Louvre Window Repair in Wellington

Louvres turn up constantly in Wellington homes built between the 1950s and 1970s, usually in bathrooms, kitchens, hallways and porches. They ventilate beautifully and they seal badly, which in this climate means a permanent draught and a lot of heat leaving the house through what is effectively a grille.

Blades, clips and operators

Each blade sits in a pair of clips that pivot on the frame and connect to a linkage. Blades break because they are thin and exposed. Clips crack because they are usually plastic and fifty years old. Operators seize because the linkage corrodes.

Blades are cut to size with the edges worked so they are safe to handle. In wet areas and walk into positions they go back as safety glass under NZS 4223.

The honest conversation about draughts

A louvre window cannot seal. Each blade meets the next along a straight edge with no gasket, so there is always an air path. In a Wellington northerly that is a noticeable draught, and it is why louvre rooms are the cold rooms in a lot of houses.

If the louvre is in a bathroom the ventilation is truly useful and worth keeping. If it is in a hallway or a bedroom, replacing it with a fixed pane and an opening sash is usually the better spend.

Replacing a louvre opening

Louvre frames are usually narrow and set into a larger window, so the opening can be reglazed as a fixed pane, or fitted with a small awning sash to keep the ventilation. On rentals the ventilation calculation matters, since the Healthy Homes standard counts openable area per room.

Living with louvres, or replacing them

Blades, clips and safe edges

Blades are cut to length with the edges worked so they are safe to handle, because a raw cut edge in a frame people reach into is a cut waiting to happen. In wet areas and walk into positions they go back as safety glass.

Clips are usually the actual failure. Fifty year old plastic goes brittle, the blade drops and the linkage bends.

When to stop repairing them

A louvre cannot be draught sealed. Each blade meets the next along a straight edge with no gasket, so there is always an air path, and in a cold room that is the reason it never feels warm.

In a bathroom the ventilation is worth having. In a bedroom or a hallway, glazing the opening as a fixed pane with a small opening sash beside it is usually the better spend.

Louvre Window Repair at a glance

Blades

Cut to size, edges worked, safety glass in wet and walk into positions

Clips

Replacement clips for common louvre frames

Operators

Linkages freed or replaced

Limitation

Louvres cannot be draught sealed by design

Alternatives

Fixed pane, or a small awning sash to retain ventilation

Rentals

Openable area recalculated if a louvre is replaced with a fixed pane