Door & window repair, statewide
Window Lock Repair
A window that will not lock is a window you stop trusting
Sash locks that no longer meet, cam locks painted solid, keepers out of line, casement handles that turn without drawing the sash in. Small hardware, quick to fix, and worth fixing.
The hardware, and why alignment is everything
A window lock does two jobs at once, and most people only know about one of them.
The obvious job is security. The less obvious one is compression: a sash lock works by pulling two sashes tightly together, or drawing a casement firmly into its frame, so that the weatherstripping is actually squeezed. A lock that closes but does not grip leaves the window sealed in name only, which is why a rattling, draughty window and a dodgy lock are so often the same fault.
Both jobs depend on alignment. The lock body is on the sash and the keeper is on the frame or the opposite sash, and they only work if the two still line up. When a sash drops, swells or racks by a few millimetres, they stop meeting. The handle either will not close at all, or closes into fresh air.
Which is why the most common window lock repair we carry out involves no new lock. The hardware is fine; its geometry is not, and repositioning a keeper takes minutes.
Egress windows are the exception to every security conversation. A bedroom window must open from the inside without a key or tool, and we will not fit anything that compromises that.
Usually the sash moved, not the lock
When a window lock stops closing, the assumption is that the mechanism wore out. Occasionally it has. Far more often the sash has shifted and the lock no longer meets its keeper.
In Delaware there is a seasonal pattern to it. Sashes swell through a humid summer and shrink back in a heated winter, so plenty of homeowners find that their windows lock easily in February and not at all in August. That is not a broken lock; it is a keeper that needs setting to work across both extremes.
There is also a rental dimension in this state. Sussex County carries a large stock of seasonal rentals and second homes, and a window that does not lock is both a security problem and a liability question for a landlord.
A sash lock is also a weatherseal. When it stops gripping, the draught starts.
Lock work we do
Usually a short visit, and frequently no new hardware needed.
Cam and sash locks
Locks that will not close, or close without drawing the sashes together. Realigned or replaced.
Keeper realignment
The most common fix of all. Repositioning the keeper so the lock engages properly through the seasons.
Casement multi-point locks
Handles that turn without throwing, and multi-point mechanisms that no longer pull the sash in.
Painted-over hardware
Locks seized under decades of paint, freed and made to work rather than cut off and replaced.
Child safety and vent stops
Opening control devices and vent limiters fitted correctly, without compromising egress.
Matching historic hardware
Period-appropriate sash fasteners and lifts for Delaware's older homes.
The problems Delaware window locks have
Humidity, salt and a great deal of paint.
Seasonal swelling moves the target
Delaware's humidity swing is large enough to move a wooden sash several millimetres between February and August. A keeper positioned for one season is out of register in the other, which is why so many windows here lock for only half the year.
Salt air seizes small mechanisms
Along the bay and the Atlantic coast, salt corrodes lock bodies, springs and the small screws holding keepers in place. Hardware that is merely stiff in Dover can be completely locked solid in Bethany.
Generations of paint
In homes that have been repainted every decade for a century, sash locks end up entombed. They can almost always be freed and made to work again, and the original hardware is usually better made than what would replace it.
Why bother repairing a window lock
A small job with a disproportionate payoff, and one most companies will not turn out for.
Security on the ground floor
Ground-floor windows are a common entry point, and a lock that does not engage is not a lock at all.
A tighter, warmer window
The lock is what pulls the sash against its weatherstrip, so fixing it reduces draughts as well as risk.
We save original hardware
Period fasteners are usually better made than modern replacements. We free them rather than scrap them.
Small jobs welcome
Plenty of companies will not come out for a window lock. We will, anywhere in the state.
Three steps, no runaround
Send a photo of the lock
Hardware is identified visually, so a picture is worth more than a brand name.
We check the sash, not just the lock
Because the sash is usually what moved. Firm price before any work.
We repair it
Most window lock work is finished in a single short visit.
We are a mobile service covering all three counties. Pick your city below, or call and we will come to you.
Window Lock Repair Across Delaware
Window lock questions
My window lock will not close any more.
Almost always the sash has moved and the lock no longer lines up with its keeper. Repositioning the keeper usually solves it with no new hardware at all.
The lock closes but the window still rattles.
The lock is engaging without drawing the sashes tight. That is a keeper depth and alignment issue, and it is worth fixing because it is also a draught.
My locks work in winter but not in summer.
That is Delaware humidity swelling the sash. A keeper can be set to work across both seasons rather than just one.
Can you fit child safety locks?
Yes, using proper window opening control devices. On bedroom windows these must still allow escape from inside without a key or tool, and we fit them accordingly.
I have a rental property with several bad locks. Can you do them all?
Yes, and doing them in one visit is considerably cheaper than one at a time. We work with landlords across all three counties.
Other repairs we handle
Doors and windows are all we do, so whatever has failed, it is probably on this list.
Get your windows locking again
Free estimates anywhere in Delaware, and we are glad to take small jobs.
(302) 406-0168