Adjusting a upvc window - is it possible as it has a draughty gap at the edge!

[Mikeyboy]

In my house I have a not very new upvc window (fitted by the previous owners) and in cold weather there is a bad draft from the bottom left corner of the bottom half, which opens upwards from a central position (it is like a sash window in appearance, though not in operation). I can in fact see out through this gap.Its about 2-3mm wide.

Is it possible to adjust/move the hinges so that it will close this gap?

I can see that the panel that opens is not quite central at the bottom, seems to be less of a problem nearer the top.

Window looks like this:

xxxxxxxxxxxxx x x x x top panel is fixed x x x x xxxxxxxxxxxxx - hinges are here x x x x x x bottom panel lifts from bottom up, outwards away from room x x xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Any help or advice is appreciated. Thanks

[tim.....]

When my DG was fitted it wasn't properly square, catching in one corner. So I called them back to remedy this.

I expected then to tinker with some adjusting screw at the hinge, but much to my surprise he just gave the opposite corner of the window a good whack - job done!

You are right, the window should be evenly fitting within the frame and there should be some guides fitted in the frame to make it stay this way. Apart from the above, quite how you get to that position with an old window I don't know

tim

[Al]

Sounds like the slider in the friction hinge has broken. Fit a new friction hinge. Less than a tenner per pair. You'll need someone to hold the window for you while you do it.

Al.

[Mike]

Thanks! Can you give me any more details about which is the friction hinge? Does Scewfix sell these things?

Mike

[PeterC]

Yes, but the standard side-hung hinges that I looked at were plated steel. BTW, Screwfix's site says that the hinges are 13 or 17mm stack height and

13mm width; ASAIK there's no such thing (15mm width is old and 17mm considered 'slimline'), so I had a look at a pair and the width was 18mm.

is a few pence more but the ones that I had were ferritic stainless steel and made in this country bt Nico; also have an extra cross-brace on the side-hung.

the bottom - the pictures aren't necessarily correct. The egress hinges should be Nico's make, as in the PDF from

on brochures then the link to the full list - the picture links seem a bit unreliable.

I've 'phoned Nico a couple of times - very helpful.

[Al]

A handy site is:

Or is.gd'ed:

I've bought happily from ebay, but there's loads of sites on the interwebs selling the same stuff.

How to get the right size? It's easy to get the length and width - But the stack height might be more tricky. Of course, once you've removed the broken one it's easy, but then you have to put the broken one back while ordering the new one :(

Oh, the screw hole spacing may differ from the old to the new hinge - A Dremel (or similar) with a small drill bit might be useful to have to hand.

Al.

[PeterC]

Yes, I looked at that site, but it's very expensive.

Another place is Marches Ironmongery in Llandrindod Wells:

I did some very careful measurements and calcs. for stack height but with all the layers and cranks it was easier in the end just to take off a bottom hinge and measure it!

Seems that the 'hinge' side/end hole is usually OK, then it's a case of 1 more screw and try the window in. I fitted the hinges to the sash first, with the point overhanging by about the same amount as the old one, then tried it in position. Took a bit of tweaking, but it was a move from plastic to metal ends and 15mm width to 19mm. The frame had to be cut away to fit the new hinges. Luckily there was an overhung bit of section that was relatively easy to remove. I used side cutters (flush cutting) as I lacked any machine to do the job (yes, I have one of those...) and trimmed with a wood chisel (I've a couple of surprisingly strong uPVC coil springs for some future use, perhaps, as the cutters coiled the ofcut rather neatly).