The pre-monsoon checklist
The homeowner version of this, with the detail on each step, is the pre-monsoon window checklist. If you do nothing else, do this before the rain arrives. In order of how much trouble each one prevents:
- Clear the drainage slots. Every window frame has weep holes at the sill that let water out. They silt up with dust. A blocked slot means water sits inside the frame instead of draining, and that is the origin of most monsoon leaks and most frame rot.
- Check the gaskets. Press them. If they are hard, cracked or flattened where the sash closes, they are no longer sealing. Gaskets are cheap and replaceable; the water damage from a failed one is not.
- Test the perimeter seal. The line between frame and reveal. Look for gaps, shrinkage and lifting at the corners.
- Adjust the hardware. A sash that has to be pushed to close is not pulling onto its gasket. That is an adjustment now and a replacement later.
- Check the glazing beads and sealed-unit edges. Early fogging at the corner of a double-glazed unit means the seal is starting to go.
What a service visit covers
- Drainage slots cleared and flow-tested
- Gaskets and weatherstripping inspected, replaced where failed
- Hinges, rollers, stays and friction stays lubricated and adjusted
- Locks and handles tested for full engagement, tightened or replaced
- Perimeter seal inspected and made good
- Fixings checked for movement
- Every sash operated through its full range
- Glass and sealed units checked for damage and seal failure
- A written note of condition and anything beginning to wear
How often, by material
uPVC — annually. The frame itself is stable; the work is hardware, gaskets and drainage.
Aluminium — annually, with attention to fixings and any surface corrosion. Thermal movement works fixings loose over years.
Timber — twice a year, and more attention to the finish. The coating is the protection. Once it breaks, monsoon moisture gets into the timber and the clock starts. See wooden window repair.
Mild steel — twice a year, watching cut edges, fixings and welds, which is where rust begins.
Seafront or high floors — twice a year regardless of material. Salt attacks hardware first.
What maintenance cannot fix
Being straight about this: servicing does not save a frame that has rotted through, corroded past its section, or moved permanently out of square. At that point the honest answer is replacement, and we would rather say so than sell a visit that will not hold.
It also does not fix a window that was badly installed. If water is tracking in around the frame rather than through it, the problem is the seal at the reveal, and that is a different job.
Upgrades worth doing during a service
Because the technician is already there with the sash off:
- replacing tired hardware with better-grade window accessories
- upgrading the glass to laminated or acoustic — see glass replacement
- adding insect screens so windows can stay open in the evening
Tell us how many openings and which floor, and we will quote a visit. The full service range is on window service and repair.