Window and Door Advice

Most of the calls we get start with somebody worrying that they need new windows. Most of the time they do not. So we have written down what we actually tell people on the doorstep.

Send us a photo first. If your problem is not covered below, or you would rather just ask, send a picture on WhatsApp, email advice@wwr.scot or ring 01698 604 278. We will tell you what we think it is and roughly what is involved. There is no charge for that, and no charge for coming out to look.

There is no sales pitch in any of the fifty two articles here. If the fix is a five pound part and twenty minutes, they say so, and you are welcome to do it yourself. Where the honest answer is replacement, they say that too.

All of it comes from over thirty years of repairing uPVC windows and doors across Wishaw, Motherwell, Coatbridge, East Kilbride and the surrounding areas. If you would rather see the work than read about it, there are before and after photographs in the gallery, and our services page covers what we do and where. If it is the cost you are trying to work out, start with our window and door repair prices page.

Start here

• Why Is My Double Glazing Misted Up? (And What Actually Fixes It)
  The most common call we get. Why the fog appears and why the frame is usually fine.
• Is Your uPVC Door Lock Actually Secure? What to Check
  What is actually protecting your front door, and how to tell if it is any good.
• Looking After uPVC Windows and Doors: A Twenty Minute Job Once a Year
  Twenty minutes once a year is the difference between a repair and a replacement.
• How Long Do uPVC Windows and Doors Actually Last?
  What wears out first, what lasts for decades, and what that means for you.

Glass and sealed units

• How Much Does It Cost to Fix a Misted or Blown Window?
  Units start from seventy five pounds. What moves the price up from there.
• Condensation on the Inside of Your Windows: Why It Happens and What to Do
  Water on the room side of the glass is telling you something about the room, not the window.
• Condensation on the Outside of Your Windows? That’s Good News
  Dew on the outside pane in the morning. Nothing is broken.
• Cracked or Broken Window Glass: What to Do First and How It’s Replaced
  What to do in the first ten minutes, and how the pane comes out.
• Black Spots Inside the Glass You Can’t Wipe Off
  Black specks you cannot reach with a cloth.
• Can a Scratch in Double Glazing Be Polished Out?
  When a scratch can be polished and when the honest answer is a new unit.
• My Window Cracked and Nobody Touched It
  Thermal stress cracks, and how to recognise one.
• Changing the Obscure Glass in a Bathroom Window
  Changing the pattern without changing the window.
• Georgian Bars, Leaded Glass and Getting a Replacement Unit to Match
  Getting a replacement unit to match what is already in the house.
• Toughened or Laminated? Which Safety Glass You Need and Where
  Which one the regulations want, and where.
• Is Triple Glazing Worth It in a Scottish House?
  An honest answer for a Scottish house rather than a sales one.
• Has My Double Glazing Lost Its Gas?
  Whether the argon really escapes, and whether you would ever notice.

Doors and locks

• How Much Does It Cost to Fix a uPVC Door?
  Why a repair is a fraction of a new door, and what actually moves the price.
• uPVC Door Won’t Lock in the Heat? Here’s What’s Going On
  Fine all winter, sticks in July. There is a reason for that.
• uPVC Door Handle Snapped or Spinning? What’s Gone Wrong
  What breaks inside a handle, and why it usually goes without warning.
• Key Won’t Turn in Your uPVC Door? Read This Before You Force It
  Read this before you put any more force through it.
• Draughty Front Door? Find the Draught Before You Buy Anything
  Find where the cold is coming in before you buy anything.
• Patio and French Doors That Won’t Slide, Won’t Close or Won’t Lock
  Sliders that stick, doors that drop, locks that miss.
• How to Measure a Euro Cylinder Properly
  The two measurements people get wrong, and how to take them properly.
• Why Your uPVC Door Won’t Lock Unless You Lift the Handle
  Lifting the handle is normal. Having to lean on it is not.
• Adjusting a Dropped uPVC Door
  Where the adjustment screws are and what each one moves.
• Broken Key in a Door Lock: What’s Really Happened
  A snapped key is usually a symptom of something else.
• uPVC Door Handle Spinning Freely? What the Spindle Is Doing
  What the spindle does and why it stops doing it.
• French Doors That Will Not Close Properly
  Shoot bolts, slave leaves and the order they are meant to work in.
• Composite Door Repairs: What Actually Fails, and What Does Not
  What fails on a composite door, and what people wrongly blame.
• Draughty or Broken Letterbox? Replacing a uPVC Letterplate
  A cheap part that lets in more cold than most people think.
• Locked Out of Your uPVC Door: What Happens Next
  What a proper job looks like, and what to avoid paying for.

Windows and hardware

• Draughty, Rattling or Stiff Windows: What’s Wrong and How It’s Fixed
  Stiff to open and cold when shut are often the same fault.
• Window Won’t Stay Open, or Has Dropped? Here’s the Usual Culprit
  The friction stay is nearly always the answer.
• uPVC Window Handle Broken, Loose or Won’t Turn?
  Loose, spinning or seized, and which of those is a five minute job.
• Window Hinge Replacement: When a Friction Stay Is Past Adjusting
  When a hinge is past adjusting and has to come out.
• Tilt and Turn Windows: What Goes Wrong and Why
  The two modes, and the fault where it tries to do both at once.
• Window Restrictors, Upstairs Windows and Small Children
  Upstairs windows, small children, and what is actually required.
• Lost the Key for Your Window Handle?
  You are not stuck, and you do not need a new handle.
• Window Seals and Gaskets: What the Black Rubber Actually Does
  What the black rubber does and why perishing matters.
• Windows Rattling in the Wind: What It Means and How It’s Sorted
  Rattle is movement, and movement is a gap somewhere.
• Sash Jammers: Cheap Security, Honestly Explained
  Cheap, effective, and oversold. All three.

Before you spend anything

• Cheap Window Repairs: How to Tell a Good Price From a Bad One
  What a genuinely low price looks like and what a suspiciously low one hides.
• Repair or Replace? Whether It’s Really Worth Fixing Your Windows and Doors
  We will tell you when replacement is the right call. It is rarer than you would think.
• Choosing Someone to Repair Your Windows: What to Ask
  The questions worth asking whoever you end up using.
• Cleaning uPVC Window Frames: What Works and What Ruins Them
  What works, and the products that permanently ruin the surface.
• White uPVC Gone Yellow: Can It Be Brought Back?
  Whether white uPVC can be brought back, honestly.
• Trickle Vents: Should They Be Open or Shut?
  Open or shut, and what closing them does to the condensation.
• The October Walk Round: Getting Windows and Doors Ready for Winter
  The October walk round, in the order we would do it.
• Window Energy Ratings Explained: What A, A+ and U Values Actually Mean
  What A, A plus and U values mean once you strip out the marketing.
• Replacing Windows in Scotland: The Rules Are Not the English Ones
  Scottish building standards are not the English ones.
• What a Double Glazing Guarantee Actually Covers
  What a twenty year guarantee usually does not cover.
• Secondary Glazing or New Windows: Which One Your House Actually Wants
  For older and listed properties, and for noise.

If you cannot see your problem on the list, ring 01698 604 278 or contact us here. Monday to Friday, eight until five.