Aluminium Window Repair in Wellington
Window and Glass Repair Wellington 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 instead of the window itself, which means the fix is a fraction of what replacement would cost.
- Stays, catches, handles, rollers and rubbers replaced
- Marine grade hardware for coastal and harbour side homes
- Re rubbering stops draughts without new joinery
- We repair the common suites: APL, Vantage, First, Altherm
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Aluminium is the standard on New Zealand homes for good reason, but Wellington gives it a hard time. Wind loads it constantly, driving rain forces water into drainage slots that have not been cleared in years, and on the south coast and around the harbour salt gets under the powder coat. Coastal joinery here needs washing every three months and not the usual six, and the hardware corrodes long before the frame does.
Friction stays are the single most common failure
The stay is the hinged arm that holds an awning or casement sash open. They corrode, the rivets seize, and eventually the arm bends or snaps in a gust. Once a stay has gone the sash either will not stay open or drops and fouls the frame.
Replacement stays are a stocked item in common sizes and the job takes minutes per window. Anywhere within a few streets of the water, from Island Bay round to Seatoun and out to Petone, we fit 316 marine grade stainless rather than standard, because standard stays there pit within a few years.
Re rubbering: the cheapest warmth you can buy
The glazing wedge and the weather seal in an aluminium window are rubber. Rubber hardens, shrinks and takes a permanent set. Once that happens the sash no longer compresses against anything, so wind whistles through and rain gets driven into the frame.
Re rubbering pulls the old wedge out and rolls new gasket in. It costs a fraction of anything else on this page, it stops the whistle, and it usually stops the water. On an otherwise sound 1990s home it is the first thing worth doing.
Corrosion, powder coat and what can be saved
White chalky bloom on the frame is aluminium oxide, and it means the coating has been breached. Caught early, a wash and a restorative polish brings the finish back. Left long enough, the metal pits and the only fix is a new frame.
Powder coated joinery on the coast needs washing with a mild detergent every three months, and never with solvents, bleach or an abrasive pad. Anodised finishes hold up better in salt air than powder coat. If you are near the water and replacing joinery anyway, that is worth knowing before you order.
Drainage slots and the water sitting 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 has nowhere to go, so it backs up over the internal sill and runs down your wall.
Half the leaking window callouts we attend are blocked drainage slots, not failed seals. Clearing them takes minutes. Diagnosing it correctly 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, no glass removal on most
- 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 Wellington: common questions
My window will not stay open in the wind. What is wrong?
Almost always the friction stay. The arm has corroded, bent or lost its friction. Replacements are stocked in common sizes 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 are tight, repair. Hardware, rubbers and drainage account for most faults. Replacement is the answer once the metal is pitting through or the corner joints have opened.
Why does my aluminium window leak in heavy rain?
Usually blocked drainage slots or perished rubbers instead of a failed frame. Both are cheap fixes. We test with water instead of 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, no bleach, no scouring pads, and no water blaster on the frame.
Recent Wellington jobs
Got three quotes for retrofitting the front of the house. Only ones who measured every opening and explained why the north facing rooms needed different glass. Eleven windows over two days, and the road noise dropped more than I expected.
Landlord here. Had four properties assessed for the Healthy Homes ventilation rule and two needed openable sashes freed up rather than new joinery, which saved me a fortune. Straight answers, written report, no upselling.
Ranch 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.
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