Aluminium Window Repair in Dunedin
Window and Glass Repair Dunedin repairs aluminium joinery across the city. Windows that will not stay open, sashes that drop, catches that no longer engage, tracks packed with grit, rubbers gone hard and flat, and frames pitting from salt. Most of it is hardware and seals rather than the window, which means the fix costs a fraction of replacement.
- Stays, catches, handles, rollers and rubbers replaced
- Marine grade hardware for St Clair, St Kilda and Port Chalmers
- Re rubbering stops draughts without new joinery
- We repair the common suites: APL, Vantage, First, Altherm
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Aluminium takes two kinds of punishment here. On the coast, from St Clair round to Brighton and up the harbour to Port Chalmers, salt gets under the powder coat and works on the hardware first. Inland, the enemy is age plus a coating that has never been washed, and a frame that conducts cold straight into the room on the fifty odd frost mornings the city gets each year.
Friction stays fail first
The stay is the hinged arm that carries an awning or casement sash and holds it open. They corrode, the pivots seize, and eventually an arm bends or snaps. Once a stay has gone, the sash either will not hold position or drops and fouls the frame.
Replacements are stocked in common sizes and the swap takes minutes per window. Within reach of the water we fit 316 marine grade stainless as standard, because ordinary stays pit within a few years on the south coast.
Re rubbering, the cheapest warmth available
The glazing wedge and the weather seal in an aluminium window are rubber, and rubber hardens, shrinks and takes a permanent set. Once that has happened the sash no longer compresses against anything, so cold air moves through and driven rain follows it.
Re rubbering pulls the old wedge out and rolls new gasket in. It costs less than anything else on this website and in a cold city it changes how a room feels more than most people expect. On a sound 1990s home it is the first thing worth doing.
Corrosion, powder coat and what can be saved
White chalky bloom on a frame is aluminium oxide, which means the coating has been breached. Caught early, a wash and a restorative polish made for powder coat brings the finish back. Left long enough the metal pits and the only fix is a new frame.
Coastal joinery here needs washing with mild detergent every three months, not every six, and never with solvents, bleach or an abrasive pad. Anodised finishes hold up better in salt air than powder coat, which is worth knowing before you order replacements.
Drainage slots and the puddle on your sill
Aluminium windows are designed to let a little water in and drain it back out through slots in the bottom of the frame. Block those with dirt, paint or dead insects and the water backs up over the internal sill and runs down the wall.
A good share of the leaking window callouts we attend turn out to be blocked drainage rather than failed seals. Clearing them takes minutes. Working out that is what is wrong is the part people pay us for.
Aluminium Window Repair at a glance
- Hardware
- Friction stays, catches, handles, restrictors, rollers, wind stays
- Coastal spec
- 316 marine grade stainless within about 500m of the water
- Seals
- Glazing wedge and weather seal replaced in place on most windows
- Frames
- Corrosion assessed, powder coat restored where the metal is sound
- Drainage
- Slots cleared and tested with water
- Suites
- APL, Vantage, First Windows, Altherm, Fairview and older profiles
- Maintenance
- Wash every 3 months coastal, 6 months inland, mild detergent only
Aluminium Window Repair in Dunedin: common questions
My window will not stay open. What is wrong?
Almost always the friction stay. The arm has corroded, bent or lost its friction. Replacements are stocked and the swap takes minutes per window.
Can old aluminium joinery be repaired or does it need replacing?
If the frame is straight and the corners tight, repair. Hardware, rubbers and drainage account for most faults. Replacement is the answer once the metal is pitting through.
Why does my aluminium window leak in heavy rain?
Usually blocked drainage slots or perished rubbers rather than a failed frame. Both are cheap fixes. We water test rather than guessing.
How often should I wash coastal joinery?
Every three months near the water, every six inland. Mild detergent and fresh water only, no solvents, bleach, scouring pads or water blasters.
Recent Dunedin jobs
Got three quotes for retrofitting the front of the house. Only ones who measured every opening and explained why the south facing rooms needed different glass. Fourteen windows over three days and the difference in the mornings is obvious.
Landlord here. Had four flats assessed before the inspections. Two just needed sashes freed up and stays replaced rather than new joinery, which saved me a fortune. Straight answers and a written report I could hand over.
Slider had been jamming for years and we assumed it needed replacing. Turned out to be rollers and a bent track. Two hours, a fraction of the price we were braced for.
Fogged unit in the lounge, measured on the Tuesday and in by the following Monday. Fair price and they cleaned up after themselves.
Get a price for aluminium window repair in Dunedin
Free measure, fixed written quote, and a straight answer on whether it needs repairing or replacing.
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