Window Lock Repair in Wellington

A window that will not lock is a security problem and, on a rental, a maintenance obligation. It is also often misdiagnosed. In a good share of the jobs we attend the lock is fine and the sash has dropped a few millimetres on worn hardware, so the latch now passes under the keeper instead of into it.

Lock or alignment?

Test it with the window open. If the lock throws cleanly in the air, the mechanism is fine and the problem is where the sash sits. If it binds or spins with the sash out of the way, the lock itself has failed.

That five second test decides whether the job is a lock replacement or a hardware and alignment fix, and the two cost very different amounts.

Ranch slider hook locks

Slider locks throw a hook into a single keeper in the jamb. Worn rollers let the panel drop, the hook stops lining up, and the door feels locked without being secured. This is one of the most common security faults in Wellington homes and almost nobody knows they have it.

We realign the panel, replace the hook and keeper, and can add a foot bolt or a track lock where more security is wanted.

Rentals and insurance

Property managers get asked about window security at inspection, and insurers ask about it after a break in. A written record that the locks were serviced and are working is worth having. We list every window we touch on the invoice.

Security, insurance and rentals

What an insurer looks at after a break in

The first question is usually whether the window was secured. A latch that engages but does not hold, or a slider that feels locked because the hook is close enough to catch, both count as unsecured once anybody looks properly.

We list every window we service on the invoice by room, which gives you a dated record that the locks were working.

Escape routes and restrictors

Locking a bedroom window permanently shut solves security and creates a fire risk. Where a window is a designated escape route we fit key releasable restrictors rather than fixed ones, so it limits the opening day to day but can still be released.

On rentals that matters twice over, because a window screwed shut also breaches the ventilation standard.

Window Lock Repair at a glance

Window locks

Cam locks, espagnolette, wedge latches, keyed catches

Door locks

Hook locks, keepers, foot bolts, track locks

Diagnosis

Locked with the sash open to separate lock faults from alignment

Keying

Keyed alike sets available across a house

Records

Every window listed on the invoice for landlords and insurers