Edge A go out slightly, which in turn should get Edge D closer to the window frame when closing.

Deguza

Reply to
Kompu Kid

Clearly nothing is warped because it is steel. Changing to smaller pins will only make the window sloppy. The opportunity to move the window that way is very minimal. The window is not moving to the left as it should when cranked in. Assuming all the edges are clean of paint as you say, I believe those main brackets that mount to the house or frame are either bent or out of adjustment. If you can clean all the paint off where they mount, you may see slots that have gradually allowed the window to fall out of the original mounting position. Clean everything up and remount it properly. Check similar windows on the house to compare measurements of the distance from the bracket to the closing edge.

Reply to
Al Bundy

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These old casement windows have a tendency to hang up. The gears in the mechanism get a little worn, the hinges get a little dirty, and the whole thing gets balky. One symptom of a worn mechanism is that the window has lots of play--you can move it in and out with your hand without turning the crank. The window shouldn't move more than half an inch this way.

Others have recommended cleaning off the paint. I concur. The mechanisms should never have been painted, but everyone does it for some reason.

My recommendation: Replace the mechanism, assuming they're worn. You'll have to hunt for the hardware.

Reply to
SteveBell

If these are common windows in his neighborhood, the local hardware stores should have parts. Have a rental house with them and even the Home Depot and True Value in the neighborhood have parts for the windows.

Guy I know has these windows. He cut off all the brackets and had new sliding double pane windows made that fit into the old frame. In his house the frame were buily into the brick. Would have been a mess to get them out completely.

Al

Reply to
Big Al

Maybe it's the camera angle, but I see a hell of a lot of paint, everywhere. If you removed 2 coats out of the 17 that are on there, maybe it wasn't enough.

Reply to
Smitty Two

You are right. That particular picture was taken before removing the paint.

Deguza

Reply to
Kompu Kid

I would have expected at least one or two of them to have problems, interesting enough, *all* the mechanisms are in top shape. Deguza

Reply to
Kompu Kid

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