Window falling off

[Cuculepralin]

Hi everyone,

My window is falling off and I was wondering if any of you would have recommendation on how to fix it?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Mr Plodd]

A bit more detail, as in what the window is fitted to, and what is actually "falling off" is it the acrylic opening part, is it the frame coming out of the side etc.
A picture is worth a thousand words !

 

[Cuculepralin]

Sorry I thought I had attached a picture!

 

[Jcloughie]

Does it slide left and right in its top hinge? If so, the retainer has gone missing. Your picture clearly shows something is missing from above the window.

John

 

[Cuculepralin]

So while checking if the window slid left to right, it came off. I don’t think anything is missing. The hinge is S shaped and the window fits into it. I managed to screw everything back in (even though it’s feeling very loose). There’s some kind of glue or sealant/caulk between the hinge and the wall that has seen better days and isn’t doing the job so we can’t open the window without risking it falling apart.

I think I need to take the window off again, unscrew the hinges, scrape the caulk/sealant from the wall, apply a new one, screw the hinge back in and that should the trick.

What do you think?
Is there anything I can put in the holes with the screws for them hold on better since they’re loose at the moment?
Would recommend any product to be put between the hinge and the wall to help the hinge stick ?

Really appreciate the help!

 

[Jcloughie]

I think you are on the right lines. There should be an internal piece of timber behind the front outer covering to take the screws. If the holes in this have enlarged then they could be packed with match sticks. If it has rotted, then it's a much different matter.

Also, if you use an adhesive sealer like sikaflex 522 this will also help.

The reason I said that it appears a piece is missing. Your picture seems to show holes and a line where something was fixed. I imaging that might have been a cover strip.

How do the other windows compare?

John

 

[Cuculepralin]

Thanks for the tip, John. I will buy the sikaflex and some matches in case. There’s actually no piece missing. The grey hinge on the picture should be alined with that line if that makes sense. Finger crossed everything works. Thank you again!!

 

[Mr Plodd]

On my windows it's the actual shape and construction of the acrylic that keeps it aligned in its "hinge"
In order to remove it I have to lift the acyrlic way past the horizontal, at which point basically the window and hinge strips fall apart. Care is needed when refitting to not break the top corner off the acrylic part (how do you think I discovered that little nugget? Super glue is such wonderful stuff!)

 

[Gagakev]

When cleaning the old sealant off make sure you remove it from both surfaces, take bulk of it off with plastic scraper, then wet wipes, then white spirit, then finally to make sure there is no residue left use Metholated Spirit.
Time consuming but worth it.

 

[otherclive]

When cleaning the old sealant off make sure you remove it from both surfaces, take bulk of it off with plastic scraper, then wet wipes, then white spirit, then finally to make sure there is no residue left use Metholated Spirit.
Time consuming but worth it.

I’ve also found silicon remover is effective once you have pulled and scraped out the majority of sealant. But once clean as you say it’s vital to ensure the surfaces are chemically cleaned. Meths being very effective.

 

[Ferrodo]

I don’t think I would recommend match sticks to pack an enlarged hole in the wood baton . I would open up the existing hole to accept a suitable wooden dowel. Epoxy this in and then re drill .

 

[ProfJohnL]

I've never used matchsticks where they might become affected by rot, but they have been very useful for packing where a screw has lost its grip.

In fact the majority of matches in my household get used for things other than being struck to light anything, they're great for mixing two part epoxy glue for small jobs, mixing small pots of Humbrol, .....

 

[Cuculepralin]

So I took the window down, cleaned the hinge, cleaned the wall following Gagakev’s three pronged suggestion. It went great, glued the hinges back onto the wall, used matchsticks and wood glue to strengthen the screws until I realised I couldn’t fit the window because of the break light that sits right above the hinges in a protuberance that prevents the window from being fitted onto the the hinges. So, I took everything off, cleaned all the glue which had hardened nicely and fitted the hinges directly onto the window and then the whole lot onto the caravan.

Thanks for all your help, I now have a window I can use - which is great because that sunny weather sure heats up the caravan!

 

[ProfJohnL]

Thanks for telling us how it went.

Good luck and caravanning

 

[Gagakev]

So I took the window down, cleaned the hinge, cleaned the wall following Gagakev’s three pronged suggestion. It went great, glued the hinges back onto the wall, used matchsticks and wood glue to strengthen the screws until I realised I couldn’t fit the window because of the break light that sits right above the hinges in a protuberance that prevents the window from being fitted onto the the hinges. So, I took everything off, cleaned all the glue which had hardened nicely and fitted the hinges directly onto the window and then the whole lot onto the caravan.

Thanks for all your help, I now have a window I can use - which is great because that sunny weather sure heats up the caravan!

Nice of you to come back and let us know how it went.
Oh and well done.