An estate agent in Isleworth asked me to look at a large tilt-and-turn window that the tenants could no longer close properly.
The window appeared not to have been adjusted or serviced for a long time, and the additional resistance had eventually taken its toll on the gear mechanism inside the handle.
Fortunately, the surrounding tilt-and-turn locking system had not been damaged as well.
That was important because replacement components for some of these older systems can be difficult to find and expensive. In more serious cases, owners can end up being advised to replace the entire window simply because the required locking hardware is no longer available.
I fitted a new handle and then adjusted the surrounding locking system so the window no longer had to be forced during operation.
After the repair and adjustments, the tenant could open and close the tilt-and-turn window normally again.
It was a useful example of why early adjustment matters: when a large window becomes noticeably harder to operate, dealing with the resistance early can be far cheaper than waiting for the mechanism itself to break.
