Repairs
Repair it before you replace it
Most window and door faults are a repair, not a replacement. A misted pane is a £60 to £180 glass swap, a door that will not lock is usually a £80 to £250 hinge or mechanism job, and a draught is normally a worn gasket. Replace the window only when the window is what has failed.
We publish replacement prices on this site, so it is worth saying plainly: most of the faults people are quoted a new window for do not need one. Here is what each repair actually involves and what it should cost.
The four repairs people are most often sold a replacement for
Each one is a part rather than a product, and each costs tens of pounds rather than thousands when the frame is sound.
- Glass only, not the window
Misted unit replacement
Misting means the sealed unit has failed, not the window.
£60 – £180
per repair, guide only
- Usually a hinge, not a door
Door lock and alignment repair
A door that needs lifting to lock has usually dropped on its hinges.
£60 – £250
per repair, guide only
- Parts, not products
Window hinge and handle repair
Stiff, dropped or draughty windows are usually hinges, handles or seals rather than the window.
£60 – £250
per repair, guide only
- Same frame, new pane
Replacement glass
Cracked, broken or inappropriate glass can be replaced in the existing frame, including toughened, laminated and obscure glass to order.
£70 – £250
per repair, guide only
Choosing
When a repair is the wrong answer
Repair is not always right, and pretending otherwise would be as unhelpful as quoting a new window for a failed pane. Replacement is the genuine answer when:
- The frame has distorted, so the sash no longer closes squarely however the hinges are set.
- Parts are obsolete. Some 1990s hardware is simply no longer made, and nothing generic fits.
- Several units have failed at once, which usually means the whole installation has reached the end of its life.
- The windows are early uPVC with no low-emissivity glass, where replacement changes the performance rather than patching it.
- You are in a conservation area or a listed building and the existing windows are inappropriate, where the conversation is about consent rather than cost.
If you are not sure which applies, that is exactly what a survey is for. Start with misted units or a door that will not lock, the two most commonly over-quoted faults.
Parts, not products
Almost everything on a window is replaceable on its own
Hinges, handles, locking gearboxes, gaskets, cylinders and the glass unit itself are all separate components. A fault in one of them is not a reason to buy the whole window.
The most over-quoted fault
A failed pane is not a failed window
Misting is the fault people are most often sold a replacement window for. The seal has gone; the frame usually has not.
Before
A failed sealed unit. The moisture is inside the cavity and cannot be wiped off.
After
The beads off and the unit out. The frame stays where it is.