The New Window That Never Feels Right
A brand-new uPVC window should open cleanly, close square and compress evenly against the gasket.
One sash starts rubbing instead. The gap around it looks tighter halfway down the frame, the handle needs extra pressure and a draught appears along one edge.
The window itself might be perfectly good. The problem can sit inside the wall fixing.
A Screw Can Bend the Frame
Window frames are mechanically fixed into the surrounding brickwork or blockwork.
Plastic installation packers sit between the uPVC outer frame and the building at the fixing positions. These create a solid bearing point behind the profile.
Remove that support and an aggressively tightened frame screw starts pulling the uPVC towards the masonry.
Uneven brickwork leaves a void behind the profile. The screw keeps tightening. The frame bends into the gap.
A Few Millimetres Changes Everything
The distortion can look tiny from across the room.
Put a straight edge against the jamb and the bow becomes obvious. The opening sash now has to operate inside a frame that is no longer square.
Clearances change. Gasket compression becomes uneven. Locking mushrooms stop meeting their keeps correctly and the sash can begin rubbing against the outer frame.
More hinge or lock adjustment only disguises the installation fault underneath.
Pack It Before You Fix It
Set the frame level, plumb and square before tightening the mechanical fixings.
Use proper non-compressible installation packers adjacent to the fixing positions. Check both diagonals and run a spirit level or straight edge along the frame to expose bowing.
Drive each fixing firmly against the supported frame rather than crushing the profile towards the wall. Recheck the geometry as the installation progresses.
A cordless impact driver is not a licence to bury every frame screw until it stops turning.
The finished frame needs to remain straight.
Trade Counter Supplies
A badly fitted window can create problems no amount of hinge adjustment will permanently cure.
Head down to DWC Trade Windows at 78 Alma Road, Bournemouth for frame fixings, installation packers and the trade supplies needed to install uPVC windows correctly.
Call us on 01202 533126 to discuss your window installation requirements.
