Double Glazing Repair in Wellington
Window and Glass Repair Wellington repairs double glazed windows across the city. Failed and fogged sealed units, sashes that have dropped under the extra weight, hardware that has given out, leaking frames and blown seals on ranch sliders. The frame and the joinery almost always stay where they are.
- Failed sealed units replaced, frames retained
- Hardware sized for the extra weight of a double glazed sash
- Drainage and setting blocks checked so the next unit lasts
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Double glazing has been standard on consented new residential work in New Zealand since the 2021 H1 energy efficiency update, and retrofit work has been running here for far longer than that. So Wellington now has a large stock of double glazed joinery that is fifteen to twenty five years old and starting to need attention. The failures are predictable and most of them are inexpensive to fix.
Sealed unit failure
The perimeter seal on an insulated glass unit eventually breaks down and moisture gets into the cavity. That is the permanent haze between the panes. The unit is replaced, typically $350 to $800 for a standard size, and the frame stays put.
What we also do is find out why it failed early. Standing water in the bottom of the rebate, from blocked drainage, is the usual culprit.
Sashes that have dropped
A double glazed sash is roughly twice the weight of the single glazed one it replaced. Where a house was retrofitted without upgrading the hinges and stays, those parts wear quickly and the sash drops, so it catches on the frame and stops locking.
Heavy duty stays and hinges fix it properly. Adjusting the existing worn ones buys a few months.
Leaks on double glazed joinery
Double glazing does not make a window watertight, and the drainage path still matters. On double glazed units it matters more, because water sitting in the rebate attacks the edge seal of the unit itself.
So a leak on double glazed joinery is worth fixing quickly. Left alone it turns a cheap drainage repair into a unit replacement.
Getting more life out of the units you have
Why units fail early
Twenty years is normal. Six is not, and when we see it the cause is almost always water standing in the bottom of the rebate. The edge seal of a sealed unit is not designed to be submerged, and blocked drainage leaves it sitting in a puddle after every shower of rain.
Setting blocks matter too. A unit resting directly on the frame, or on blocks that have shifted, carries load on the glass edge where the seal is.
What we check on every unit replacement
Drainage slots cleared and water tested. New setting blocks at the correct positions. The sash checked square so the unit is not being twisted every time the window closes.
None of that adds meaningful cost while the sash is already open, and it is the difference between a unit that lasts and a repeat visit.
Double Glazing Repair at a glance
- Unit replacement
- About $350 to $800 standard size, up to $1,200 oversized
- Lead time
- About a week from measure to fit
- Hardware
- Heavy duty stays and hinges for retrofitted sashes
- Drainage
- Slots cleared and tested at every visit
- Setting blocks
- Renewed so the glass edge is not loaded or sitting in water
- Frames
- Retained in almost every case
Double Glazing Repair in Wellington: common questions
Can a double glazed unit be repaired, or does it need replacing?
The sealed unit itself cannot be repaired once the seal fails. It is replaced. Your frame, sash and hardware stay as they are.
My double glazed windows are sticking. Why?
The sashes are heavier than the original single glazed ones and the hardware was often not upgraded. Heavy duty stays and hinges fix it.
How long do double glazed units last?
Twenty years or more when drainage works and the glass is not sitting in water. Poor drainage cuts that dramatically.
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.
Get a price for double glazing repair in Wellington
Free measure, fixed written quote, and a straight answer on whether it needs repairing or replacing.
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